Orphir Round Church Ruins

Orphir, United Kingdom

Today Orphir contains the remains of Scotland's only surviving circular medieval church. Built in the late 11th, or early 12th century, the Orphir Round Church is thought to have been built by Earl Hakon. Dedicated to Saint Nicholas, its design was inspired by the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

At the time of the church construction, the Great Crusades were in full swing and the circular church had become a popular design with returning crusaders attempting to copy the famous structure in the Holy Land.

Originally, the church consisted of a circular nave just over six metres in diameter and an apse. The apse remains today, along with a small section of the nave's eastern section.

The church survived, almost complete, until the middle of the 18th century when sections were pulled down and the stone used to construct the new parish church. The replacement parish church did not last and no trace survives today.

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Founded: c. 1100
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in United Kingdom

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4.3/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Dean Stoker (2 years ago)
What a stunning location with lots of history, the Bú (hall) is excavated to see the layout of the original building, entering the church yard the remains of a circular church with design linked to the Holy sepulchre in Jerusalem. Information boards on site . A well kept cemetery with graves dating centuries back up to recent times. Well worth a visit. Disabled parking available although navigating the cemetery would be difficult in a wheelchair I imagine.
Lisethe Meijer (2 years ago)
Nice remnant of church, historic site, beautiful coastline
Reginald Sandrey (3 years ago)
What a lovely remote and peaceful location, well tended church remains and the adjoining beach was a great place to sit and soak up the quiet.
William Routledge (3 years ago)
If you are interested in Early Medieval history, coastal walk, wildlife, WWI &/or WWII I can thoroughly recommend this circular walk. Start from the bus stop at Orphir Primary School and take the road down to the Brek car park, follow the track down to the cost path and turn right, this takes you to the Earl's By and round church. Take a half hour to pop into the Interpretative Centre (the hut by the road at the back of the site) which gives you great background information into the history and characters behind what you have just seen. From here turn right onto the small road which takes you back to where you began. About 20 pages along, in the field on your right are the remains of a Norse water mill.
Samantha Davies (3 years ago)
It's fascinating to learn about the Orkney Saga's. A must visiting you're in the area. Nice walk around the Bu and onto St Mangus Way. The visitors centre offers a film that explains the history of Orkney.
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