Each building belonged to a different branch of the presbyterian church. The church on the left is the “Established Church” or “Old Kirk.” After the Disruption the congregation of this church was the smallest of Rousay’s three churches. This was due to the popular minister Rev George Ritchie taking most of his congregation to the new Free Church in Sourin in the northeast of Rousay.
The church on the right was the Rousay United Secession Church (which later became the United Presbyterian). This was originally an offshoot of the Kirkwall congregation. The church was built in 1834.
