Shetland in A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland
Shetlopedia - The Shetland Encyclopaedia
Shetland in A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland
A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland by Samuel Lewis, published in two volumes 1846, contains detailed topographical accounts of places, parishes and counties in Scotland. The following text shows the scans of all entries about Shetland.
It is quite interesting to see what places are mentioned and how they are valued.
Aithsting
AITHSTING, Shetland.—See Sandsting and Aithsting.
Balta
BALTA, a small islet, in the parish of Unst, county of Shetland. This is nearly the northernmost isle of the Shetland range, and is situated in the latitude of 60° 47 north, and on the east side of Unst island, the sea between being called Balta Sound. Here the shore of Unst forms a fine and safe inland harbour, stretching east to west about two miles, protected at its mouth by the isle of Balta.
Bigga Isle
BIGGA ISLE, in the parishes of Delting and Yell, county of Shetland. It is a small isle, lying between the mainland of Shetland and the island of Yell, in the sound of Yell; half of it belongs to the parish of Yell, and half to that of Delting. The inhabitants consist of a few families who pasture black-cattle and sheep.
Bressay, Burra, and Quarff
BRESSAY, BURRA, and QUARFF, a parish, in the county of Orkney and Shetland; containing 1798 inhabitants, of whom 904 are in the island of Bressay, and 870 in the late quoad sacra parish of Burra and Quarff. These three ancient parishes, now united, comprehend six islands and a part of the tract called Mainland; the district of Bressay is to the east of the mainland, and consists of the islands of Bressay and Ness, separated from each other by Ness Sound, and from the mainland by Bressay Sound. The island of Bressay, which is nearly six miles long, and varies in breadth from two to three miles, exhibits a highly-diversified surface, especially in the western portion, where the rugged features of the coast, the tracts of arable land stretching from south to north, and sloping to the sea, interspersed with cottages, with lofty hills rising in various directions, contribute to form a scene marked, to a considerable extent, by beauty and grandeur. Among the elevated ridges running in irregular directions through the island, and the spaces between which are covered with a mixture of pasture and peat-moss, is a dorsal eminence, on the eastern side, called St. Andrew's, or Ander hill, upwards of 400 feet in height. At the southern extremity, is a lofty elevation called the Ward; also Beacon hill, rising 724 feet above the level of the sea, and which, being covered with peat-moss and various kinds of short grass and heath, becomes, on account of its sable hue and majestic height, a striking object in the scenery. The coast is everywhere rocky, abounding with fissures, caverns, and headlands, the last chiefly in the southern portion of the island; and there are twelve lochs, which, however, are of very inconsiderable dimensions, only two or three having the extent of half a mile in length or breadth, but some of them are celebrated for their fine trout.
The parish contains several sounds or channels, formed by, and taking their names respectively from, the islands to which they are adjacent; the chief is Bressay Sound, long known as a superior harbour, which expands into a fine bay towards Quarff, on the south, where its waters deepen, and afford excellent anchorage for vessels in stress of weather. Many hundreds of Dutch boats, in time past, resorted hither, to fish for herrings; but the sound has derived its greatest celebrity from the Earl of Bothwell, who, being pursued in his adversity by Kirkaldy of Grange, with great difficulty escaped, by sailing out at the northern entrance, in which direction his enemy, attempting to follow him, was wrecked on a very dangerous rock, since called the Unicorn, after the name of the ship. The other channels are, Ness Sound, less than a quarter of a mile broad, supposed to be about twenty feet deep, and dangerous to pass with an easterly wind; Cliff Sound, not quite half a mile broad, with about nine or ten fathoms of water, and of difficult navigation in stormy weather; and Stream and Burra Sounds, the latter of which is the safest and most tranquil of the whole, and peculiarly adapted to small vessels. The quantity of land under tillage is small, compared with the waste, and employed chiefly in the cultivation of oats, bear, and potatoes, the two first being sown in alternate years, and potatoes once in four or five years. The grounds are manured with a compost of sea-weed, dung, and mossy earth, and with the garbage of herrings, the last being held in high repute for enriching the soil. Some improvements in agriculture have been made within these few years, chiefly in rebuilding, in a superior manner, the farm-cottages; but various obstacles, the want of leases, the state of the roads, and especially the poverty of the inhabitants, and their extensive occupation in fishing, repress all systematic attempts to establish agriculture on a good footing. The rateable annual value of the parish is £1527. The rocks in Bressay and Ness are the old red sandstone; in Quarff, clayslate and mica-slate; and in the isles of House, Burra, and Halvera, of the primitive formation. At Bressay, flag and slate quarries are in operation, the material of which is shipped to different parts of the country, and sometimes sent to the south; and in Quarff and Burra, several species of limestone of inferior quality are found.
The lands appear once to have been better wooded than at present, trunks of trees, of some bulk, being found among the mosses. The only plantations recently made are in the vicinity of the mansion-house, and consist of willow and ash, the former the most flourishing; and near these, of older growth, are aspen, elm, laburnum, poplar, and plane trees, which appear to be in a thriving condition. A large proportion of the male population is engaged in the fisheries, the principal of which are those of ling, cod, and herrings; though various other kinds of fish, such as tusk, halibut, skate, whiting, and flounders, are taken at different times; and sillocks, on which the inhabitants live to a considerable extent, are taken throughout the whole year. Oysters, also, are found at Burra, in abundance. The ling-fishing employs about thirty boats, carrying generally six men each; the cod-fishery, beginning about Whitsuntide, occupies numerous sloops of between fifteen and twenty tons' burthen, and at the termination of this fishing, that for herrings commences, usually in the month of August, in which the same boats are employed as those engaged in the ling-fishing, with some of larger size. About thirty women and children are employed in Bressay, during the season, in curing herrings; and the manufacture of herring-nets has recently excited much interest among the inhabitants: nearly every female in Quarff above six years of age, is occupied in knitting woollen-gloves, and those in Burra in knitting stockings. The parish is in the presbytery of Lerwick and synod of Shetland, and in the patronage of the Earl of Zetland; the minister's stipend is £158. 6. 8., with a manse, rebuilt in 1819, and a glebe valued at £12 per annum. The church, which is conveniently situated, was erected in 1815, and contains 370 sittings. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans; and also a parochial school, the master of which has a salary of £25. 13., and teaches writing, arithmetic, and book-keeping.— See Burra, Ness, &c..
Brother Isle
BROTHER ISLE, in the parish of Delting, county of Shetland. It lies in Yell Sound, westward of the island of Yell, and is inhabited by a very few persons.
