Earl's Palace, Birsay, Orkney.
To me the story of the man that was behind the building of this palace showed how ruthles the Stewarts were in Scotland, and like all royal families since, don't really care about the ordinary citizens of this land.
I knew a fair bit about this place before visiting, it was buil around 1606 by by one of Orkney's most notorious rulers, Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney. Robert was illegitimate son of James V and his mistress Euphemia Elphinstone, Robert was the half-brother of Mary Queen of Scots. He made his name through his ruthless and despotic establishment of what became virtually a separate kingdom in the Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland.
By 1570 Bishop Bothwell and many others from Orkney were complaining that Robert’s approach amounted to nothing less than tyranny: in effect his using islanders as slave labour on his construction projects , which included this palace. His chief instrument of oppression, especially in Shetland, was his half brother, Laurence Bruce, who he appointed Sheriff of Shetland. In 1575 Robert was imprisoned in Edinburgh. by the Regent for James VI, James Douglas, Earl of Morton: less because of his behaviour towards the islanders than because it came to light that he had offered Orkney to the King of Denmark, an act that amounted to treason. The following year he was also indicted in Edinburgh. for misuse of power in Orkney and Shetland, but never brought to trial..
Instead, Robert was released, and by 1581 engineered the execution of James Douglas, Earl of Morton by convincing his young half nephew, James VI, that Morton had had a hand in the murder of James’ father, Lord Darnley.
On taking back his seat of power further complaints followed about Robert’s treatment of islanders, but he survived to die peacefully in his bed on 4th February 1593. He was succeeded by his, if anything, even less likeable son, Patrick Stewart, 2nd Earl of Orkney. Robert Stewart left an indelible mark on the Northern Isles, both in terms of his impact as a tyrant, and in stone. The considerable ruins of the Earl’s Palace at Birsay still stand, and the ruins of the Palace he built near the southern tip of Shetland’s Mainland now form part of the incredible Jarlshof complex.
You can’t miss the Earl’s Palace as you approach; it dominates the village this once opulent, now ruined residence is still an impressive sight.
After the demise of Patrick Stewart the Palace fell into disrepair. By 1745 the roof had been stripped and sold,, good timber was hard to come by on the island. It has remained roofless since.
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