Orphir is a parish in the south of the mainland district of Orkney. It comprises the island of Cava and a district, constituting its main body, in Pomona. The Pomona district, or main body of the parish, is bounded on the north-west and north by Stenness and Firth, on the east by Kirkwall, and on the south and west by Scalpa Flow. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).
Orphir
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
Orphir was a prebend held by the Chantor of Kirkwall Cathedral. Its old church, round in form and now much ruined, was built about the year 1100. It was dedicated to St Nicholas.
Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.
(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)
Parish registers turned over to the Registrar-General, as a result of the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages (Scotland) Act of 1854. The letters B. D. and M. indicate Births (or Baptisms), Deaths (or Burials), and Marriages (or Proclamations of Banns) respectively. Numbers indicate separate volumes or books. Note: These records are by no means complete or without damage; consult the Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland (1872) to learn more about the condition of the records.
| OPR and RD Numbers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date Range | Name | Number | Type |
| 1709-1854 | Orphir | 23 | OPR |
| 1855-1971 | Orphir | 23 | RD |
| 1972-2003 | Orphir | 145 | RD |
| 2009 | Orkney Islands, Orphir | 145 | RD |
| 2026 | Orkney Islands Council; Orphir Community Council | ||
(2009: Parishes and Registration Districts of Scotland - Old and New, National Records of Scotland)
Local community councils (2026) are provided as a potential source of additional information for settlements within the original boundaries of the parish. (Source)
Statistics from informal and official censuses
Clouston, Flett, Johnston, Robertson, Sinclair, Slater, Smith, Tait, Wilson, Wishart
Note: Names appearing in research materials, other than censuses. Simple names (First name, surname only) have been omitted unless they appear associated with large properties. All women's names, and men's names with occupations, military ranks, or peerage titles are included.
By the Reverend Mr Liddell, Minister.
"There are in this parish 96 farmers, 46 crofters and cottagers, 5 wrights, 6 shoemakers, 6 weavers, 5 tailors, 6 masons, 1 smith, 3 millers, 1 merchant retailer, 1 piper, 2 fiddlers, and 1 Jack of all trades. This last is the kirk-officer, who serves the parish in the different capacities of beadle, sexton, cooper, slater, plasterer, boat-beater, gardener, kelper, mason, quarryman, labourer, thatcher, and farmer, and the most fortunate begetter of boys of any in the parish, for his wife bore him 3 at one birth, and most of his children are boys."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)
Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 19, p. 394
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 15, Section III, p. 13
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
