 boats when conditions permit .   = = Ecology = =   Otters , grey seals , killer whales and harbour porpoises are frequently seen on and around Papa Stour . Atlantic puffin , Arctic and common tern , bonxie and Arctic skua , northern fulmar , common guillemot , razorbill , curlew , wheatear , ringed plover and great black @-@ backed gull all breed on the island , and numerous migratory species have been recorded .   There is a profusion of wild flowers , including mountain everlasting , spring squill and eyebright as well as the ubiquitous heather . The west side of the island is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and the seas around Papa Stour are a Special Area of Conservation . The traditional Shetland Pony is still bred .   = = History and archaeology = =   Human settlement of the island dates from circa 3000 BC and there are remains of several Neolithic burial chambers known as ' heel @-@ shaped cairns ' . Little is known of the pre @-@ Celtic and Celtic eras , but when the Norse arrived it is likely they found a religious settlement as the name of the island derives from Papey Stóra meaning " Big island of the Papar " ( Celtic monks ) , in distinction to Papa Little some 12 kilometres ( 7 @.@ 5 mi ) to the west .   = = = Norse period = = =   Papa Stour is the subject of a 1299 manuscript written in Old Norse , which is the oldest surviving document from Shetland . It deals with a dramatic incident in the house of Duke Hakon Magnusson , who was later to become King Hakon V of Norway . There is a circle of stones near the beach at Housa Voe , which are the remains of a ' ting ' , or local assembly . This was the scene of a duel , fought and won by Lord Thorvald Thoresson , who was accused of corruption in the 1299 document and was later called ‘ dominus de Papay ’ . ( The story of his unfortunate daughter is referred to above . ) The remains of Duke Hakon 's thirteenth @-@ century house are still visible near Housa Voe .   = = = Scots rule and fishing = = =   In 1469 Shetland came under nominal Scottish control , although the Norse ' Lairds of Norway ' kept their Papa Stour estates until the 17th century . In the 16th century merchants from Bremen and Hamburg were operating a summer trading booth to buy fish from the local fleet . By the 18th century , two Scottish lairds , Thomas Gifford of Busta , and Arthur Nicolson of Lerwick , owned the island . They maintained a prosperous Haaf ( Old Norse : ' deep sea ' ) fishing industry , undertaken in the summer months using six @-@ oared boats known as sixareens .   In addition to the leper colony on Brei Holm there may have been another at Hilla Fielle overlooking Hamna Voe . A recent archaeological survey was inconclusive but suggests the site may be much older than the supposed 18th century colony .   The island church , which overlooks Kirk Sand in the bay of Fore Wick , was founded in 1806 . 300 metres from the present church there may be an older chapel site of Sneeans or Snøyans on the headland between the west end of Kirk Sand and the bay of Tusselby . It is called the ' ald kirk ' by locals and referred to by the Ordnance Survey as " the site of a Romish chapel belonging to about the twelfth century " . There is a tradition that the work there was interfered with by supernatural powers and that each day 's work on the building was destroyed during the night . Eventually the cornerstones were moved overnight by these unearthly agencies to the present site of the church and work was re @-@ commenced there successfully . Excavations in 2004 found little besides large blocks of rhyolite and a piece of whalebone rib , suggesting that the oral tradition may have some truth to it .   