Finstown in the parish of Firth

Firth, Orkney

Firth is a parish mainly in Mainland, Orkney. The islands of Damsay and Holm of Grimbister, which lie in the Bay of Firth, are also in the parish...

 on Mainland, Orkney is the third largest settlement on the island. According to travel author Linklater, the homes in Finstown are tidy and well cared for. This settlement is situated along the Bay of Firth, whose fringe is a shallow intertidal mudflat

Mudflat

Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats, are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. They are found in sheltered areas such as bays, bayous, lagoons, and estuaries. Mudflats may be viewed geologically as exposed layers of bay mud, resulting from deposition of...

.

History

Prehistoric finds have been made in the form of ancient cist

Cist

A cist from ) is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found across Europe and in the Middle East....

s, somewhat west of the primary school. Further east towards Kirkwall is the Rennibister Earth House

Rennibister Earth House

Rennibister Earth House is located on the main island in the Orkney islands. It is located by the south eastern shore of the Bay o' Firth, in a farm yard and is accessed by a hatch in the roof of the earth house and by a ladder...

, estimated to be 3000 years old.

Landmarks

Finstown has a post office, Firth Primary School, two pubs (one closed at present), a shop and a garage. Most of these buildings are situated on the main Stromness

Stromness

Stromness is the second-biggest town in Orkney, Scotland. It is in the south-west of Mainland Orkney. It is also a parish, with the town of Stromness as its capital.-Etymology:...

 to Kirkwall

Kirkwall

Kirkwall is the biggest town and capital of Orkney, off the coast of northern mainland Scotland. The town is first mentioned in Orkneyinga saga in the year 1046 when it is recorded as the residence of Rögnvald Brusason the Earl of Orkney, who was killed by his uncle Thorfinn the Mighty...

 road.

Name and culture

Formerly called "Toon o' Firth", the origin of the name is thought to come from an Irishman named David Phin who came to the area in 1811. A soldier with the 9th Royal Veteran Battalion, he married a Kirkwall girl in 1813. In 1820 he opened an ale house which was called the 'Toddy Hole' by arrangement with John Miller of Millquoy

Millquoy

Millquoy is a village located outside Finstown, on Mainland, Orkney, by the old mill. The term quoy, meaning waste ground, would seem to refer to the area of ground next to the old mill race, on which the cottages have been built....

. Four years later they quarrelled and Phin left for Aberdeen

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

, but his name remained. Today the hostelry is called the Pomona Inn, after an old name for Mainland Orkney.