The view from the house was of such importance, that part of Balfour village was demolished to improve the outlook. David Balfour was famed for his agricultural improvements in Shapinsay. His ‘squaring of the land’ led to a greater amount of produce: both livestock and crops. The orderly grid layout of the fields is still visible today from the ferry.
Prior to Cliffdale, the house here was called ‘Sound’ which was set alight in 1746 by Hanoverian forces, to punish its Jacobite owner James Fea after the Battle of Culloden. An ornate stone archway in the grounds of Balfour Castle is one of the few remnants of the original house of Sound.
Balfour Castle is now a private home, not open to the public.
Balfour Castle and Balfour Castle gatehouse © Aerial Vision Orkney
Balfour Castle, Shapinsay © Orkney Library & Archives
By Thomas C Hall and Robbie Dennison
