Covid Recovery Fund Case Study 2023-2024: Orkney Heritage Society

A total of 46 people were interviewed for the St Magnus Cathedral Memories and Meanings Project. This was slightly short of our target of 50. Conducting and recording the interviews were only a small part of the project and a great deal of voluntary time was spent doing summaries of the interviews, then compiling them for a publication and proof reading. Arrangements also had to be made to store the recordings in Orkney Library and Archive to make them available to the public. Discussions took place with The Orcadian for the production of a publication of the summaries. We were delighted that Lord Wallace of Tankerness agreed to write a Foreword to the publication.

This project provides a valuable resource for the public on what St Magnus Cathedral means to local people and preserves many stories about the building. It will hopefully encourage others, including visitors, to consider their relationship with the building and perhaps appreciate its qualities even more.

The project has reached people in the community by highlighting the importance and impact of St Magnus Cathedral on the community in the islands and, indeed, further afield. The recordings will be available for the public and the content within those will benefit people from different areas of interest – both in cultural understanding and stimulating other creative pursuits related to the history of Orkney over many centuries.