Longhope, Orkney facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Longhope |
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 Hackness Martello Tower and Battery, one of a pair on each side of Longhope, built in 1814 |
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 Longhope
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| OS grid reference | ND302907 |
| Civil parish | |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | STROMNESS |
| Postcode district | KW16 |
| Dialling code | 01856 |
| Police | Northern |
| Fire | Highlands and Islands |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament |
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| Scottish Parliament |
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Longhope is a small town located by the sea on South Walls island in Orkney, Scotland. South Walls is connected to Hoy island by a special road called a causeway. Longhope is the biggest town on both these islands. You can find it along the B9047, which is the main road on Hoy and South Walls.
Longhope's Past: A Look at History
Longhope has an interesting past, especially when it comes to defending the area. It was once home to a special gun battery and has a long history with brave lifeboat crews.
Hackness Gun Battery: Protecting the Coast
Near Longhope, a place called Hackness Gun Battery was built. This was a type of coastal artillery battery. Its job was to protect ships sailing in convoys (groups of ships traveling together) from enemy attacks.
The battery was built between 1813 and 1815. This was because people were worried about American privateers. Privateers were like private ships given permission to attack enemy ships during wartime.
Hackness Battery was one of only three martello towers in Scotland. These towers were strong, round forts designed to defend coastlines. The other two were across the bay at Crockness and in Leith.
Originally, the battery had eight large 24-pounder guns. Later, in 1866, these were replaced with four even bigger 68-pounder guns. This update happened because of new concerns about a group called Fenians, who were based in America.
Even with all these powerful guns, none of them were ever fired in a real battle. Today, you can still see the remains of the battery. They are open for people to visit and learn about its history.
Longhope Lifeboat Station: Heroes of the Sea
A RNLI lifeboat station has been in Longhope since 1874. The RNLI is a charity that saves lives at sea. The old lifeboat house is now a museum. You can see a former Longhope lifeboat, the Thomas McCunn, on display there.
On March 17, 1969, the station faced one of the worst tragedies in British lifeboat history. Their 47-foot wooden lifeboat, named T.G.B., capsized. All eight crew members sadly lost their lives. This happened while they were responding to a distress call from a cargo ship called Irene during a very strong gale.
Investigators believed an unusually large wave, in what they called "maelstrom conditions" (meaning very wild and confused seas), caused the boat to flip over. After this sad event, new lifeboats were designed that could right themselves if they capsized.
The T.G.B. lifeboat itself was later recovered, fixed, and sent to another station. It is now on display at the Scottish Maritime Museum. As of 2004, the Longhope station has received 26 awards for bravery, showing the courage of its crews over the years.