Burra and Quarff
BURRA and QUARFF, late a quoad sacra parish, in the parish of Bressay, county of Orkney and Shetland; containing 870 inhabitants. The district of Burra lies west of the Mainland, from which it is separated by Cliff Sound, and comprehends the isles of House, Burra, Halvera, and Papa, the two last of which are of very small extent. Halvera, situated two miles south from Burra, is a precipitous elevation, approached by a creek, and tenanted by only a few families; and Papa, a mile north from Burra, merely affords a residence to two families. House or the eastern isle, which is about half a mile from Quarff, and Burra or the western isle, which is mostly the same distance from House, are each formed principally of a hilly ridge, of rugged and irregular appearance, the former about five miles in length, and the latter about six. In one place, the isles nearly touch each other, the communication being carried on by means of a small bridge, consisting of beams of wood resting on two piles of uncemented stones: the coast of both islands is rocky. Quarff district, situated between those of Bressay and Burra, and forming part of the Mainland, is six miles south-west from Bressay, and consists of a valley, which is about two miles long, and half a mile broad, and is inhabited and cultivated; together with a tract of natural pasture on the north, and another on the south, about a mile each in length. The whole forms a pleasingly rural picture, ornamented with cottages on each side of the winding valley, skirted by the mountains, and separated from each other by verdant meadows, with the advantage of an interesting bay on the east and west. The southern part of the valley is defended by the Cliff and Coningsburgh hills, which here unite in a ridge, and the northern part by those of Tingwall and Lerwick, the highest point of which is estimated at 500 feet. The ecclesiastical affairs are subject to the presbytery of Lerwick and synod of Shetland; the patronage belongs to the Crown, and the stipend of the minister is £120, with a manse. There are two churches, of which that of Quarff is the principal, service being only occasionally performed at Burra; the church of Burra, situated near the southern extremity of the western isle, was built in 1804, and accommodates about 200 persons; that of Quarff was erected in 1830, by government, and made the chief place of worship, and contains about 300 sittings. A place of worship has been built for members of the Free Church.—See Bressay.
Colsay Isle
COLSAY ISLE, in the parish of Dunrossness, county of Shetland. This is a small islet, lying west of the mainland of the parish, about a mile south of the island of St. Ronan's, and nearly double that distance north of Fitfull Head; and is wholly uninhabited.
Cross
CROSS[1] , an isle, in the parish of Dunrossness, county of Shetland. It lies a short distance west of the mainland of the parish, at the entrance of Quendal bay, and is one of the smallest of the Shetland isles.
Cunningsburgh
CUNNINGSBURGH, Shetland.— See Sandwick.
Delting
DELTING, a parish, in the county of Shetland, 25 miles (N. N. W.) from Lerwick; containing, with the islands of Little Roe and Muckle Roe, 2019 inhabitants. This parish, the name of which is said to be of Danish or Norwegian origin, is situated about the centre of the Mainland, and is separated on the west from the parish of Northmavine by a long narrow harbour called Sulom, and from the island of Yell on the north by Yell Sound. It is so indented by fissures and intersected by narrow bays, no part of it being above two miles from the sea, that the estimate of its superficial extent cannot be given with any degree of accuracy. The surface, in its general appearance, is hilly, bleak, and dreary, ornamented occasionally with a few small lochs, and the quantity of land under tillage is not more than about 1000 acres, attached to which is pasture of nearly the same extent; the remainder of the parish is hilly ground abounding in peaty soil, which affords abundance of excellent fuel. The arable land has been lately much improved by draining, and a considerable number of Scotch ploughs has been introduced, as well as carts, which before had been very scarce here. The rateable annual value of the parish is £1777. The principal rocks are gneiss and syenite, with which also are found limestone and hornblende. There are four mansion-houses, named Busta, Mossbank, Ullhouse, and Garth. The inhabitants are mostly employed in fishing; and in the month of May, the whole of the fishermen meet at the stations in Northmavine and Papa-Stour, for commencing operations in the taking of ling and cod, upon which they chiefly depend: in a recent year 528 barrels of herrings and sixty tons of ling, cod, tusk, and saith were cured in Delting, and these were only a part of what had been taken. Piltocks and sillocks, called also coal-fish, are likewise caught to a considerable extent, and supply the inhabitants with a large proportion of their food, and frequently with a quantity of oil. The parish is in the presbytery of Burravoe and synod of Shetland, and in the patronage of the Earl of Zetland. The stipend is £151, of which about a third is received from the exchequer, with a manse, built in 1751, and thoroughly repaired and enlarged about the year 1820, at an expense of £500, and also a glebe valued at £10 per annum: the minister is likewise entitled to the vicarage tithe of certain quantities of butter and oil. There are two churches, that of the south district, which was erected in 1714, and is reckoned the principal, and the north district church, built in 1811; the number of sittings in each is about 560. The parochial schoolmaster receives a salary of £26, and about £3 fees; and there are two other schools, of which the masters are allowed, one £18, and the other £13, by the General Assembly. Near Yell Sound is a Pictish castle called Brough; at Burravoe are the remains of an ancient harbour, and at Busta a block of granite between ten and eleven feet in height, called the Standing Stone of Busta. There are also two caves, the one at Culsterness, containing two apartments, and supposed to have been originally used as a hiding-place, and the other in the vicinity of the loch of Trondavoe, said to have been used in times past as a depository for stolen sheep.
Dore Holm
DORE HOLM, an isle, in the parish of Northmavine, county of Shetland. It is situated in the bay of St. Magnus, south of the mainland of the parish, and derives its name from a remarkable arch which passes through its centre, of lofty and capacious dimensions, and admitting boatmen to fish in the waters beneath, being lighted by an opening at the top. The islet is one of the smallest of the Shetland group.
Dunrossness
DUNROSSNESS, a parish, in the county of Shetland; including the islands of Fair and Mousa, and the late quoad sacra district of Sandwick and Cunningsburgh; and containing 4494 inhabitants. This parish is situated at the southern extremity of the Mainland, and forms the principal part of a peninsula, washed on the east, south, and west by the sea. The shore, though not so deeply indented with inlets as that of most other parts of the Shetland isles, is still very irregular in its outline, and contains several voes; the chief are Greetness and West voe, which, with Quendal bay, border on Sumburgh head, the most southerly point of the Mainland, rendered classical by Sir Walter Scott's Pirate, and on which an excellent lighthouse was erected a few years since, at an expense of about £40,000. Among the islands in the parish are those of Colsay, Mousa, St. Ninian's, and Fair Island, which are used chiefly for the pasturage of sheep and cattle, and, with the exception of the last, are inconsiderable. The exposure of Dunrossness is remarkably bleak and stormy, and occasionally whole farms are destroyed by the drifting of sand, and inlets filled up which before had been used as creeks or harbours; but the district yields to very few, if any, in Shetland, in the fertility of its soil and the quality of the crops. The lochs of Skelberry and Scousburgh, in winter, are the resort of wild swans; and eagles, ravens, and hawks, with a great variety of wild-fowl, frequent the shores. At this time of the year, also, the stormy seas, and the dreary tracts of peat-moss, invest the locality with a wild and uninviting appearance; but at other periods the scene is greatly altered, and especially during the operations of harvest and fishing every thing wears a pleasing aspect.
