05/09/2026
EAST KIRK GATE, LADY
Sometimes all that remains of a building is enough to make you wonder what stood there before.
These beautiful old gates in Lady once led to Sanday’s East Kirk - a large church which stood beside the Manse and was part of island life for generations.
The kirk itself survived until 1992, when it was declared structurally unsafe and demolished. Today, the building has completely disappeared, but its elaborate iron gates remain - almost like a doorway into a vanished piece of Sanday.
Records for the Lady and Sanday East Kirk congregation stretch back centuries, giving some idea of just how deeply church life was once woven into the everyday life of the island.
We love finding little remnants like this around Sanday. You can drive past them without a second thought… until you know their story.