Deerness facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Deerness
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 Brough of Deerness showing the remains of the chapel |
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 Deerness
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| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
Deerness is a beautiful peninsula located in Mainland, Orkney, Scotland. It's about 13.5 kilometers (8.4 miles) southeast of Kirkwall, a main town in Orkney. Deerness is part of a larger area called St. Andrews and Deerness.
This area has a local shop, a post office, and a community center. You can also find the Deerness Distillery here. Deerness is connected to the rest of the Orkney Mainland by a narrow strip of land called an isthmus, known as Dingieshowe.
The parish of Deerness includes the peninsula itself and some nearby small islands. These islands are Copinsay, the Horse of Copinsay, and Corn Holm. At the northeastern tip of the peninsula, you can find the Brough of Deerness. This is where an early Christian monastery once stood. South of the Brough, there's a cool sea-cave called The Gloup. It's about 40 meters (130 feet) long and 25 meters (82 feet) deep.
Contents
The Covenanters' Memorial in Deerness
Remembering a Shipwreck Tragedy
The Covenanters' Memorial in Deerness tells the story of a sad event from history. This monument remembers about 200 covenanters who lost their lives in a shipwreck. These Covenanters were Scottish people who believed strongly in their religion. They were being sent to America as a punishment for their beliefs.
The memorial was mostly paid for by a person named Robert Halliday Gunning. The words on the monument say: "For Christ His Crown Covenant, erected by public subscription Aug. 1888 to the memory of the 200 covenanters who were taken prisoners at Bothwell Bridge, and sentence to transportation for life; but who perished by shipwreck near this spot on 10th December 1679."
The Story of the Shipwreck
A historical record by John Blackadder shares more about this event. The prisoners were put on a ship in Leith Roads, Scotland, in November 1679. They were meant to be taken to America.
The journey was very difficult. The prisoners were kept in cramped conditions below deck. They had very little to drink and were packed together. Many felt sick and struggled to breathe.
After sailing for three weeks, the ship faced a big storm. It dropped anchor near the Orkney islands to wait for the weather to calm down. However, the ship was pushed by the strong winds and hit a rugged shore around ten at night.
The captain and his crew managed to escape the ship. About fifty prisoners also found a way to get off the ship and reach land. But sadly, nearly 200 other prisoners were still trapped below deck. They could not get out and tragically drowned as the ship broke apart. Most of their bodies were later found on the shore and buried by the local people.
Notable People from Deerness
Edwin Muir, a famous writer, was born in Deerness in 1887.
Images for kids
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Covenanters' monument detail
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Covenanters' Memorial, Deerness. A memorial to 200 Covenanters who drowned when their prison ship foundered in a storm.
