Orkney Image Library

I have no real reason for thinking this, other than the pristine cleanness of the Stromness Hotel which would make me think that this is maybe up to twenty years before the date that's quoted above. The Hotel was built in 1901, I think, so I'd reckon that this is about that time. I have no idea when Caledonia or Sinclair View were built (the two houses on the east side of the Back Road that we can see either side of the Hotel, or at least, that's what I think they are) but imagine they must date back to the late 19th Century? I can't think what the one-storey building in the right hand foreground is, either. Could it be the north end of the meeting house that subsequently became Brooklyn, or would it be further south?

It's amazing how quickly the positions of the houses gets vague when you're trying to mind them on from your flat in Edinburgh!

Came across this while random surfing. I'd say it has to be after 1903 because, although it isn't in shot, the Lighthouse Pier must have been in use. The hulk Enterprise which served as the NLB depot before the pier was built, and was moored near the Outer Holm, is nowhere to be seen. She was put up for sale in 1903.