The soil of the lands under cultivation is various, comprehending sand, loam, and clay, and the crops consist principally of bear, black oats, and potatoes; ploughs, drawn by horses, are used in some parts, but most of the small farms are turned by the spade, and husbandry, as in all other districts of Shetland, is made entirely subordinate to the occupation of fishing. The rateable annual value of the parish is £1665. At a place called Fitfill, copper-ore was wrought some years since, and shafts were also sunk at Sand-lodge, in Sandwick, but the operations, proving unsuccessful, were shortly abandoned. The inhabitants are engaged in the ordinary kinds of fishing, and three or four vessels come annually to Levenwick bay, from Rothesay, to receive the herrings immediately after they are taken. In addition to the trade in fish, considerable quantities of potatoes of very good quality, as well as of oats and bear, are sent to Lerwick for sale; and a small profit is annually derived from the manufacture of kelp. The parish is in the presbytery of Lerwick and synod of Shetland, and in the patronage of the Earl of Zetland. The minister's stipend is £208, exclusive of a vicarage-tithe on a certain number of lambs and quantities of butter and wool; there is a manse, and the glebe is valued at £8 per annum. The church was built in 1790, and contains 858 sittings; and on Fair isle is another church, a substantial edifice, erected by the then proprietor of the island, many years ago; it affords accommodation to about 150 persons. There are meeting-houses for Baptists and Methodists. The parochial school is situated in the Sandwick district, and at Cunningsburgh is a school supported by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge; in each of those places a library has lately been instituted, and another is established in Dunrossness.
Eagleshay
EAGLESHAY, an isle, in the parish of Northmavine, county of Shetland. It is one of the smallest of the Shetland group, and is situated in St. Magnus' bay, a short distance westward of Islesburgh, on the Mainland; there is some good pasturage; and rabbits are very numerous.
Fair
FAIR, an island, forming part of the parish of Dunrossness, in the county of Shetland; and containing 232 inhabitants. It lies between the Orkney and Shetland groups, and is about three miles in length and nearly two in breadth, rising into three lofty promontories, and encompassed with precipitous rocks. The island is every where inaccessible, except upon the south-east, where, lowering itself a little, it affords a safe station for small vessels. The Sheep Craig, one of the promontories, is nearly insulated, rising from the sea in a conical shape to an elevation of 480 feet. The soil is moderately fertile, and the hills are clothed with excellent pasturage for sheep; the place is thickly peopled, and the inhabitants are chiefly engaged in the taking of saith, about forty tons of which, when dried, they send annually to the Leith market: the ling and cod fishing formerly prosecuted has been discontinued on account of its distance from the island. The houses are clustered together on the southern shores in the form of small hamlets, or, as they are here called, towns, and are named respectively Seutter, Taing, Shirva, Leogh, Bousta, and Gelah. A substantial church, capable of accommodating 120 persons, was built by the proprietor of the isle many years ago, at a cost of £150, and is distant from the parish church thirty-five miles. There is also a good school. In 1588, the flag-ship of the Duke de Medina-Sidonia, the admiral of the Spanish armada, was wrecked on this island, and tradition points out the humble residence of the shipwrecked commander.
Fetlar and North Yell
FETLAR and NORTH YELL, a parish, in the county of Shetland; containing 1745 inhabitants, of whom 761 are in Fetlar, 36 miles (N. by E.) from Lerwick. This parish, which is situated nearly at the northern extremity of the Shetland isles, consists of the island of Fetlar and the northern part of that of Yell. The former is bounded on the north by the channel separating it from the islands of Unst and Uyea, on the south by the wide channel which divides it from Whalsey island and the Mainland, on the east by the German Ocean, and on the west by Colgrave Sound, separating it from the island of Yell. The latter district, North Yell, is bounded on the west and north by the northern ocean, and on the east by the frith called Blue Mull Sound, which divides it from the island of Unst. Fetlar is seven miles in length and four in breadth, and comprises 786¾ merks of land under cultivation (each merk being about three-quarters of an acre), and between 10,000 and 12,000 acres which, with the exception of 1200, are undivided common; North Yell is six miles long and five broad, and contains 634 merks of cultivated, and from 12,000 to 15,000 acres of uncultivated land.
The situation is bleak, and the surface hilly; but there are no lofty elevations, the highest grounds not rising more than 300 feet above the level of the sea, and being, in each district, alternated with tolerably fertile valleys. The islands are singularly irregular in figure, and the coast is indented with fissures, creeks, and bays of various extent. Of the last the principal, in Fetlar, are those of Aith, Tresta, Strand, Mowick, Funzie, a lingfishing station, Gruting voe, and Urie bay, where a kind of pier has lately been erected; but none of these are considered safe harbours. North Yell, in this respect, has much the advantage, the bays of Basta voe and Cullivoe forming excellent retreats and landing-places; besides which, it has the bays of Papal, Gloup voe, and other inlets. Colgrave Sound, encompassing Fetlar from south-west to north-west, is a rapid and dangerous channel, about nine miles across in the widest, and three miles in the narrowest, part. Blue-Mull Sound measures in the narrowest part about a mile across, and the Sound between the islands of Fetlar and Unst is five miles broad; in both these channels, but especially in that of Blue-Mull, the tide runs with great force, and the passage is often hazardous. The rocks on the coast are frequently covered with sea-fowl; wild pigeons are numerous, and flocks of wild swans often visit the islands. There are many small lakes, abounding with trout, the largest of which is one in Fetlar, near the manse, about three-quarters of a mile in length, and a quarter in breadth.
The inhabitants are employed in agriculture and fishing, the latter occupation engaging most of their attention. The soil in Fetlar comprises sand, clay, and marl; that in North Yell is chiefly a peat-moss: each produces good oats and potatoes, but barley is cultivated only to a very limited extent, and wheat is rarely seen, the want of inclosures to protect these kinds of grain, and of sun to ripen them, being the chief obstacles. The rotation system is partially practised; but the ground is generally turned with a spade, the number of ploughs being very small; and the state of agriculture throughout the two districts indicates strongly the want of resources, and much more attention and skill, to place it on a respectable footing. In North Yell, many plots of common ground have recently been brought under cultivation, and a few in Fetlar. The sheep and cattle are mostly of the native breed, small but hardy, and appear to thrive better than any others: a mixed breed of sheep, introduced some time since by Sir Arthur Nicolson, has not been found well suited to the climate, and a few cows of a larger growth which have been tried, have in the same manner proved unequal to meet the severity of the district. The ponies bred are of the same size, vigorous spirit, and untiring strength, as those in the other isles of Shetland. The rocks comprise mica-slate, quartz, chlorite-slate, gneiss, clayslate, and serpentine containing chromate of iron, the last of which, formerly exceedingly abundant, was for long occasionally quarried in the island of Fetlar. With the common stone from the same locality, a mansion-house has been recently built by Sir Arthur Nicolson, and another by Mr. Smith, a heritor; and quarries in the island of Yell have supplied a material for the erection of the houses of Gloup, Greenbank, and Midbrake, the dressings, however, being of free-stone brought from Lerwick. The rateable annual value of the parish is £806.
