Editing Stromness (section)

==Town==
A long-established seaport, Stromness has a population of approximately 2,500 residents. The old town is clustered along the characterful and winding main street, flanked by houses and shops built from local stone, with narrow lanes and alleys branching off it.

First recorded as the site of an inn in the sixteenth century, Stromness became important during the late seventeenth century, when [[Great Britain]] was at war with [[France]] and shipping was forced to avoid the [[English Channel]]. Ships of the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] were regular visitors, as were [[whaling]] fleets. Large numbers of [[Orkney]]men, many of whom came from the Stromness area, served as traders, explorers and seamen for both. [[James Cook|Captain Cook]]'s ships, [[HMS Discovery (1774)|''Discovery'']] and [[HMS Resolution (1771)|''Resolution'']], called at the town in 1780 on their return voyage from the [[Hawaiian Islands]], where Captain Cook had been killed.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.orkneyjar.com/orkney/stromness/stromnesshistory.htm |title=The History of Stromness |access-date=23 June 2014 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222203/http://www.orkneyjar.com/orkney/stromness/stromnesshistory.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>A dinner service Captain Cook used on his final voyage is on view at [[Skaill House]], [[Bay of Skaill]], home of 19c. [[Skara Brae]] excavator William Watt, a mansion built by George Graham, Bishop of Orkney 1615-1638, on the site of a farmstead dated to the Norse period.</ref>

[[Stromness Museum]] reflects these aspects of the town's history (displaying for example important collections of [[whaling]] relics, and [[Inuit]] artefacts brought back as souvenirs by local men from [[Greenland]] and [[Arctic Canada]]).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ethnography {{!}} Stromness Museum|url=https://www.stromnessmuseum.org.uk/collections/ethnography|access-date=2021-08-06|website=www.stromnessmuseum.org.uk|archive-date=6 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806010726/https://www.stromnessmuseum.org.uk/collections/ethnography|url-status=live}}</ref>

Stromness harbour was rebuilt to the designs of John Barron in 1893.<ref>{{cite web|author=David Goold |url=http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=100186 |title=Dictionary of Scottish Architects - DSA Architect Biography Report (March 15, 2020, 12:08 am) |publisher=Scottisharchitects.org.uk |access-date=2020-03-14}}</ref>

At Stromness Pierhead is a statue by [[North Ronaldsay]] sculptor Ian Scott, depicting [[John Rae (explorer)|John Rae]] standing erect with an inscription describing him as "the discoverer of the final link in the first navigable Northwest Passage", which was unveiled in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.orcadian.co.uk/2013/09/john-rae-statue-unveiled-at-stromness-pierhead/ |title=John Rae statue unveiled at Stromness Pierhead |publisher= The Orcadian Online |access-date=2016-02-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304051823/http://www.orcadian.co.uk/2013/09/john-rae-statue-unveiled-at-stromness-pierhead/ |archive-date=2016-03-04 }}</ref>

The town has two schools, [[Stromness Academy]], a secondary school and [[Stromness Primary School]], a primary school.

[[Stromness Lifeboat Station]] is the town’s lifeboat station, one of three lifeboat stations in Orkney (the others being [[Longhope Lifeboat Station]] and [[Kirkwall Lifeboat Station]]). A lifeboat was first stationed here by the [[Royal National Lifeboat Institution]] (RNLI) in 1867.<ref name="History">{{cite web |title=Stromness' Station history |url=https://rnli.org/find-my-nearest/lifeboat-stations/stromness-lifeboat-station/station-history-stromness |publisher=RNLI |access-date=8 May 2024}}</ref>
Stromness is served by two passenger ferries: the [[MV Hamnavoe]], run by [[Northlink Ferries]], connects the town to [[Scrabster]], and the [[MV Graemsay]], operated by [[Orkney Ferries]], runs to [[Graemsay]] and [[Hoy, Orkney]].