Whome

Whome
Whome telephone box in 2007, looking down to the village.
Whome Location within Orkney
Population	30
OS grid reference	ND352938
Civil parish	Walls and Flotta
Council area	Orkney
Lieutenancy area	Orkney
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	STROMNESS
Postcode district	KW16
Dialling code	01856
Police	Scotland
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
UK Parliament	Orkney and Shetland
Scottish Parliament	Orkney

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]

History

Much 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

Flotta 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

• 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

1. "Flotta, Orkney". Holiday Cottages. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
2. "B9046". Sabre. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
3. "Whome in the Orkney Islands". streetmap.co.uk. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
4. "Whome Post Code". geographic.org. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
5. "Pan Hope". Scottish Places. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
6. "Moorland track near Whome". geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
7. "Flotta Ferry Terminal, Whome, Flotta". findlatitudeandlongitude.com. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
8. "Whome Kiln And Barn". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2002.
9. "Flotta - Whome Kiln And Barn". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 31 January 2002.
10. "Flotta Terminal" (PDF). Repsol Sinopec. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
11. "Flotta Community School". Flotta Community School. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
12. "Committee recommends partial reopening of Flotta Primary School". Orkney Islands Council. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
13. "Flotta Community Centre". Nice Local. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
14. "Flotta: The Flat Island". Lurdy.wordpress. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
15. "Flotta Medical Services". Lurdy.wordpress. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
16. "NHS Orkney services". NHS Orkney. Archived from the original on 2014-08-12. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
17. "Walk of the Week". thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
18. "NHS Orkney services". Flotta: Post Office. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
19. "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.
20. "Flotta Fire Station set to close". The Orcadian. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
21. "Transcripts of Births, Marriages and Deaths" (PDF). The Orkney and Shetland America. 20 January 1895 – via Illinois State Library.