The fisheries of ling and herrings, which are among the principal, occupy much of the time of the inhabitants; in addition to which, tusk, cod, saith, and other kinds are taken nearly all the year round. The fish caught in winter are salted, and preserved in vats till spring, when they are dried and exported to Leith; the fish taken in summer are preserved in the same manner, and sent, not only to the market of Leith, but also to Ireland and Spain: the produce of the herring-fishery, which is carried on to a tolerable extent in August and September, is forwarded, when cured, to Leith and to Ireland. The stations for the ling-fishery are, Funzie, on the eastern side of Fetlar, and Gloup, on the north side of Yell, towards the northern ocean; and Urie, Strand, and Aith banks, in Fetlar, and Cullivoe and Bayanne, in North Yell, are stations for the curing of herrings. A large quantity of skate, halibut, haddock, sillock, piltock, and whiting, is also taken, furnishing the inhabitants with a considerable portion of their subsistence; and there are oysters at Basta voe, and a good supply of several other kinds of shell-fish. The parish is entirely destitute of conveyances and roads; and the intercourse with Lerwick, the only markettown of the Shetlands, is so uncertain and dangerous, that, although the post-office in North Yell communicates twice a week with that place in fair weather, letters are often delayed for a long time on their route. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the presbytery of Burravoe and synod of Shetland, and the patronage vested in the Earl of Zetland; the minister's stipend is £180, including the sum for communion elements, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £9 per annum. There are two churches, both very near the sea-shore; that in Fetlar was rebuilt in 1790, and accommodates 269 persons, and that in North Yell was built in 1832, and contains sittings for 390. The Wesleyans have a place of worship in Fetlar. The parochial school is in North Yell, and affords instruction in reading, writing, arithmetic, book-keeping, and navigation; the master has the minimum salary, and receives a few pounds in fees. In Fetlar is a school of much longer standing than the parochial school supported by the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge; the master, who teaches the same branches as those taught in the other school, receives a salary of £15, and a small amount in fees. There is also a small subscription library. The antiquities comprehend the remains of several chapels and forts, a Roman camp at Snawburgh, several fonts, which have been dug up at Aithsness, and a few urns containing ashes and bones.
Fish Holm Isle
FISH HOLM ISLE, in the parish of Delting, county of Shetland. It is a small island of the Shetland group, situated northward of the Mainland of the parish, and in the southern part of Yell Sound.
Foula
FOULA, an island, in the county of Shetland; forming part of the parish of Walls and Sandness, and containing 215 inhabitants. This island lies almost twenty miles distant from any land, and is the most westerly of the Shetlands; it is about three miles in length, and one and a half in breadth, with bold and steep shores, and formed chiefly of three hills of a nearly conical shape, the highest of which attains an elevation of between 800 and 900 feet. There is very little level ground; and the isle has only one landing-place, Ham, on the east side, and even this cannot be approached in bad weather: the island is resorted to as a fishing station, and it affords excellent pasturage for sheep. Dense columns of birds of various kinds hover round it, literally darkening the air at particular seasons; the surface of the hills swarms with plover, crows, and curlews, and the cormorants occupy the lower portions of the cliffs. The minister of Walls makes a periodical visit to the isle, remaining usually for two Sundays; the schoolmaster officiates as a kind of pastor at other times.
Green Holm
GREEN HOLM, an isle, in the parish of Tingwall, county of Shetland. This is an islet of very inconsiderable extent, one of the smallest of the Shetland group, situated about a mile south-west of Scalloway, a sea-port village on the main land of the parish. It is uninhabited.
Gunister
GUNISTER, an isle, in the parish of Northmavine, county of Shetland. It is one of the smallest of the Shetland group, and lies about a mile southward of the main land of the parish: there is pasturage for cattle and sheep.
Halvera
HALVERA, or Havera, an isle, forming part of the parishes of Bressy, Burra, and Quarff, in the county of Shetland; and containing 37 inhabitants. It lies about two miles southward of Burra island, and half a mile, in the same direction, from West Burra, and at the entrance to Cliff sound. The isle is of small extent, and has the appearance of a high rock, the access to it being by a romantic kind of creek; and the houses seem built in dangerous situations on the brink of a precipice. There is a smaller isle, called Little Halvera.
Hascussay
HASCUSSAY, an isle, in the parish of Mid and South Yell, county of Shetland; containing 42 inhabitants. It lies on the east side of Yell, in Colgrave sound, and west of the isle of Fetlar; it is one of the smaller of the Shetland group, and was formerly uninhabited.
Havera
HAVERA, county of Shetland.—See Halvera.
Hildasay
HILDASAY, an isle, in the parish of Tingwall, county of Shetland. It is of small extent, and lies near the south coast of the main land of Shetland, and nearly parallel with Skelda Ness.
Hillswick
HILLSWICK, a village, in the parish of Northmavine, county of Shetland; containing 211 inhabitants. It is situated near Hillswick ness, and westward of Hillswick creek, which opens into St. Magnus' bay, on the north side of Shetland. The creek affords safe and excellent anchorage for any number of vessels, and of any burthen, having good moorings of from seven to twenty fathoms; there is also a large and convenient beach for drying fish, with warehouses, and salt and fish cellars. Numerous voes indent this part of the coast.
Holms
HOLMS, The, isles, in the parish of Unst, county of Shetland. These are three minute uninhabited isles, which lie to the north-west of the island of Unst; they are each nearly of the same size, and are the smallest of the whole Shetland group.
Hunie
HUNIE, an isle, in the parish of Unst, county of Shetland. This is a very small islet, lying on the east side of the isle of Unst, and a short distance from Balta.
Lamba
LAMBA, an isle, in the parish of Northmavine, county of Shetland. This is a small uninhabited isle of the Shetland group, situated on the north-east coast of the Mainland of Shetland, about a mile and a half westward of Bigga island.
Lerwick
LERWICK, a parish, sea-port, burgh, and market-town, and the county-town, in the Shetland Isles; containing 3284 inhabitants, of whom 2787 are in the town, 95 miles (N. E.) from Kirkwall, 126 (N. E. by N.) from Wick, 166 (N.) from Peterhead, and 272 (N. by E.) from Edinburgh. This place, which has long been celebrated as the resort of whale-ships, Dutch herring-boats, and numerous foreign and wind-bound vessels, originated in the seventeenth century, in connexion with the Dutch fishermen. Capt. Smith, however, who visited the islands in 1633, describes the harbour, but makes no allusion to the town, and in 1700 it contained not many more than 200 families. It is situated on the eastern shore of Mainland, opposite the island of Bressay, from which it is separated by the narrowest part of Bressay sound, otherwise called Lerwick harbour, and well known to mariners who navigate these seas as a secure roadstead in stormy weather. The town is built on a tract originally covered with deep peat-moss, called the Commonty of Sound, and consists of one principal street leading to the harbour, from which avenues or lanes branch off at different places. The most ancient houses are constructed without any regularity, projecting from the line of parallelism, and nearly meeting each other by their abutment. Many improvements, however, have been made within the present century; and several houses have been erected in a more modern style, and with a greater regard to order, by which the general appearance of the town has been much altered. The gradual increase of the population led to the cutting up of the peaty soil of the surrounding land, for the purposes of fuel, in consequence of which the ground exhibited a rocky or stony exterior; but the aspect of the vicinity has, since the year 1820, been rendered more attractive by the inclosure of a common of about forty acres, encompassing the town, and by its partition into thirty-one parks, most of which are under grass. Considerable portions, also, of adjacent land have been brought into useful and ornamental cultivation by resident gentlemen, at a great expense; and neat and elegant houses and cottages have been raised, which are surrounded by well laid-out grounds and small but flourishing plantations. Among these villas is that of Gremista, the occasional residence of Sir Arthur Nicolson. A fort, said to have been erected in Cromwell's time, is situated on an eminence at the northern end of the town, and serves for the protection of the harbour at its entrance in that part. It was thoroughly repaired in 1781, when it was named FortCharlotte, after Her Majesty, the consort of George III.; and it was garrisoned till the peace of 1783. For the defence of the southern entrance of the sound, a government road has been formed, commencing half a mile south from the town, and reaching to a promontory called the Knab: by this road, the transit of artillery or military stores can be effected at any time.
