A tall narrow square tower on the bluffs above Scarva Taing on the Deerness peninsula of Orkney, the Covenanters' Memorial was constructed in 1888 by public subscription to commemorate the loss of more than 200 prisoners who were lost when their ship ran aground during a storm. Captured following the Battle of Bothwell Bridge, the Covenanters were held at Greyfriar's Kirk in Edinburgh while they were tried Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh (1638-91) and were sentenced to be transported to the American colonies. They were taken on board the Crown of London at Leith and sailed north. While trying to find shelter in a storm of the Orkneys, the ship ran aground on 10th December 1679. The crew escaped but refused to release the prisoners and only around fifty survived.
The tower is built of roughly-coursed rubble and tapers towards a capital at the top. It was B-listed in 1971 and there is granite plaque on the south face which explains its purpose.
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