- Housay
Infobox Scottish island |
latitude=60.424
longitude=-0.764
GridReference=HU680717
celtic name=
norse name=Húsey
meaning of name=House Island
area= 163 ha
area rank= 120
highest elevation= 53 m
Population=50
population rank= 55
main settlement=
island group=Shetland
local authority=Shetland Islands
references= [2001 UK Census perList of islands of Scotland ] cite book| author=Haswell-Smith, Hamish| date=2004| title=The Scottish Islands| location=Edinburgh| publisher=Canongate| isbn=1-84195-454-3] [ [http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/ Ordnance Survey] ]Housay, also known as West Isle [Haswell-Smith, Hamish. (2004) "The Scottish Islands". Edinburgh. Canongate.] , is one of the three islands that form the
Out Skerries island group, the most easternly part of theShetland Isles . It has a population of approximately 45 people.Geography and geology
Housay has the most complex geology of the Out Skerries, with
granite in Mio Ness in the far south west,limestone on the south coast, and large concentrations ofgneiss andschist . [Haswell-Smith, Hamish. (2004) "The Scottish Islands". Edinburgh. Canongate.]The island of Housay consists of several thin headlands, with the biggest pointing to the south west, and over a mile long. To the north, another headland extends, and then turns towards the south west, running parallel to the biggest one, and separated by West Voe.
The island is surrounded by a number of stacks including the Hevda Stacks in the north and the Stack a Mooth & Stack a Pillar in the south. There are also some
sea cave s in the south, and Da Steig, which connects the island to Mio Ness is a collapsed one.It is separated from
Bruray by North Mouth and South Mouth.The island occasionally suffers from water shortages. There is little
peat on the Out Skerries, so the residents have been granted rights to cut in onWhalsay .Haswell-Smith, Hamish. (2004) "The Scottish Islands". Edinburgh. Canongate.]History
The large number of Norse placenames suggest that it has been inhabited since at least then, if not earlier.
The island's population peaked in 1891 with nearly ninety people, now it is approximately half that. 45 people were recorded in 1991. [Haswell-Smith, Hamish. (2004) "The Scottish Islands". Edinburgh. Canongate.]
Infrastructure
The post office, one of Skerries two shops, the church and the public hall are located here.
The Skerries Bridge was built in 1957 to provide a fixed link from Bruray to the neighbouring and larger island of Housay.
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