The inhabitants are occupied partly in agricultural operations, and as shopkeepers and merchants, but chiefly in the ling, cod, and herring fisheries, the last of which engrosses considerable attention, though for some years it has not been attended with very great success. The ling-fishery, which continues from May to the middle of August, engages a few boats from this parish; and many sloops of small burthen are employed in the summer time in taking cod. To the herring-fishery, 174 boats were sent in 1839, chiefly from Lerwick. Independently of the fisheries, there is scarcely any traffic carried on beyond that arising from a good general mercantile business; and the only manufacture is that of various articles of hosiery, such as stockings and gloves, made by girls and women. A straw-plat manufactory formerly existed here; but it has long been discontinued. The making of herring-nets, however, which has been introduced into some neighbouring parishes, is considered, on account of the demand for the article, likely to be successful here, and is about to be commenced under the auspices of the leading residents. The general mercantile business transacted is very considerable; almost the whole exported produce of Shetland passes through the hands of the Lerwick merchants, and they import nearly all the groceries and manufactured goods used in the islands. The town contains a branch of the Union Bank of Scotland. Several schooners having accommodation for passengers are engaged in the coasting trade between Lerwick and Leith; it has a mail-packet to Aberdeen in winter, and steam communication with the Frith of Forth during summer. The exports are chiefly fish, butter, hides, tallow, calf and rabbit skins, and stockings; and the imports, coal, cloth, groceries, and grain. This being the seat of the custom-house, all Shetland vessels are registered here: the number belonging to Lerwick is about seventy, and their tonnage 2016 in the aggregate. The customs received at the port during the year 1844, amounted to £463. Several vessels have been built here by Messrs. Hay and Ogilvy, some of which are of 100 and 200 tons.
This is the county-town of the Shetland Isles, and the sheriff-substitute of this division of the united sheriffdoms of Orkney and Shetland resides, and holds his courts, here. The foreign cod and herring fishermen assemble at Lerwick in great numbers; and by an act of the 48th of George III., it was made the rendezvous of the British deep-sea herring fishermen, who are inspected here previously to their engaging in the fishery. For the furtherance of this object, by the establishment of a resident magistracy, a royal charter was granted in January, 1818, erecting the town into a burgh of barony, by which the council is declared to consist of two bailies and nine councillors, to be elected every three years, on the first Thursday in September. The bailies and council, as well as the electors, or burgesses, must be proprietors or occupants of premises of the value of £10 per annum, and must all reside within the burgh. At the time of the passing of the late Municipal Corporations act, the rental of property within the burgh was estimated at £3600; and the number of persons resident whose rents in property or tenancy amounted to £10 and upwards, was fortyeight, of whom forty-one were burgesses, and the rest females or minors. The annual income of the corporation does not exceed £5, and the expenditure is about £15, the excess of the latter over the former being provided for by a voluntary assessment of the inhabitants, as the magistrates are not empowered to raise any taxes for the support of the municipal establishment. By the statute 35 George III. c. 122, the magistrates consider themselves vested with the jurisdiction reserved to independent burghs of barony under the statute 20 George II. c. 43, and with other powers within the burgh competent to justices of the peace. Weekly burgh-courts are held under the Small-debt act; and there are courts, when necessary, for the punishment of offences and the removal of nuisances. A treasurer is appointed by the magistrates and council; and a fiscal, peaceofficer, and town-crier by the magistrates alone. There being no local act, the inhabitants have adopted the general police act in regard to its provisions for cleansing, paving, and the supplying of water; and for these purposes they assess themselves in the sum of sixpence in the pound.
The parish stretches along the coast, and measures about six miles in length, from north to south, and one mile in breadth. It is separated by the sea on the east and north-east from the island of Bressay, which here forms the harbour of Bressay Sound, at the northern extremity of which, not far from the shore, rises the dangerous rock called the Unicorn. The surface of the parish, as well as that of the surrounding country, is rocky and mountainous, the highest point reaching about 300 feet above the level of the sea; the soil on the elevated grounds is a deep peaty moss, and that of the arable land, which lies in patches along the sea-shore, light and sandy, and tolerably productive. The rocks consist of sandstone and conglomerate, and a quarry is in operation. The rateable annual value of the parish is £7006. It is in the presbytery of Lerwick and synod of Shetland, and in the patronage of the Earl of Zetland: the minister's stipend is £150 per annum, with an allowance of £8. 5. 9. for communion elements. Of these sums, £27. 15. 6. are derived from the bishopric rents of Orkney, £16. 13. 4. from the town of Lerwick, £23. 0. 8. from lands in the rural district, and £90. 16. 3. from the exchequer, under the Small-stipend act. There being neither manse nor glebe, a compensation of £50 per annum is paid by the heritors in lieu thereof. The church is a modern edifice, with a Doric front of hewn stone, and stands above the town, towards the northern extremity. The salary of the parochial schoolmaster is £34. 4. 8. per annum, with about £30 fees. The ruins of several chapels were recently visible at Gulberwick; but the only relic of antiquity of any note now remaining is a castle of Pictish origin, on a small island in a lake near Lerwick; and this is fast falling to decay.
Linga
LINGA, an isle, in the parish of Delting, county of Shetland. It is of very small extent, and is one of a group of islands lying in Yell sound, between Yell and the Mainland. There is safe anchorage for fishing-sloops between this place and Delting.
Linga
LINGA, an isle, in the parish of Fetlar, county of Shetland. It lies northward of Fetlar, a short distance from it, and between that island and Unst; and is uninhabited.
Linga
LINGA, an isle, in the parish of Tingwall, Whiteness, and Weesdale, county of Shetland; containing 13 inhabitants. This is one of a cluster of isles, lying in the sound of Scalloway, which opens into the bay of the same name.
Linga
LINGA, an isle, in the parish of Unst, county of Shetland; situated in Blomel sound, south of the main land of the parish, and uninhabited.
Linga
LINGA, an island, in the parish of Walls and Sandness, county of Shetland; containing 9 inhabitants. This isle is situated in Gronfirth voe, St. Magnus' bay, and eastward of the island of Muckle Roe.
Linga, Little and Muckle
LINGA, LITTLE and MUCKLE, isles, in the parish of Stronsay, county of Shetland. These are small islands, the one lying to the north-west of Stronsay; and the other, which is the larger, and sometimes called the Holm of Midgarth, situated in the channel of Linga sound. This channel has two entrances to its convenient harbour, severally northward and southward; and through the latter, which is the wider, large vessels may pass, with the assistance of a pilot, and find safe anchorage in four fathoms of water. On Muckle Linga are the ruins of a chapel. [2]
Lunasting
LUNASTING, county of Shetland.—See Nesting.
Maiden-Skerry
MAIDEN-SKERRY, an isle, in the parish of Northmavine, county of Shetland. It consists of a high rock, of which the summit has never been trodden by man. In the summer season it is occupied by the largest kind of gulls, called the black-backed, which nestle upon it in vast numbers, undisturbed.
