Inner Holm of Skaw
a small, uninhabited islet off the northern tip of the island of Whalsay, in the Shetland Islands
The Inner Holm of Skaw is a small, uninhabited islet off the northern tip of the island of Whalsay, in the Shetland Islands of Scotland, north of the village of Skaw.
Location
A kayaker may find their way through the rocks between the islet and the headland of Skaw Taing on Whalsay.
Further out to sea there is another rocky islet, the Outer Holm of Skaw.
The islet has a ruined chapel.
In 1955 a pair of Sandwich terns nested on the islet.
“Inner Holm of Skaw” enters the record as a small, uninhabited islet off the northern tip of the island of Whalsay, in the Shetland Islands. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Inner, Holm and Skaw can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Inner Holm of Skaw” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Inner, Holm and Skaw provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q15228704. Authority coordinates are 60.387, -0.913. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1955.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Inner Holm of Skaw”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Inner Holm of Skaw primary sources, Inner Holm of Skaw archive and Inner research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Inner Holm of Skaw”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Inner Holm of Skaw” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.