Old Photograph United Free Church Stromness Orkney Islands Scotland

Old photograph of the United Free Church in Stromness, Orkney Islands, Scotland. First recorded as the site of an inn in the 16th century, Stromness became important during the late 17th century, when England was at war with France and shipping was forced to avoid the English Channel. Ships of the Hudson's Bay Company were regular visitors, as were whaling fleets. Large numbers of Orkneymen, many of whom came from the Stromness area, served as traders, explorers and seamen for both. Captain Cook's ships, Discovery and Resolution, called at the town in 1780 on their return voyage from the South Seas where Cook had been killed. Christianity seems to have come to the peoples of Orkney around the late 6th or early 7th centuries. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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