KIRK OF NESS, North Yell.
This church is at the north-east angle of Yell, near the base of the ness bounding Cullavoe. The land is flat hereabouts, and near the sea level.
It is the most complete of the old churches of Shetland, and is said to have been dedicated to Olave or Olaf, the great warrior saint of the North. It is enclosed in a walled yard about 110 feet by 100 feet. ([Fig. 120.])
It consists of nave and chancel, with bell-cot on the west gable, and lies nearly true east and west. The roof is gone, but the church was used down to 1750. ([Fig. 121.])
Fig. 120.—Kirk of Ness. Plan.
The material is the grey stone of the district, placed at random, some of the blocks being very large, and the interstices filled with small stones.
The nave is 20 feet 5 inches by 14 feet 10 inches inside. ([Fig. 122.]) The west end is 3 feet 6 inches or 3 feet 8 inches thick; the north and south walls about 3 feet 3 inches. The side walls are 11 feet 10 inches or 12 feet high from the floor. In the west end is a square-headed doorway,
Fig. 121.—Kirk of Ness. View from South-East.
2 feet 7 inches wide and 5 feet 4 inches high externally, with rectangular jambs rebated for a door. ([Fig. 123.]) The interior width is 3 feet 5 inches. The internal head is also square. Holes for the insertion of a wooden bar for securing the door remain in the north and south jambs. In the south wall, and
Fig. 122.—Kirk of Ness. Plan.
close to the west end of it, is another square-headed doorway, externally 1 foot 9 inches wide, and 5 feet 9 inches high, with internal head square as of west doorway, and bar-holes as before. ([Fig. 124.]) In the north wall is a square-headed window, of which the west side and the top are gone, owing to the west portion of the north wall having fallen down. This window is nearer the west than the east angle of the nave. In the south wall ([Fig. 125]) is a square-headed window, 3 feet by 1 foot 1 inch externally, splayed inwards to 3 feet 4 inches by 2 feet 2 inches. The external angles of the jambs are not chamfered, nor are there grooves or rebates for glass. (See account of Egilsey.) The top of the sill is 7 inches above the level of the impost of the chancel arch. This window is nearer the east than the west angle of the nave, and its position shows that the south door is original. At 9 feet above the top of the west
Fig. 123.—Kirk of Ness. East and West Walls and Chancel Arch.
doorway (inside) is a square-headed window (see [Fig. 123.]), 3 feet by 1 foot 1 inch externally, splayed inward to 3 feet 2 inches by 2 feet 3 inches. At 2 feet 2 inches above this (outside) is another opening, 2 feet 4 inches wide, for a bell. The west face of the bell-cot is 7 feet 10 inches wide. The top is gone, but about 2 feet 3 inches in height of the jambs remain. The jambs are parallel both ways, and about 1 foot 6 inches thick from east to west. The ridge of the roof was about 3 feet higher than the bottom of the opening for the bell, and whether this opening originally came through to the inside of the church is doubtful. Possibly this bell-cot is not original. The ridge of the roof was about 24 feet 7 inches above the floor under the chancel arch.
The chancel is 13 feet by 11 feet 3 inches inside. The north and south walls are 3 feet 2 inches, and the east one 3 feet 6 inches thick. The chancel arch ([Figs. 123] and [126]) has no projecting jambs, but springs from
Fig. 124.—Kirk of Ness. North and South Elevations.
the chancel walls at 5 feet 7 inches above the floor, and the feet of the arch are set 3 inches back on the jambs at the impost, as at Wyre and Linton in Orkney. (See account of church on Brough of Birsay.) The spring is 3 inches higher on the south than on the north. There is no cap. The arch is semicircular, and consists of one rectangular order 3 feet thick. The stones of the arch average 1 foot 6 inches in length, but are thin. The top of the gable is 19 feet above the impost. The abutments of this arch were not sufficient, and the nave and chancel walls have spread, and a considerable fissure has taken place at the crown of the arch. In the north wall, at the east corner, is a square-headed window, 2 feet by 1 foot externally, splayed inward to 2 feet 5 inches by 2 feet. In the south wall, exactly opposite this window, is a similar one, 1 foot 7 inches by 1 foot. (See Figs. [124] and [125].) The top of the external opening of this window is 7 inches below the south impost of the chancel arch. The top of the window on the north is 3 inches lower than on the south—the same difference as in the two springs of the chancel arch. In the west angle of the nave and chancel is a similar window, 1 foot 9 inches
Fig. 125.—Kirk of Ness.
by 1 foot externally, and splayed as the others. This is at a trifle higher level than the last mentioned window.
Between these two windows on the south is a sedile (see [Fig. 125.]), 4 feet 7 inches high by 2 feet 1 inch wide, and 1 foot 8 inches deep, with a segmental head. The bottom is 1 foot 8 inches above the floor. It is evident that there was no step in the chancel, and no step at the altar.
On the north side, a little west of the window, is a square-headed recess (see [Fig. 125.]), 3 feet 4½ inches by 2 feet, and 1 foot 11 inches recessed—probably an ambry, possibly an eastern sepulchre.
In the east gable, at 8 feet 9 inches above the level of the impost of the chancel arch, is a window about 1 foot 3 inches by 11 inches, splayed inward. The top of the gable is now 16 feet 9 inches above the level of the impost of chancel arch, but was originally a little higher—probably about 23 feet—above the level of the floor at the chancel arch.
What is the date of this church? The chancel is larger than of any of the churches described, and has a sedile and, perhaps, Easter sepulchre. The chancel arch resembles Egilsey, but is not part of a vault. It has
Fig. 126.—Kirk of Ness. View of Chancel Arch.
the peculiarity at the impost. The doors and windows are flat-headed. The former have rebates, which is not the primitive form, though Egilsey has them—the latter have the early form of jambs. Taking all the points, it may be assigned with probability to the fourteenth century.
The interior length of the nave is equal to the diagonal of the square of the width. The length of the chancel is that of an equilateral triangle on the east end of the nave. The height of chancel walls is equal to the width of the chancel.
According to Mr. Irvine there was, a few years ago, a rude cross gravestone here, like those at Uya.
A bell, which in 1856 was lying on the shore at Cullyavoe, once hung at this church. It is said to have been obtained from a wrecked ship, but is evidently a church bell. It has an inscription in Dutch, and the date 1694. The late Mr. Irvine of Midbrigg had a small bell, said to have come from this church. It had no inscription.
Since 1856 the chancel arch and gable over it have fallen.
The church was surrounded with an enclosing wall.