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]
| Whome | |
|---|---|
 Whome telephone box in 2007, looking down to the village. | |
  Whome Location within Orkney | |
| Population | 30 |
| OS grid reference | ND352938 |
| Civil parish | |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | STROMNESS |
| Postcode district | KW16 |
| Dialling code | 01856 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
History
editMuch 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
editFlotta 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
edit- 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
edit- ^ "Flotta, Orkney". Holiday Cottages. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ^ "B9046". Sabre. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ "Whome in the Orkney Islands". streetmap.co.uk. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ^ "Whome Post Code". geographic.org. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
- ^ "Pan Hope". Scottish Places. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ^ "Moorland track near Whome". geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ^ "Flotta Ferry Terminal, Whome, Flotta". findlatitudeandlongitude.com. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
- ^ "Whome Kiln And Barn". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2002.
- ^ "Flotta - Whome Kiln And Barn". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 31 January 2002.
- ^ "Flotta Terminal" (PDF). Repsol Sinopec. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ^ "Flotta Community School". Flotta Community School. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
- ^ "Committee recommends partial reopening of Flotta Primary School". Orkney Islands Council. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
- ^ "Flotta Community Centre". Nice Local. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
- ^ "Flotta: The Flat Island". Lurdy.wordpress. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
- ^ "Flotta Medical Services". Lurdy.wordpress. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
- ^ "NHS Orkney services". NHS Orkney. Archived from the original on 2014-08-12. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
- ^ "Walk of the Week". thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- ^ "NHS Orkney services". Flotta: Post Office. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Flotta Fire Station set to close". The Orcadian. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
- ^ "Transcripts of Births, Marriages and Deaths" (PDF). The Orkney and Shetland America. 20 January 1895 – via Illinois State Library.