C O N T E X T 1 3 6 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 35 conservation endeavour in Orkney, ranging from the private Hoy Trust to Orkney Council. It was clear that the council was keen to get to grips with conservation issues, and fully supported its conservation and archaeological staff. Even Kirkwall Cathedral is owned by the council. The cathedral’s past major structural issues have been competently managed, with now only a stone-repair problem on its west gable – unsurprising considering the salt loading in that location. Historic Scotland is also very active and focused on the neolithic world heritage site, in conjunction with Orkney Council, and the later ruined monuments such as the Bishop’s Palace. Private owners at Melsetter and the individual owners of croft houses at Rackwick face a wider range of issues. With the former comes the usual range of financial headaches and the need for constant maintenance. There is enormous potential for more visitors but at present this conflicts with privacy requirements and the very essence of tranquillity. The chapel in particular would be incapable of accommodating large numbers without losing this essential component imbued by its function and enhanced by the arts-andcrafts stained glass. Rackwick poses the most prominent conservation issues. It is owned by the Hoy Trust, which has done sterling work to accommodate visitors, both at Rackwick itself, including toilets and a museum (a partly furnished croft), a bothy for campers and a heritage centre at a nearby chapel. Various attempts have been made to ensure its future, including liaison with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (land management) and invitations to farm issued in the 1970s, which resulted in limited long-term viability. There remains, however, a conflict between privacy required by occupation of the croft houses, even for holiday lets. Under-occupation of these generates damp and maintenance problems in the winter. Alterations of the plan form for modern occupation and the need for a privacy never before required are conservation issues. Boundaries are few around the holdings, as grazing was probably largely communal, and visitors roam freely. This has prompted one or two occupiers to erect fences, contrary to the whole ethos of crofts scattered across a hillside, their residents engaged in communal farming reminiscent of their earlier forbears.While on the whole the crofts are not gentrified, one or two have suffered the indignity of modern joinery and the potential for domestic external paraphernalia is a concern. The question is how to maintain this important grouping, and yet ensure its viability for present and future generations? Will the designation of a conservation area help or hinder? It is the archetypal conservation dilemma for any rural conservation professional – how to conserve the very essence of what was an organically grown settlement over a long period of time without stultifying and deadening it. How will it be possible to preserve a unique record of simplicity, scenic beauty, and harsh economic and social conditions, yet ensure viability for a different way of life? Morag MacInnes hinted that the Stromness townscape heritage initiative had created similar dilemmas. The bothy has sadly been internally abused, while the excellent building museum has escaped this fate, doubtless due to its remote location at the top of a hill, giving limited accessibility to all but the most intrepid and so at odds with its function. That is probably the reason why it retained essential features. Kirkwall, by comparison, is swamped by cruise ship visitors anxious to soak up the ancient culture. But here the vast cathedral, Bishop’s Palace and shops can absorb them. Indeed, the latter are dependent on this summer trade. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Kirkwall is how to conserve and highlight the former townhouses, the product of a boom in around 1800 in kelp used for glassmaking, and now lost in the shopping streets or in rear courtyards. The elegance of Georgian Kirkwall is a hidden heritage. How to bring the sagas to life for visitors is surely The Burnmouth bothy at Rackwick has a heather thatched roof weighted with stones (Photo: Liz Blood)
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