OS grid reference HY359138 Country Scotland Post town ORKNEY Local time Sunday 2:49 AM Council area Orkney | Lieutenancy area Orkney Islands Sovereign state United Kingdom Postcode district KW17 Dialling code 01856 Civil parish Firth, Orkney | |
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Weather 7°C, Wind SE at 8 km/h, 94% Humidity | ||
Finstown in the parish of Firth on Mainland, Orkney, Scotland is the third largest settlement on the island. According to travel author Linklater, the homes in Finstown are tidy and well cared for. This settlement is situated along the Bay of Firth, whose fringe is a shallow intertidal mudflat. Finstown is situated at the junction of the A965 and the A966.
Contents
Map of Finstown, Orkney, UK
History
Prehistoric finds have been made in the form of ancient cists, somewhat west of the primary school. Further east towards Kirkwall is the Rennibister Earth House, estimated to be 3000 years old.
Formerly called "Toon o' Firth", the origin of the Finstown name is thought to come from an Irishman named David Phin who came to the area in 1811. A soldier with the 9th Royal Veteran Battalion, he married a Kirkwall girl in 1813. In 1820 he opened an ale house which was called the Toddy Hole by arrangement with John Miller of Millquoy. Four years later they quarrelled and Phin left for Aberdeen, but his name remained. The ale house building is now the site of the Pomona Inn hostelry, after an old name for Mainland Orkney.
Community
Finstown has a post office, Firth Primary School, two pubs (one closed at present), one of which is the Pomona Inn, a shop and a garage. Most of these buildings are situated on the main Stromness to Kirkwall road.