Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Churchill Barriers get listed status

Post Thumbnail

Two of Orkney’s famous Churchill Barriers have been listed by Historic Environment Scotland for the first time.

The barriers were constructed during World War Two as a defensive measure to prevent enemy ships and submarines from entering Scapa Flow, which housed the bulk of Britain’s fleet at the time.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered their construction in response to the sinking of the HMS Royal Oak in Scapa Bay in October 1939 by a German submarine, which was able to evade the ineffective submarine defences in place at the time.

The solid causeways prevented access from the east into the four channels leading to Scapa Flow. Today the barriers provide a vital road link from the Orkney mainland to South Ronaldsay.

There are four barriers in total, two of which will be listed at Category A – the highest status for listing.

This means that they are recognised as being of national or international importance. Only around 8% of Scotland’s 47,000 listed buildings are recognised at this category.

Elizabeth McCrone, head of designations at Historic Environment Scotland, said: “Travelling through Orkney now, it’s hard to imagine the islands as they were in late 1939, as a bustling naval base, living in constant fear of German U-boats getting past the inadequate block ship and net defences. It must have come as some relief when Winston Churchill gave the order to construct the barriers.

“The listing recognises their fascinating history and will help to keep the features which make them a unique and significant part of the island’s history, while still ensuring that they continue to be a vital transport link between the islands.”

Following a period of consultation and assessment, barriers Three and Four are now listed.

Because of longstanding development proposals affecting primarily Barriers 1 and 2, Historic Environment Scotland did not consider it appropriate to list these two structures at this time.

James Stockan, chairman of Orkney Islands Council’s Development and Infrastructure Committee, said: “The Churchill Barriers are as important today as when they were first built, providing lifeline links between three of our inhabited islands.

“Barriers 1 and 2 are, of course, equally important. It is welcome that we have time to explore interest among developers in the two Barriers forming part of a tidal energy generation project, along with ways to address wave overtopping during severe winter weather.”