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The Manse is a Neolithic chambered cairn located 330 metres west-north-west of Eday in Orkney, Scotland. The monument stands on bedrock of Middle Old Red Sandstone, comprising conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone deposited during the Middle Devonian period. This distinctive local geology would have been visible in the landscape when Neolithic communities constructed the cairn, roughly five thousand years ago, though the builders themselves worked primarily with stone and turf in their construction methods.
Chambered cairns of this type served as communal burial monuments and were built across Orkney during the Neolithic period. They typically comprise a central chamber or series of chambers accessed by a passage, all covered by an earthen and stone mound. The Manse example represents the characteristic Orcadian approach to monumental architecture, adapted to the archipelago's treeless landscape and abundant stone resources.
The site is now associated with ecclesiastical use, as evidenced by the church located nearby. This later religious use of the landscape reflects the continuity of sacred or significant places through the millennia following the cairn's construction. The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1252, recognising its importance to the archaeological and cultural heritage of Orkney.
The Manse, chambered cairn and church 330m WNW of, Eday is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1252. View the official record →
The Manse is a Neolithic chambered cairn located 330 metres west-north-west of Eday in Orkney, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1252.
The Manse, chambered cairn and church 330m WNW of, Eday dates from the neolithic period, and is classified as a chambered cairn and church 330m wnw of, eday. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
The Manse, chambered cairn and church 330m WNW of, Eday is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM1252.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Sandhill, chambered cairn 300m W of, Eday (0.6 km), Burn of Mussetter,standing stone on E side of (0.7 km), Sandhill, burnt mound 200m SE of (0.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of The Manse, chambered cairn and church 330m WNW of, Eday's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
The Manse, chambered cairn and church 330m WNW of, Eday stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.