Mainland Isle
MAINLAND ISLE, county of Shetland; containing 16,141 inhabitants. This is the largest island of the district, about sixty miles in length, and in some places sixteen in breadth, projecting into the sea in many irregular promontories, and indented by numerous bays and harbours. The interior or middle part is hilly and mountainous, and full of bogs and mosses; but the greater part of the coast is arable, producing chiefly oats sown in April, and barley about the middle of May. The hills are mostly covered with heath, and afford pasturage for cattle and sheep. The island is almost bare of trees, and hardly any shrubs are to be seen, except juniper and small roan trees and willows in the more sheltered valleys. It would, however, appear to have been formerly covered with wood, as trees of considerable size are occasionally dug up in the mosses, some of which are at a great depth; and it is generally observed that their tops are uniformly found lying towards the west, as if they had been overthrown by a storm or inundation from the east. There are appearances of various kinds of metallic ores; at Sandlodge, a coppermine was wrought for some time; and iron-ore is in considerable quantity. The island is divided into the eight parishes of Delting, Dunrossness, Lerwick, Nesting, Northmavine, Sandsting and Aithsting, Tingwall, and Walls and Sandness, all of which are described under their respective heads.
Mousa
MOUSA, an island, forming part of the late quoad sacra parish of Sandwick and Cunningsburgh, in the parish of Dunrossness, county of Shetland; containing 12 inhabitants. This island lies close to the east coast of the mainland, and at the entrance of Aith's Voe; it is also called Queen's Isle, and is about a mile in length and three-quarters of a mile in breadth. The village of Cunningsburgh is distant from it, north-westward, about two miles. In this island is a most perfect specimen of an ancient Scandinavian fortress, or, as some call it, Pictish castle: it is nearly entire, and in shape resembles a dice-box; its height is about forty-two feet, and over the walls, its diameter fifty feet; the walls are about ten feet in thickness, and hollow in the middle. It stands on the shore, and seems to have been a place of defence. Opposite to it are the ruins of another castle of the same description, round which are still visible the sites of a number of small houses.
Musa, Isle
MUSA, ISLE, in the county of Shetland.—See Mousa.
Ness
NESS, an island, forming part of the parish of Bressay, Burra, and Quarff, in the Shetland Isles; and containing 24 inhabitants. This island lies a short distance east of Bressay, is two miles long and a mile in breadth, and consists chiefly of natural pasture, the surface gradually rising from west to east; but in the western portion there is a considerable tract under cultivation. The coast is rocky, and in most parts precipitous; the few intermediate spaces of sloping beach are occasionally sandy, but in general formed of calcareous earth. The most prominent feature on the coast is the Noop, or, as it is called by mariners, Hangeliff, a headland on the eastern shore, about 600 feet high, and the resort in summer of swarms of migratory and other birds. On the south is Hova, another headland, 200 feet high; and contiguous to the coast are several holms, or uninhabited isles, of very small extent, among which the holm of Ness is the most conspicuous. This is a rock with a perpendicular elevation of about 200 feet, separated from Ness by a very narrow frith, and communicating with it by means of a cradle fastened to ropes, which is used for the transit of ten or twelve sheep, sent for two or three months in the summer to graze upon it.
Nesting, Lunasting, and Whalsay
NESTING, LUNASTING, and WHALSAY, a parish, in the Shetland Isles; containing 2294 inhabitants. This parish consists of the three districts or ancient parishes of Nesting, Lunasting, and Whalsay, with the small islands of Skerries on the north-east; and is from eighteen to twenty miles in length, supposing the whole of the land to be continuous, and about four miles in average breadth. About 1000 acres are arable, and the remainder undivided waste or pasture, common to the tenants of the two principal proprietors. Lunasting and Nesting are situated on the Mainland, but are separated from each other by an arm of the sea; the latter has the island of Whalsay on the east, and Catfirth voe or harbour on the south. The inhabitants are engaged principally in fishing, agriculture being but a subordinate occupation, and followed only so far as oats, potatoes, and other vegetables are urgently required as a part of their subsistence. The system of husbandry is therefore on the worst footing, and no improvements have been made in tillage during the last half century. The population, however, of the locality has advanced in numbers beyond the average ratio of other parishes in the Shetland Isles, in consequence of the efforts of the two chief heritors in making numerous new settlements, here called outsets, on lands formerly uncultivated. The rateable annual value of the parish is £862; and the average rent of land, about £1 per merk. Gneiss is the prevailing rock; but primitive limestone, mica-slate, sienite, and granite are also found; and peat, which constitutes the principal fuel, exists in great abundance. A costly mansion has been recently erected in Whalsay, at an expense of £20,000, by Mr. Bruce, of Simbister, of grey granite imported across the sound of Whalsay; it consists of three stories, and has a wing on each side with extensive and convenient offices.
The inhabitants' chief means of subsistence is piltocks and sillocks, which they live upon to a great extent, and are able to catch throughout the whole of the year. What is here termed the Haaf-fishing, however, comprising ling, cod, and tusk, employs nearly all the males, with the exception of those who go to the Greenland whale-fishery, and is carried on from the beginning of June till July or August; the produce is sent to Leith. About twenty-three herring-boats belong to the parish, and the aggregate amount of this description of fish is about 3000 barrels per annum. Provisions are frequently imported in years of scanty supply: the cattle produced for sale are sent to the market-town of Lerwick. The parish is in the presbytery of Burravoe and synod of Shetland, and in the patronage of the Earl of Zetland. The ministers' stipend, exclusive of a vicarage tithe of certain quantities of butter and oil, is £150, of which the sum of £69 is received from the exchequer; with a manse, and a glebe of twelve and a half merks, valued at £12 per annum. The church of Nesting was built in 1792, and is in decent repair; that of Whalsay has been new-roofed, but is deficient in accommodation; and the church of Lunasting, which, with that of Whalsay, is visited by the minister eleven times in the year, has been recently repaired, and is well seated. A church at Skerries, situated at the distance of sixteen miles from the Mainland, is visited only once yearly. The parochial school affords instruction in the ordinary branches of education; the master has a salary of £25 per annum, with £2 or £3 fees. The parish contains a small subscription library, lately established.
