Finstown

{{Infobox UK place

|country = Scotland

|static_image_name= View of Finstown from HY3615 - geograph.org.uk - 235398.jpg

|static_image_caption= A view of Finstown from across The Ouse, a tidal inlet

|coordinates = {{coord|59.007|-3.116|display=inline,title}}

|official_name= Finstown

|population = {{Scottish locality populations|name|POP=Finstown}}

|population_ref = ({{United Kingdom statistics year|ScotSettlement}}){{Scotland settlement population citation}}

|civil_parish= Firth

|unitary_scotland= Orkney Islands

|lieutenancy_scotland= Orkney Islands

|constituency_westminster= Orkney and Shetland

|constituency_scottish_parliament= Orkney

|historic_county=

|post_town= ORKNEY

|postcode_district = KW17

|postcode_area= KW

|dial_code= 01856

|os_grid_reference= HY359138

}}

Finstown ({{IPAc-en|local|ˈ|f|ɪ|n|s|t|ʊ|n}}) is a village in the parish of Firth{{cite web|url=http://www.scottish-places.info/towns/towndetails4712.html|title=Details of Finstown|publisher=Gazetteer for Scotland|access-date=1 January 2015}} on Mainland, Orkney, Scotland. It is the fourth-largest settlement in the Orkney Islands.

According to travel author Eric Linklater, the homes in Finstown are tidy and well cared for.{{cite book|first=Eric|last=Linklater|year=1965|title=Orkney and Shetland: an historical, geographical, social, and scenic survey|page=122}} This settlement is situated along the Bay of Firth, whose fringe is a shallow intertidal mudflat.{{cite web|first=C. Michael|last=Hogan|year=2007|url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/535543|title=HY3613 : Beach and mudflats at Finstown Centre waterfront, Mainland Orkney|publisher=Geograph Britain and Ireland/United Kingdom Ordnance Survey}} The village is situated at the junction of the A965 and the A966.{{cite web|url=http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=A965|title=A965|publisher=Sabre|access-date=1 January 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=A966|title=A966|publisher=Sabre|access-date=1 January 2015}} In 2011 it has a population of 440.{{cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/php/uk-scotland.php?cityid=S19001523|title=Finstown|publisher=City population|access-date=7 February 2019}}

History

Prehistoric finds have been made in the form of ancient cists, somewhat west of the primary school.{{cite book|publisher=Society of Antiquaries of Scotland|year=1981|title=Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland|page=58}} Further east towards Kirkwall is the Rennibister Earth House, estimated to be 3000 years old.

Image:Finstowngala.jpg]]

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 woman 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.

The former Liberal Party leader Jo Grimond is buried in Finstown.

Community

Finstown has a post office, Firth Primary School, a pub called the Pomona Inn (due to open for business again on 30 August 2024), a shop and a garage. Most of these buildings are situated on the main Stromness to Kirkwall road.

References

External links

[http://www.visitscotland.com/info/towns-villages/finstown-p244221 Visit Scotland - Finstown, Orkney]
[http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/westmainland/finstown/ Undiscovered Scotland - Finstown]

Category:Villages on Mainland, Orkney