West Burra
One of the Scalloway Islands in Shetland, Scotland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
West Burra (Shaetlan pronunciation: ['wast ˌbɔrə] ⓘ WAST BURR-ə) is one of the Scalloway Islands, a subgroup of the Shetland Islands in Scotland. It is the largest island in the Scalloway Islands. There are several prehistoric sites on the island.
| Location | |
|---|---|
  West Burra West Burra shown within Shetland | |
| OS grid reference | HU368324 |
| Coordinates | 60.06°N 1.36°W |
| Name | |
| Name meaning | west broch island? |
| Old Norse name | Barrey |
| Physical geography | |
| Island group | Shetland |
| Area | 743 ha (2+7⁄8 sq mi) |
| Area rank | 62 [1] |
Highest elevation | 65 m (213 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Council area | Shetland Islands |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 772[2] |
| Population rank | 17 [1] |
| Population density | 104/km2 (270/sq mi)[2][3] |
Largest settlement | Hamnavoe |
| References | [3][4][5] |
Geography
West Burra is to the west of the main Shetland island. The island is 18 kilometers (11 mi) in length and has an average width of 2 kilometers (1.2 mi). The Hill of Sandwick is the highest point of the island at 65 meters (213 ft).[6] West Burra is the largest island in the Scalloway Islands.[7]
A blanket bog was laid down around 1400 BC.[6]
History
A survey by Gordon Parry in 1977[8] reported that there were three prehistoric sites per square kilometre on West Burra.[6] Roundhouses were first constructed in the area between 700–500 BC.[9]
The form used in the Orkneyinga saga is "Barrey".[5] Collins Encyclopedia of Scotland suggests that Burra is a corruption of Borgarey meaning "island of the broch".[10] The place name Brough lends some support to this case and a nearby hillock may have been a broch from which stones were removed to build the pier at Scalloway.[11]
The name Papil in the south of West Burra is a Norse reference to the Papar. This name can be found in the form Papyli in several locations in Iceland. However, it is not just Papil's etymology that suggests the site of an early church, confirmation has been found in the form of the "Monk's Stone", which was dug up in Papil and which is now in the Shetland Museum.[10]
Infrastructure
Population
Notable people from West Burra
- Thomas Fraser, a Country and Western musician who was born at Outterabrake and lived much of his life at Setter.[14]
