A long-established seaport, Stromness has a population of approximately 2,500 residents. The old town is clustered along the characterful and winding main street, flanked by houses and shops built from local stone, with narrow lanes and alleys branching off it. First recorded as the site of an inn in the sixteenth century, Stromness became important during the late seventeenth century, when Great Britain was at war with France and shipping was forced to avoid the
English Channel. Ships of the
Hudson's Bay Company were regular visitors, as were whaling fleets. Large numbers of
Orkneymen, many of whom came from the Stromness area, served as traders, explorers and seamen for both.
Captain Cook's ships,
Discovery and
Resolution, called at the town in 1780 on their return voyage from the
Hawaiian Islands, where Captain Cook had been killed.
Stromness Museum reflects these aspects of the town's history (displaying for example important collections of
whaling relics, and
Inuit artefacts brought back as souvenirs by local men from
Greenland and
Arctic Canada). Stromness harbour was rebuilt to the designs of John Barron in 1893. At Stromness Pierhead is a statue by
North Ronaldsay sculptor Ian Scott, depicting
John Rae standing erect with an inscription describing him as "the discoverer of the final link in the first navigable Northwest Passage", which was unveiled in 2013. The town has two schools,
Stromness Academy, a secondary school and
Stromness Primary School, a primary school.
Stromness Lifeboat Station is the town’s lifeboat station, one of three lifeboat stations in Orkney (the others being
Longhope Lifeboat Station and
Kirkwall Lifeboat Station). A lifeboat was first stationed here by the
Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1867. Stromness is served by two passenger ferries: the
MV Hamnavoe, run by
Northlink Ferries, connects the town to
Scrabster, and the
MV Graemsay, operated by
Orkney Ferries, runs to
Graemsay and
Hoy, Orkney. ==Parish==