Northmavine
NORTHMAVINE, a parish, in the Mainland district, county of Shetland, 30 miles (N. W. by N.) from Lerwick; containing, with the hamlet of Hillswick, 2504 inhabitants. This is a peninsula of nearly triangular form, joined to the remaining portion of the Mainland, and to the parish of Delting, by an isthmus called Mavine, only 100 yards wide, and which is almost covered by the sea at spring tides. It is thought to take its name from its situation being northward from the isthmus, though some suppose it has been designated North Main, or Northmavine, from its relative bearing to the rest of the Mainland. The parish is about sixteen miles in length from north to south, and eight in breadth, and is computed to contain 60,000 acres, 6000 of which are under cultivation. The surface of the interior is uneven, rugged, and hilly, and for the most part covered with short coarse grass or heather; while the shores, which are surrounded with islands, holms, and rocks, are lofty and precipitous, and deeply indented with numerous fissures, forming excellent creeks and bays, and frequented at all seasons of the year by wild geese, ducks, and a variety of other waterfowl. The most spacious and celebrated of these harbours is St. Magnus' Bay, on the west, from which several voes run into the land, affording commodious and safe retreats for shipping in stormy weather: that of Hillswick is most resorted to, on account of its greater security. On the south and east of the bay is Sullom voe, eight miles long; and on the north, Ronan's voe, a narrow channel six miles in length, and Hamna voe, especially the latter, are considered superior harbours. At the back of Hillswick Ness is an immense rock called the Drongs, which rises perpendicularly to the height of 100 feet; and not far distant is the rock named Dorholm, rising about seventy-six feet, and distinguished by an arch, whence it takes its name, and the height of which is fifty-four feet. A few miles north-westward is another rock, called Osse-Skerry, forming a conspicuous object from a great distance, and also entered by a very spacious arch; and between the two last-named rocks is a third, Maiden-Skerry, rising from the sea, at a small distance from the shore, and on which, tradition asserts, no person has ever trodden. Near Fetheland, in the north of the parish, is a range of lofty rocks, called the Romna stacks, which, with the adjacent holms and promontories, invest the locality with a picturesque appearance, and have long been well known as landmarks by mariners. The numerous islands and holms around the shore, the chief of which are Eagleshay, Nibon, Stenness, Gluss, Gunister, and Lamba, are all at present uninhabited, but afford excellent pasturage for sheep and cattle, which graze in summer and winter alike, without shelter or fodder, and are remarkable for the fine flavour of their flesh.
None of the hills are of great height, except that of Rona, which is 1500 feet above the level of the sea, and is the most lofty elevation in Shetland, commanding from its summit, on a fine clear day, which however is here very unusual, extensive and beautiful views. Not far from the top are some powerful springs, sending forth, in a short space of time, a large supply of water, and which, with the numerous springs in other parts, are amply sufficient for the use of the district. The parish contains upwards of 100 lochs, and many of them are of considerable size, and well stocked with trout, which are taken in small numbers. The soil is of various kinds, but generally very thin and wet; a circumstance which, in connexion with the tenacious impenetrable subsoil, greatly impedes the operations of agriculture. The rocky parts are mostly covered with peat-moss, affording to the inhabitants an inexhaustible supply of good fuel; while along the shore, in some places the earth is light and sandy, and in others clayey and loamy, producing usually very good crops. Several sorts of grain are cultivated, to the yearly value together of about £3000; meadow hay to the amount of £100; and potatoes, turnips, and cabbages, to the value of £1000. Some of the native sheep yet remain, but the sheep are in general a cross between these and the Cheviot or black-faced; and large numbers of the native cattle and ponies are annually reared. The state of farming, however, is very low. The scarcity of money, and the want of roads, but especially the absence of the men for a large part of the year in fishing, when agricultural pursuits are left to women and boys, and the tenure on which the inhabitants hold their farms, mostly as tenants at will, form great obstacles to any extensive improvements in husbandry. Ploughs are occasionally seen; but this implement has in general yielded to the spade since the distribution of the farms into smaller allotments for the convenience of the tenants, and the selection of many portions from the common ground for cultivation. The draining and recovering of waste land have received some attention, but only to a very limited extent; and the fences, principally of turf, are but little security against the ravages of the sheep, from which the crops sustain much damage every year, as well as from the severity of the storms that frequently visit the locality, and destroy not only the fruits of the ground, but unroof houses, and carry havoc in every direction. The rateable annual value of Northmavine is only £256. The rocks comprise old red sandstone and coarse limestone, and chromate of iron of inferior quality has been found, with Scotch pebbles and garnets; the higher grounds comprise chiefly granite, gneiss, porphyry, sienite, and sienitic greenstone. The only mansions are Ollaberry, a very neat modern structure, and Tangwick.
The parish is entirely destitute of roads; but there is a communication, by post, with Lerwick twice every week. The trade consists partly in the sale of cattle and horses, which are sent by steamers to the southern markets, but principally in curing fish, of which the cod is chiefly sent to Spain, and the ling and tusk to Leith, Liverpool, and Ireland. The former of these fisheries, however, is nearly given up, on account of its almost total failure for several years past. The latter, for which there are three stations, Stennies, Hamna voe, and Fetheland, is carried on from May till August, at the distance of forty or fifty miles from the shore. The herring-fishery has been completely relinquished, both curers and fishermen having sustained great losses of late years by it. Besides the above, the inhabitants take sea-trout, haddock, whiting, codlings, and piltocks, for their own subsistence; and they are tolerably well supplied with muscles, cockles, oysters, lobsters, and other shell-fish. In May, every year, there is a sale or fair for milch-cows, cattle, and horses; in November is one for fat-cattle and horses; and at several others of an inferior kind, many persons attend, and much business is done. The parish is in the presbytery of Burravoe and synod of Shetland, and in the patronage of the Earl of Zetland: the minister's stipend is £150 per annum, with a manse, and a glebe distributed in four different parts of the parish, and valued at £15 per annum. The church is a plain building, situated inconveniently for the population, at no great distance from the sea, and accommodates 583 persons with sittings, of which seventy are appropriated to the poor; it was built in 1733, repaired in 1764, and renovated in the interior in 1822. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans, and another for Independents. The parochial school affords instruction in reading, writing, grammar, arithmetic, book-keeping, and navigation; the master has a salary of £25. 3. 4., with about £4 fees. There is also a school supported by the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge; the same branches are taught. The principal antiquities are, an immense stone of granite, raised on the top of a hill encircled at the base by smaller stones; the remains of a large Picts' house; a watch-tower on the summit of Rona's hill; and the ruins of a church at Ollaberry, and of one at North Roe; with those of several other religious houses.
Noss
NOSS, county of Shetland.—See Ness.
Oxna
OXNA, an isle, forming part of the parish of Tingwall, Whiteness, and Weesdale, county of Shetland; and containing 19 inhabitants. This is a small island in the bay of Scalloway, about four miles southwest of the village of Scalloway, and close to the isle of Papa. It has a rocky shore, and is nearly surrounded by rocks, among which are those known as the Stags.
Papa
PAPA, an isle, forming part of the late quoad sacra parish of Burra and Quarff, in the county of Shetland; and containing 21 inhabitants. This is a small isle, lying in Scalloway bay, a short distance north-east of Oxna, and north-west of Burra about one mile.
Papa, Little
PAPA, LITTLE, an island, forming part of the parish of Aithsting and Sandsting, in the county of Shetland; and containing 11 inhabitants. It lies in St. Magnus' bay, near the island of Vementry, and is a small place, having a couple of families, and appropriated to the pasturage of cattle and sheep.
Papa-Stour
PAPA-STOUR, an island, forming part of the parish of Walls and Sandness, in the county of Shetland; and containing 382 inhabitants. This island lies at the entrance of St. Magnus' bay, about a mile west of the main land of the parish, and is about two miles in length and one in breadth. The surface is flat, and the soil sandy; excellent crops of oats, barley, and potatoes are often produced, and the pasturage is exceedingly rich. There are numerous voes, or small harbours, which afford safe anchorage for fishing-boats; and from the convenience of the beach, buildings are erected for drying fish, a branch of trade extensively carried on. The elevated grounds are irregular-shaped ridges, with roundish summits; and in almost every part of the coast are marks of the devastation of the Western Ocean in the form of stupendous cliffs and deep excavations. On the coast are also numbers of isolated rocks, one of which is called the Lady's Rock; and there is a very remarkable cave called Christie's hole, into which the tide flows: here boats' crews attack the seals at certain seasons, well armed with thick clubs, and provided with lights. The inlet of Hanna Voe, though of difficult access, is a secure harbour for vessels.
