Whome

Village in the Orkney Islands
Human settlement in Scotland
  • Walls and Flotta
Council area
  • Orkney
Lieutenancy area
  • Orkney
CountryScotlandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townSTROMNESSPostcode districtKW16Dialling code01856PoliceScotlandFireScottishAmbulanceScottish UK Parliament
  • Orkney and Shetland
Scottish Parliament
  • Orkney
List of places
UK
Scotland
58°50′N 3°06′W / 58.83°N 3.1°W / 58.83; -3.1

Whome is the largest settlement on the Orkney island of Flotta, Scotland.[1] The village is situated on the B9046, the main road across Flotta.[2][3][4] Views from Whome look across Pan Hope, to the Flotta oil terminal across the bay.[5][6] The B9046 on the outskirts of Whome adjoins to the B9045, leading down to the Flotta ferry terminal.[7]

History

Much of Whome was developed during the 1970-80s, built as council housing, however the settlement takes its name from the nearby centuries-old Whome Farm, the kiln and barn of which became a Category C listed building in 2002.[8][9] It grew following the North Sea oil boom in the 1970s, and much of the social housing in Whome accommodated workers at the Flotta oil terminal during the 1980s.[10]

Facilities

Flotta Community School is located in Whome. The school was mothballed in 2010 due to lack of pupils, but has since reopened.[11][12] The Flotta Community Centre is also located in Whome,[13] which accommodates a cafe, as well as a pub every Saturday night.[14]

The village also has a doctor's surgery. Flotta had its own resident GP, until Dr George Drever died in 2003.[15] Today, a GP travels over to the island every Tuesday and Friday from the Stromness surgery on the Mainland, and a resident practitioner nurse still offers 24 hour medical care on Flotta.[16] The Flotta Heritage Centre is located in Whome,[17] next door to the shop and post office. The shop stopped stocking general groceries on 1 June 2022.[18]

Whome has a playpark, a telephone box, and the Flotta Fire Station, until its closure on 25 October 2012.[19][20]

Bibliography

  • 1st Edition 25" OS Map (CXIX.15), 1881; A Fenton, THE NORTHERN ISLES, 1978; pp375–383; P Newman, KIL, Vernacular Building 18, 1994, pp48–66.
  • Birth Records for Whome, Flotta, 1891[21]

References

  1. ^ "Flotta, Orkney". Holiday Cottages. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  2. ^ "B9046". Sabre. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  3. ^ "Whome in the Orkney Islands". streetmap.co.uk. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Whome Post Code". geographic.org. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Pan Hope". Scottish Places. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Moorland track near Whome". geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Flotta Ferry Terminal, Whome, Flotta". findlatitudeandlongitude.com. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
  8. ^ "Whome Kiln And Barn". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2002.
  9. ^ "Flotta - Whome Kiln And Barn". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 31 January 2002.
  10. ^ "Flotta Terminal" (PDF). Repsol Sinopec. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  11. ^ "Flotta Community School". Flotta Community School. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  12. ^ "Committee recommends partial reopening of Flotta Primary School". Orkney Islands Council. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Flotta Community Centre". Nice Local. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  14. ^ "Flotta: The Flat Island". Lurdy.wordpress. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  15. ^ "Flotta Medical Services". Lurdy.wordpress. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  16. ^ "NHS Orkney services". NHS Orkney. Archived from the original on 2014-08-12. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  17. ^ "Walk of the Week". thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  18. ^ "NHS Orkney services". Flotta: Post Office. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  19. ^ "Minutes of the meeting of Flotta Community Council, 22 October 2012" (PDF). orkney.gov.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-09-08. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  20. ^ "Flotta Fire Station set to close". The Orcadian. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  21. ^ "Transcripts of Births, Marriages and Deaths" (PDF). The Orkney and Shetland America. 20 January 1895 – via Illinois State Library.