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Who knows where and what this rucklel o stones are, not a lot of folk will have been to this place.
Picture added on 10 February 2012 at 16:21
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Mystery places or things or people
Mystery places or things or people
You seem to have us stumped with this one John. My best guess would be somewhere near Scad Head.
Added by Ian Hourston on 16 February 2012
As no one seems to know where this place is then "aal tell thee all" and how important this place was in our history.
Its what is remaining of the Stone Cutters House near tae the "Burn o the Sail" and quite near to Bring Head on Hoy.
The stone cutters obtained the stone for the Martello Towers at the entrance to Longhope and also the stone for Hoy High and Hoy Low Lighthouses.
Stone was hewn and dressed here for the Towers but for the Light Houses all stone was boated to Ness and dressed and numbered and then loaded onto boats to Greamsay to build the two Lighthouses.
"So noo yae ken"
Its what is remaining of the Stone Cutters House near tae the "Burn o the Sail" and quite near to Bring Head on Hoy.
The stone cutters obtained the stone for the Martello Towers at the entrance to Longhope and also the stone for Hoy High and Hoy Low Lighthouses.
Stone was hewn and dressed here for the Towers but for the Light Houses all stone was boated to Ness and dressed and numbered and then loaded onto boats to Greamsay to build the two Lighthouses.
"So noo yae ken"
Added by John Budge on 18 February 2012
Well I wasn't all that far out with the location at least. Interesting info John. Is there a sizeable quarry nearby? I've walked to the Candle o the Sale and don't remember seeing one.
Funnily enough I'm re-reading at the moment a slightly odd book 'Scottish Lighthouses' by Sharma Krauskopf (in which there is no reference to where the stone for the Hoy lighthouses was obtained).
I call the book 'slightly odd' for a variety of reasons, one of which is her statement that 'The Hoy lighthouses . . . help keep ships away from the Scapa Flow causeways that lead from mainland Orkney to the south islands'. Surely the same could be said of any lighthouse that reassures anxious seafarers they are nowhere near those pesky barriers? Or am I missing the point?
In any event it's an informative and well illustrated book by a real lighthouse nut - she and her husband bought one to live in: Eshaness, Shetland.
Funnily enough I'm re-reading at the moment a slightly odd book 'Scottish Lighthouses' by Sharma Krauskopf (in which there is no reference to where the stone for the Hoy lighthouses was obtained).
I call the book 'slightly odd' for a variety of reasons, one of which is her statement that 'The Hoy lighthouses . . . help keep ships away from the Scapa Flow causeways that lead from mainland Orkney to the south islands'. Surely the same could be said of any lighthouse that reassures anxious seafarers they are nowhere near those pesky barriers? Or am I missing the point?
In any event it's an informative and well illustrated book by a real lighthouse nut - she and her husband bought one to live in: Eshaness, Shetland.
Added by Ian Hourston on 20 February 2012
The Quarry would be on the shore and then loaded into the boats maybe at a place called the Horse Rock? Not too sure on that.
Stromness fishermen would know better than I about that as we never worked around there.
I do know some of the Crofts in Heckness here in "Waas" had peat rights in the same area and I think have heard of them boating peats from the Horse Rock.
Dont know about the Lighthouse building time span but the two Martello Towers were built in two years. I doubt it would take longer than that to get it through planing today! If at all.
To get back to the "Ruckel o Stones" I believe this to be a bothy the quarry men used to live in while working the stone.
Stromness fishermen would know better than I about that as we never worked around there.
I do know some of the Crofts in Heckness here in "Waas" had peat rights in the same area and I think have heard of them boating peats from the Horse Rock.
Dont know about the Lighthouse building time span but the two Martello Towers were built in two years. I doubt it would take longer than that to get it through planing today! If at all.
To get back to the "Ruckel o Stones" I believe this to be a bothy the quarry men used to live in while working the stone.
Added by John Budge on 21 February 2012
Hoy and Walls