In the 19th century the Crabbaberry fishing station in West Voe was opened and the island had a population of 360 people or more . However , fuel shortages and a decline in fishing due to the introduction of steam drifters saw a fall in population from the 1870s on . At this time another duel entered the history of Papa Stour . Edwin Lindsay , an Indian army officer and the son of the 6th Earl of Balcarres , was declared insane and sent to the island in disgrace after refusing to fight in one . He spent 26 years as a prisoner before the Quaker preacher Catherine Watson arranged for his release in 1835 . Lindsay 's Well is a spring at the south of the island where he was allowed to bathe .   There are good examples of
Ġboats Ġwhen Ġconditions Ġpermit Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠEcology Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠOt ters Ġ, Ġgrey Ġseals Ġ, Ġkiller Ġwhales Ġand Ġharbour Ġpor po ises Ġare Ġfrequently Ġseen Ġon Ġand Ġaround ĠPapa ĠSt our Ġ. ĠAtlantic Ġpuff in Ġ, ĠArctic Ġand Ġcommon Ġter n Ġ, Ġbon x ie Ġand ĠArctic Ġsk ua Ġ, Ġnorthern Ġful mar Ġ, Ġcommon Ġgu ille mot Ġ, Ġrazor bill Ġ, Ġcur le w Ġ, Ġwhe ate ar Ġ, Ġring ed Ġpl over Ġand Ġgreat Ġblack Ġ@ - @ Ġbacked Ġgull Ġall Ġbreed Ġon Ġthe Ġisland Ġ, Ġand Ġnumerous Ġmigr atory Ġspecies Ġhave Ġbeen Ġrecorded Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThere Ġis Ġa Ġprof usion Ġof Ġwild Ġflowers Ġ, Ġincluding Ġmountain Ġeverlasting Ġ, Ġspring Ġsqu ill Ġand Ġeye bright Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġthe Ġubiquitous Ġhe ather Ġ. ĠThe Ġwest Ġside Ġof Ġthe Ġisland Ġis Ġa ĠSite Ġof ĠSpecial ĠScientific ĠInterest Ġand Ġthe Ġseas Ġaround ĠPapa ĠSt our Ġare Ġa ĠSpecial ĠArea Ġof ĠConservation Ġ. ĠThe Ġtraditional ĠShe t land ĠPony Ġis Ġstill Ġbred Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠHistory Ġand Ġarchae ology Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠHuman Ġsettlement Ġof Ġthe Ġisland Ġdates Ġfrom Ġcirca Ġ3000 ĠBC Ġand Ġthere Ġare Ġremains Ġof Ġseveral ĠNe olithic Ġburial Ġchambers Ġknown Ġas Ġ' Ġheel Ġ@ - @ Ġshaped Ġc air ns Ġ' Ġ. ĠLittle Ġis Ġknown Ġof Ġthe Ġpre Ġ@ - @ ĠCeltic Ġand ĠCeltic Ġeras Ġ, Ġbut Ġwhen Ġthe ĠNorse Ġarrived Ġit Ġis Ġlikely Ġthey Ġfound Ġa Ġreligious Ġsettlement Ġas Ġthe Ġname Ġof Ġthe Ġisland Ġderives Ġfrom ĠP ape y ĠSt Ã³ ra Ġmeaning Ġ" ĠBig Ġisland Ġof Ġthe ĠPap ar Ġ" Ġ( ĠCeltic Ġmonks Ġ) Ġ, Ġin Ġdistinction Ġto ĠPapa ĠLittle Ġsome Ġ12 Ġkilometres Ġ( Ġ7 Ġ@ . @ Ġ5 Ġmi Ġ) Ġto Ġthe Ġwest Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠNorse Ġperiod Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠPapa ĠSt our Ġis Ġthe Ġsubject Ġof Ġa Ġ12 99 Ġmanuscript Ġwritten Ġin ĠOld ĠNorse Ġ, Ġwhich Ġis Ġthe Ġoldest Ġsurviving Ġdocument Ġfrom ĠShe t land Ġ. ĠIt Ġdeals Ġwith Ġa Ġdramatic Ġincident Ġin Ġthe Ġhouse Ġof ĠDuke ĠHak on ĠMagn uss on Ġ, Ġwho Ġwas Ġlater Ġto Ġbecome ĠKing ĠHak on ĠV Ġof ĠNorway Ġ. ĠThere Ġis Ġa Ġcircle Ġof Ġstones Ġnear Ġthe Ġbeach Ġat ĠH ous a ĠV oe Ġ, Ġwhich Ġare Ġthe Ġremains Ġof Ġa Ġ' Ġt ing Ġ' Ġ, Ġor Ġlocal Ġassembly Ġ. ĠThis Ġwas Ġthe Ġscene Ġof Ġa Ġduel Ġ, Ġfought Ġand Ġwon Ġby ĠLord ĠThor v ald ĠTh ore sson Ġ, Ġwho Ġwas Ġaccused Ġof Ġcorruption Ġin Ġthe Ġ12 99 Ġdocument Ġand Ġwas Ġlater Ġcalled ĠâĢ ĺ Ġdomin us Ġde ĠPap ay ĠâĢ Ļ Ġ. Ġ( ĠThe Ġstory Ġof Ġhis