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St John's Church, remains of, Norwick, Unst

A Scheduled Monument in North Isles, Shetland Islands

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Coordinates

Latitude: 60.8046 / 60°48'16"N

Longitude: -0.8042 / 0°48'15"W

OS Eastings: 465171

OS Northings: 1214112

OS Grid: HP651141

Mapcode National: GBR S0C5.VF0

Mapcode Global: XHF6Z.YPZD

Entry Name: St John's Church, remains of, Norwick, Unst

Scheduled Date: 23 March 1998

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Source ID: SM7636

Schedule Class: Cultural

Category: Ecclesiastical: church

Location: Unst

County: Shetland Islands

Electoral Ward: North Isles

Traditional County: Shetland

Description

The monument comprises the remains of St John's Church, Norwick which tradition holds to lie over the site of an Iron Age broch.

The only visible remains are the turf-covered footings of the walls of the nave, the chancel having been obscured by a later memorial. The nave measures about 8.2m by 4.1m internally, and the chancel 5.2m by 2.8m. The N wall of the nave has a very slight outward bow. There is no trace of the supposed broch, but the whole churchyard stands on a large mound which may contain earlier remains.

The area to be scheduled consists of the footings of the church, the area within it and an area outside extending 1m out from the walls, giving maximum dimensions of 17m ENE-WSW by 8m. Excluded from scheduling are the War Memorial and two headstones which lie within the remains of the church.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as the remains of a simple pre-Reformation parish church, with the potential to provide information about medieval church architecture and parish organisation. It was probably constructed at about the time that Shetland was passing from Danish to Scottish rule.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as HP 61 SE 1.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

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