My focus in all this historical learning is centred on my own families island of Burra, once known as the Kirk Isle, alternatively Papil Island. The holy church there, at Papil, dedicated to St Lawrence, was one of three churches built by three Viking sisters. The middle sister built the Papil church, the oldest built one at Tingwall, and the younger made hers in Ireland . It was at the Papil church that an ancient carved stone was discovered, used by my Inkster family as a grave cover and said to have 'come from the east'. The rock type is not of Burra, but does match the mainland a few miles away, which indeed is to the east. The interlacing recalls examples also found in Ireland, also common on Manx crosses. A runic inscription has also been found in the Papil church.
Owing to the presence of limestone, the soil of Burra is very fertile, crops ripening there somewhat sooner than on the mainland, although much of the land is moorish and better suited for pasture. As for the sea around, the fishing is excellent, there being the highly productive Burra Haaf inshore fishing grounds, and the island has good beaches on which to dry the catch. A Shetland man was basically, it is said, a 'fisherman who had a farm'. Fishing was a steady employment for the men, but it was still the croft that kept a family securely fed year round and provided all the materials for living, like wool for clothes, day to day utensils, and thatching materials to provide shelter from the elements.
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