Shapinsay is an island and parish in the North Isles of Orkney. It lies 1 mile north-north-east of the nearest part of Pomona (the mainland of Orkney), 3¼ miles south by west of Eday, and 4¾ west of the most southerly part of Stronsay. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).
Balfour, Shapinsay
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
The church of Shapinsay was dedicated to St Mary. At Linton, within this parish, are the ruins of a chapel of St Katherine.
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 |
| 1632-1854 | Shapinsay | 28 | OPR |
| 1855-1971 | Shapinsay | 28 | RD |
| 1972-2003 | Shapinsay | 137 | RD |
| 2009 | Orkney Islands, Shapinsay | 137 | RD |
| 2026 | Orkney Islands Council; Shapinsay 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
Hepburn, Hutchison, Irvine, Mitchell, Nicolson, Reid, Shearer, Scott, Sinclair, Work
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 George Barry.
"As there is plenty of excellent peat in the parish, as the air is wholesome, and food is in tolerable abundance, the people live long; and, what is of far more consequence, they are, even at an advanced age, both vigorous and healthy. In proof of this, we may observe, that there are several above 90, some of whom work every day in boats and other ways; and that last harvest, which was no less long than rainy, some that were between 80 and 90 years of age, were employed constantly in the laborious task of shearing."
(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 17, p. 224
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 15, Section III, p. 79
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
