About us
Meet the people behind the Boloquoy Victorian Farm & Watermill renovation
This lovingly restored traditional victorian farm and watermill stands as a testament to passion, heritage, and hard work. Jackie Sinclair and Dave Walker, two business owners and friends took on the challenge of breathing new life into this historic property.
Jackie Sinclair
I’ve always loved Boloquoy, ever since the day I arrived on Sanday 30 years ago. As I drove past, it caught my eye immediately. The fields full of haystacks, the old water mill down by the sea - I wondered if I’d traveled back in time. Ever since, I’ve thought it was my idea of heaven: so remote, so wild, and so in its own time and place. It was an incredible stroke of good fortune that we managed to buy the farm many years later.
So, in April 2023, we walked into the vacated house intending to renovate it into a cute cottage holiday home. But the house had other ideas. As we started to clear several lifetimes’ possessions, we realised that we had to put the house back into its own time, bringing to life the stories of its Victorian inhabitants.
“I’ve always loved Boloquoy, ever since the day I arrived on Sanday 30 years ago. As I drove past, it caught my eye immediately. The fields full of haystacks, the old water mill down by the sea - I wondered if I’d traveled back in time.”
-Jackie Sinclair
There began two years of the most challenging and fulfilling work I’ve ever undertaken. Emptying generations of kists and boxes led to us unearthing treasures from photographs and documents to precious personal trinkets and rare historic artefacts. Conducting extensive research into the period allowed me to relearn traditional skills and restore the house and farm to their former glory.
After two years, I have grown into the place. The farm likes what we are doing - it has been kind to us and repeatedly given up its secrets. How I think about farming and the environment has changed so much. It feels right that we are now returning the farm to its natural state, weaving together the stories of generations living in harmony with the landscape. But the wider story of the restoration of the farm and water mill has only just begun.
Jackie Sinclair has lived on Sanday for 30 years. In that time she married local farmer Malcolm Sinclair and worked as the local school’s head teacher and international education consultant, before turning her hand to local business. She established Sinclair General Stores in 2013 and in 2021 set up 5* luxury hospitality enterprise Orkney Retreats.
Dave Walker
From the moment I first set foot in Boloquoy, there was no doubt in my mind that it had to be saved and preserved. I have always had a passion for old buildings and social history, and this home was simply bursting at the seams with the stories of working people’s lives.
There are few times in life when you are lucky enough to be handed a golden ticket, and this was my moment. I have loved every second of this project: deconstructing nearly 300 years of people’s lives, re-creating a time that has long since passed, and using and handling items that have been loved and cherished by real people from another time.
If I had to choose one special moment, it would be recreating the life of one family member, a sailor, by restoring photographs of him and HMS Hannibal, his personal ‘ditty box’ and his service records. It felt quite emotional cleaning and touching up the frames, and giving them pride of place on the wall - just as they had nearly a hundred years ago.
I have loved getting my hands dirty in tackling the renovation work, and seeing the fruits of our labours realised as the house has come back to life before our eyes. This house has been a special place for generations of people, and hopefully many more now that guests can come to stay. I don’t think this project will ever be truly ‘finished’ - it has a beating heart and will continue to grow and develop as it always has.
“From the moment I first set foot in Boloquoy, there was no doubt in my mind that it had to be saved and preserved. This house has been a special place for generations of people, and hopefully many more now that guests can come to stay”
-Dave Walker
The Boloquoy Story
Our film about finding Boloquoy’s hidden treasures
How we spent two years painstakingly transforming one of the uk’s most remote farms into an immersive Victorian experience. This documentary film tells the story of Boloquoy’s history and its subsequent restoration.