Bruce wrote: > The old, ruinous, three-storied manse on Stronsay - its near Whitehall > Farm and is the largest building on the island - has now been bought by > a young family who have lived on Stronsay for about 13 years. They have > been unsuccessful in their search to ascertain when the manse was built > and I was wondering whether anyone had any ideas. The latest date in the > archives so far is around 1858 when the minister was asking the > presbytery to carry out repairs to rotten window-frames in the servant's > quarters. Would the manse have been built at the same time as the former parish church? If so, the Statistical Account of 1834-45 gives 1821 as the date of construction of the church. I also came across the following which is taken from "A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland" (1846): "The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of North Isles and synod of Orkney; patron, the Earl of Zetland. The minister's stipend is £210, including £10 for communion elements; with a manse, and a glebe valued at £14.10. per annum. There are two churches; the church at Stronsay, erected in 1821, is a neat structure containing 500 sittings, and that of Eday, erected in 1816, contains 300. Divine service was formerly performed at each, on fixed Sabbaths, by the minister of the parish, who resides at Stronsay; but in 1834 a missionary was appointed by the General Assembly, with a stipend of £50, to officiate at Eday, where he has a manse, erected by subscription. There are also places of worship for members of the United Secession at Stronsay and Eday, and at the former a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists." http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=43482#s2 Does the picture on this page show the manse that you're referring to, Bruce? http://www.orkneylibrary.org.uk/photogallery/gallery46.htm Norman Tulloch