Carrick House is located at Calf Sound on Eday's North coast. Today the building stands resiliently on the shore, gazing out towards the cliffs of the Red and Grey Heads and contemplating four centuries of habitation.
Built in the 17th Century by the island's first laird, John Stewart, Lord Kinclaven, Carrick has seen a succession of owners. It has experienced dramatic changes to island life and even witnessed the capture of the pirate John Gow, whose boat ran aground on the Calf of Eday.
The current owners, Mr and Mrs Joy, spend each summer at the house and occasionally open it to visitors. Mrs Joy's father, Harry Hebden was the island's last laird. Her Grandfather, Robert Hebden purchased Eday after seeing a newspaper advertisement whilst at his London club in 1856.
The lairds brought with them many changes. Industry, agricultural reform and sometimes social upheaval. Remnants of their endeavors can be seen all around the island , from stone lined kelp pits on parts of the shore, to ruined salt works on the Calf of Eday.
A large part of Eday is peat covered and as well as an invaluable source of fuel for the local populace, this was also a commodity that could be traded with other islands and further afield. The island's peats were renown for their good quality and were called 'inkies', because of their dark colour. During the first part of the 20th Century, The Eday Peat company traded with Scottish Whiskey Distilleries and shipped up to 900 tonnes of peat from the island in a season. The cuttings from this time are easily visible on the hillside at the Red Head and fragments of the rail tracks where buggies carried the peat down to the shore can be seen near the Calf Sound lighthouse. Today there is still a small amount of peat cut each season by local residents for domestic use.
Eday has long been regarded as a potential source of the red stone used in the construction of the St Magnus Cathedral. Although this is quite possible, no obvious red sandstone quarry site has been found on the island. However, on the west coast there is a large freestone quarry that provided building stone both on and off Eday. The cathedral's yellow stone may have come from this source as well as stone for the Earl's Palace in Kirkwall. The quarry was in use up until the 1950's when the great storm of 1953 finally washed away the jetty. Not visible from the road, it has now become something of a hidden gem. The sheer stone walls have created a microclimate, allowing Fuchsia and other shrubs to flourish along with ferns mosses and lichens. On the quarry floor, worked stone peices can be found that failed to make the journey off the island.
All over Eday you will see numerous crofts, some ruinous, others lived in. They all retain a unique character evoked by the type of stone, quality of craftsmanship and adaptations made by a succession of inhabitants over the years. However, many of these dwellings adhere to the simple vernacular styles seen elsewhere in Orkney and some retain features such as grain drying kilns and 'click mill' housings that were once important to the running of a small croft.
More detailed information on crofting life, can be obtained at the Red House Croft Renovation Project (see attractions and accommodation entries).
Eday has more than its share of old kirks in various stages of dereliction. The current Church of Scotland stands proudly along the main island road and a small, but growing congregation meet here for a Sunday service each week. From here the remains of two other kirks can be seen. On the hillside is the ruin of the Secessionist Kirk, built using stone from a nearby chambered cairn, whilst down towards the coast, the walls of an older kirk remain in the island's old graveyard. The headstones in this pleasant little cemetery provide a glimpse of the folk who have inhabited Eday over the last 250 years. Coupled with information from the Heritage & Visitor Centre it is a good place to visit for those interested in genealogy. The Heritage Centre itself is located in a restored former Baptist Chapel dating from 1881.