Ġunfortunate Ġdaughter Ġis Ġreferred Ġto Ġabove Ġ. Ġ) ĠThe Ġremains Ġof ĠDuke ĠHak on Ġ' s Ġth ir teenth Ġ@ - @ Ġcentury Ġhouse Ġare Ġstill Ġvisible Ġnear ĠH ous a ĠV oe Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠScots Ġrule Ġand Ġfishing Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġ14 69 ĠShe t land Ġcame Ġunder Ġnominal ĠScottish Ġcontrol Ġ, Ġalthough Ġthe ĠNorse Ġ' ĠLair ds Ġof ĠNorway Ġ' Ġkept Ġtheir ĠPapa ĠSt our Ġestates Ġuntil Ġthe Ġ17 th Ġcentury Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe Ġ16 th Ġcentury Ġmerchants Ġfrom ĠB rem en Ġand ĠHamburg Ġwere Ġoperating Ġa Ġsummer Ġtrading Ġbooth Ġto Ġbuy Ġfish Ġfrom Ġthe Ġlocal Ġfleet Ġ. ĠBy Ġthe Ġ18 th Ġcentury Ġ, Ġtwo ĠScottish Ġlair ds Ġ, ĠThomas ĠG iff ord Ġof ĠBust a Ġ, Ġand ĠArthur ĠNic olson Ġof ĠLer wick Ġ, Ġowned Ġthe Ġisland Ġ. ĠThey Ġmaintained Ġa Ġprosperous ĠHa af Ġ( ĠOld ĠNorse Ġ: Ġ' Ġdeep Ġsea Ġ' Ġ) Ġfishing Ġindustry Ġ, Ġundertaken Ġin Ġthe Ġsummer Ġmonths Ġusing Ġsix Ġ@ - @ Ġo ared Ġboats Ġknown Ġas Ġsix are ens Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġaddition Ġto Ġthe Ġle per Ġcolony Ġon ĠBre i ĠHol m Ġthere Ġmay Ġhave Ġbeen Ġanother Ġat ĠHill a ĠF iel le Ġoverlooking ĠHam na ĠV oe Ġ. ĠA Ġrecent Ġarchaeological Ġsurvey Ġwas Ġincon clusive Ġbut Ġsuggests Ġthe Ġsite Ġmay Ġbe Ġmuch Ġolder Ġthan Ġthe Ġsupposed Ġ18 th Ġcentury Ġcolony Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġisland Ġchurch Ġ, Ġwhich Ġoverlook s ĠKirk ĠSand Ġin Ġthe Ġbay Ġof ĠFore ĠWick Ġ, Ġwas Ġfounded Ġin Ġ18 06 Ġ. Ġ300 Ġmetres Ġfrom Ġthe Ġpresent Ġchurch Ġthere Ġmay Ġbe Ġan Ġolder Ġchapel Ġsite Ġof ĠS nee ans Ġor ĠSn Ã¸ y ans Ġon Ġthe Ġhead land Ġbetween Ġthe Ġwest Ġend Ġof ĠKirk ĠSand Ġand Ġthe Ġbay Ġof ĠTus sel by Ġ. ĠIt Ġis Ġcalled Ġthe Ġ' Ġa ld Ġk irk Ġ' Ġby Ġlocals Ġand Ġreferred Ġto Ġby Ġthe ĠOrd nance ĠSurvey Ġas Ġ" Ġthe Ġsite Ġof Ġa ĠRom ish Ġchapel Ġbelonging Ġto Ġabout Ġthe Ġtw elfth Ġcentury Ġ" Ġ. ĠThere Ġis Ġa Ġtradition Ġthat Ġthe Ġwork Ġthere Ġwas Ġinterfered Ġwith Ġby Ġsupernatural Ġpowers Ġand Ġthat Ġeach Ġday Ġ' s Ġwork Ġon Ġthe Ġbuilding Ġwas Ġdestroyed Ġduring Ġthe Ġnight Ġ. ĠEventually Ġthe Ġcorner stones Ġwere Ġmoved Ġovernight Ġby Ġthese Ġun earth ly Ġagencies Ġto Ġthe Ġpresent Ġsite Ġof Ġthe Ġchurch Ġand Ġwork Ġwas Ġre Ġ@ - @ Ġcommenced Ġthere Ġsuccessfully Ġ. ĠExc av ations Ġin Ġ2004 Ġfound Ġlittle Ġbesides Ġlarge Ġblocks Ġof Ġrhy ol ite Ġand Ġa Ġpiece Ġof Ġwhale bone Ġrib Ġ, Ġsuggesting Ġthat Ġthe Ġoral Ġtradition Ġmay Ġhave Ġsome Ġtruth Ġto Ġit Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġthe Ġ19 th Ġcentury Ġthe ĠCr abb ab erry Ġfishing Ġstation Ġin ĠWest ĠV oe Ġwas Ġopened Ġand Ġthe Ġisland Ġhad Ġa Ġpopulation Ġof Ġ360 Ġpeople Ġor Ġmore Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġfuel Ġshortages Ġand Ġa Ġdecline Ġin Ġfishing Ġdue Ġto Ġthe Ġintroduction Ġof Ġsteam Ġdr if ters Ġsaw Ġa Ġfall Ġin Ġpopulation Ġfrom Ġthe Ġ1870 s Ġon Ġ. ĠAt Ġthis Ġtime Ġanother Ġduel Ġentered Ġthe Ġhistory Ġof ĠPapa ĠSt our Ġ. ĠEdwin ĠLindsay Ġ, Ġan ĠIndian Ġarmy Ġofficer Ġand Ġthe Ġson Ġof Ġthe Ġ6 th ĠEarl Ġof ĠBal car res Ġ, Ġwas Ġdeclared Ġinsane Ġand Ġsent Ġto Ġthe Ġisland Ġin Ġdisgrace Ġafter Ġrefusing Ġto Ġfight Ġin Ġone Ġ. ĠHe Ġspent Ġ26 Ġyears Ġas Ġa Ġprisoner Ġbefore Ġthe ĠQu aker Ġpreacher ĠCatherine ĠWatson Ġarranged Ġfor Ġhis Ġrelease Ġin Ġ18 35 Ġ. ĠLindsay Ġ' s ĠWell Ġis Ġa Ġspring Ġat Ġthe Ġsouth Ġof Ġthe Ġisland Ġwhere Ġhe Ġwas Ġallowed Ġto Ġbat he Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThere Ġare Ġgood Ġexamples Ġof