Most visitors to Westray either come from Kirkwall with their car via the ferry, some fly in and many take the bus from the Rapness Pier. As I have said before it only takes a few minutes to drive from the ferry terminal up to Pierowall village and inevitably the first place they stop will be in the car park at the Pierowall Hotel. The view towards Papa Westray (known locally as Papay), given that it is sunny and no mist about, looks out over Pierowall Bay.
Back during the first World War the bay was host to some flying boats from RNAS Stenness, but that is a tale, with photographs for another post, not just now. Please be patient, it’s worth the wait.
Next door to the Pierowall Hotel, behind a lovely small garden, can be found the Westray Gallery.
The Gallery is situated in what I am told was known as the Co-op Square, seen below in a photograph taken in the early 20th century, with a magnificent large format brass bound bellows camera, which can be seen in Archive Room in the Heritage Centre next door to the hotel.
The Gallery building has a long history, it being an add-on to Pierowall House, which was home to the island’s general merchant and Co-operative Store. The original shop, seen above, was in the rooms behind the doorway which has a notice above it, with an extension jutting out to the front as seen to the left in the picture.
R. H. Robertson was a photographer here in Westray during the early 20th century and during that time he was the manager of the grocery store. His original glass negatives are in the Archives at the Library in Kirkwall. I’ll write more of him at a later date.
The shop was in use for many years and then lay empty for a while, but after the Westray Conference in 1998 Sandy and Willie McEwen completely renovated the rooms and turned the ground floor into an artist’s studio with living accommodation above. This proved very far sighted and is a great asset to the isle. Several successful exhibitions were held by both local and visiting artists, but the time came when Sandy and Willie had other projects to do, including the huge task of bringing back to life the West Manse on the West Side of Westray. This was a monumental piece of work which has ended with a magnificent transformation of the old near derelict property, and that deserves discussion at some other time.
Peter Brown, an artist from Whaley Bridge (near Buxton), moved into the premises and has run the Gallery very successfully since 2004. If you can manage to visit Westray it will be your pleasure to have a chat with him. By a strange coincidence, from 1975-1988 I lived in Whaley Bridge on the other side of the valley overlooking where Peter was to stay a few years later. I moved here in 1995.
The gallery is a small haven of beauty, peace and quiet. Peter’s exquisite paintings evocative of Westray’s landscape: blues and greens with perhaps a dash of contrasting colour, echoing the moods of the sea, sky and general feeling of well-being here on the island. Peter’s sculptures also feature in the gallery, made from found objects from the shorelines. It takes a lot of talent to produce artworks of this quality.
The aim of The Gallery is to present ongoing exhibitions of contemporary paintings, prints and artworks by Peter in an inviting and stimulating setting. He has paintings, drawings, photographs and prints for sale. Also on show is work by guest artists.
Visit the website at www.westrayartgallery.co.uk
The gallery appears in two books produced by the Heritage Centre and are both full of historical information. Please contact them if you wish to buy a copy of one or both. The blue cover is the newest version of Quoy tae Castle mentioned in an earlier post.
I have decided to include different poets in future. This poem comes to mind as I wander about the island… My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky: So was it when my life began, So is it now I am a man, So be it when I shall grow old Or let me die! The child is father of the man: And I could wish my days to be Bound each to each by natural piety. William Wordsworth
My apologies if I have written something that is incorrect, I have checked my facts where possible but someone likely knows better than I.