Orkney Witchcraft Memorial Project

Orkney’s new memorial to the historic victims of the Orkney witch-trials has been installed in Kirkwall. It was unveiled at the INAUGURATION DAY 9th March 2019.  A day of ceremony, contemplation, reflection and discussion, and the inauguration of the new Memorial.

See our News page or the Project’s Facebook Page for more details on the day’s events.

Find out more about the history of witchcraft trials in Orkney.

For further detail on the memorial project along with links to other resources and images and audio from recent community events including a Creative Day in October 2018 see our Resources page.

Orkney Witchcraft Trials Memorial

The new memorial comprises an inscribed stone at the old execution site at Gallow Ha, at the top of the Clay Loan, Kirkwall, under which is a time capsule containing artwork made by Orkney people in memory of their fellow islanders who were persecuted and executed for witchcraft.
The memorial project was led by the Orkney Heritage Society, with financial and academic support from Orkney Islands Council, Orkney Builders, Orkney Library and Archive, and St Magnus Cathedral. The memorial stone was created by Colin Watson.

Colin Watson with the new memorial stone, prior to installation.

Nobody knows precisely how many people were tried for witchcraft in Orkney, as some records are lost, and some local investigations may not have kept records at all. The folklorist Ernest Marwick, a founding member of the Orkney Heritage Society, dedicated much scholarship to finding and studying the surviving court records from the Orkney witch trials. He reckons with around 70 accused. Edinburgh University’s Survey of Scottish Witchcraft found 72, out of a Scottish total of c. 3800.

Find out more about the history of witchcraft trials in Orkney.

Further detail on the memorial project along with links to other resources and images and audio from recent community events including a Creative Day in October 2018 can be found here.