Quarff
QUARFF.—See Bressay, and also Burra.
Roe, Little and Muckle
ROE, LITTLE and MUCKLE, islands, in the parish of Delting, county of Shetland; the one containing 11, and the other 214, inhabitants. Little Roe is situated on the northern coast of the parish, in Yell sound; and Muckle Roe in St. Magnus' bay, on the western coast of the Mainland of Shetland. The former is of very inconsiderable size, and its inhabitants, consisting of two or three families, employ themselves in fishing; but the latter is a comparatively large island, about twenty-four miles in circumference, having some spots of land brought into cultivation within the last hundred years, while the other portions are covered with a fine kind of heath, which affords good pasture to sheep and black-cattle, great numbers of both which are annually reared.
Samphrey
SAMPHREY, an isle, in the parish of Mid and South Yell, county of Shetland; containing 36 inhabitants. It is a small island lying in Yell sound, about a mile and a half southward from Biga island.
Sandness and Walls
SANDNESS and WALLS.—See Walls and Sandness.
Sandsting and Aithsting
SANDSTING and AITHSTING, a parish, in the county of Shetland, 12 miles (W. N. W.) from Lerwick; containing, with the islands of Little Papa and Vementry, 2478 inhabitants. These ancient parishes, now united, are said to derive their names respectively from two necks of land called Ting or Taing, on which courts of justice were formerly held; the one situated near Sand, and originating the name of Sand's-ting; and the other near Aith, giving the name of Aith's-ting. The parish lies in about the middle of the Mainland, and is bounded on the south and south-west by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the north by the Minn, or Swarbach's Minn, a large arm of the sea by which it is separated from the island of Muckle Roe. It is about ten miles in length and eight in breadth, comprising 1000 acres of cultivated land, exclusive of large tracts of pasture and peat-moss. The shore of that part washed by the ocean is bold and rugged, and marked by several curious natural caves, frequented by seals and wild-fowl; and the land in every part, both on the north and south, is intersected with voes, forming numerous well-secured natural harbours, of which those of Gruting, Olla, and Airs of Selivoe are the principal, and afford excellent anchorage for vessels of heavy burthen. On the south of the parish are the two voes of Skeld; and at a little distance, in the same direction, are the entrances into Selivoe and Sandvoe. Selivoe is remarkable for the unruffled tranquillity of its waters, and the firmness of its anchorage, consisting of a strong, blue, tenacious clay; but Sandvoe, being much exposed, and having only a very loose bottom, is considered an insecure and dangerous station. In addition to these, are Sandsound voe, which runs for upwards of five miles inland; West Burrafirth, on the north of Aithsting; and Brindister voe, all, with the exception of Burrafirth, commodious harbours having good anchorage; and there are several others, of which Aith's voe is the chief, an inland harbour of great extent, and affording tolerable accommodation for shipping. Among the various islands and holms belonging to the parish, the smaller of which are used only for the grazing of a few cows or sheep in summer time, Vementry and Little Papa, both inhabited, hold the most conspicuous place. The former is of considerable extent, covered partly with heather and partly with verdant sward, and is depastured by about 400 sheep chiefly of the white-faced breed, besides numerous black-cattle; Little Papa, which is of smaller size, and its pasture of inferior quality, is also grazed by several head of black-cattle and by about 200 sheep, which are a cross of the white and black faced kinds.
The surface of the interior, of which no part is distant more than a mile from the sea, is chiefly marked by a succession of knolls or inconsiderable elevations, there being no remarkable hills, nor any lengthened tract of low ground. These eminences are covered with heather, interspersed with green patches; and there are numerous springs and lochs, the latter amounting to no less than 140, and some of them large, and containing a good stock of very fine trout. The land under cultivation is in general contiguous to the shore. In some places the soil is sandy, in some clayey, and in others a light brown earth; but its prominent character is that of moss, which runs very deep, and affords the inhabitants a never-failing supply of excellent fuel, and in which are often found imbedded, at a great depth, fragments of birch and other wood. The ordinary crops are, bear, oats, and potatoes; the last are the leading article, and occupy about one-fourth of the ground under tillage. Cabbages, turnips, and carrots thrive very well, especially the last; and in the horticultural department, gooseberries and currants, strawberries, rhubarb, mint, and all kinds of culinary vegetables and herbs, arrive at perfection. The farms are generally of about three or four acres only, and are under spade husbandry, but two or three ploughs being in use; and the harrows, which are entirely of wood, and of the most simple construction, are each drawn over the ground by a man or woman by means of ropes. The land, as in most of those Shetland parishes where agriculture is in a rude state, consists of in-field and out-field, and is, as it is here called, run-rig, being but very scantily protected in any part by fences. Manure formed of sea-weed, earth, and a mixture of cows' dung, is applied to all the lands with the exception of those appropriated to the growth of potatoes, the inhabitants supposing it to be injurious to this root. The cottages of the tenants are of the meanest possible description; but the inmates appear to be reconciled to them by use. Large numbers of sheep are reared, mostly of the native breed, but now frequently crossed with the black and white faced; the black-cattle and ponies are numerous; and there is a small, bristly, yet excellent breed of pigs, one or two of which are generally kept by each family. The parish contains about fifty mills turned by water, and an almost unlimited number of hand-mills.
The rocks comprehend gneiss, limestone, blue and red granite, felspar, and several other varieties; and at a small distance from Tresta, a layer of porcelain earth of a whitish hue is found. Near Innersand, chromate of iron was quarried some years since; but the profit not being sufficient, the operations have been discontinued. There are a few trees which thrive well in favoured situations, such as the alder and mountain-ash; and the holms in some of the fresh-water lochs exhibit good specimens of the hazel, brier, honeysuckle, and willow; but the excessive moisture of the climate, together with the sea-spray, the long-continued rains and storms, and the depredations of the cattle when pressed for forage, forbid the hope of any thing like a regular plantation in the locality. There are three good mansions; Sand House, built in 1754; Garder House, built about 1760; and Reawick, a plain structure of recent date. Fishing here, as in the rest of the islands, engages much attention: the taking of ling commences in May or June; that of cod, beginning about the same time, is carried on in sloops of from twenty to forty tons' burthen; and the herring-fishing generally succeeds the others, and continues six weeks. Besides these kinds, tusk, saith, and other varieties are taken; and in most of the friths, haddock, whiting, flounder, halibut, skate, and mackerel are plentiful, with sillocks and piltocks; also shell-fish of every description. A fair is held at Whitsuntide, and another at Martinmas, for cattle and horses; the fish cured in the parish is sent by some to Leith, and by others further south.
Ecclesiastically ECCLESIASTICALLY the parish is in the presbytery of Lerwick and synod of Shetland, and in the patronage of the Earl of Zetland. The minister's stipend is £158, of which a fourth is received from the exchequer; with a manse, built in 1817, which is in a very dilapidated state, and a glebe valued at £9 per annum. The church was built in 1780, and reseated in 1824, and contains sittings for 437 persons. Previously to its erection there was a church in each of the two districts; and the present edifice was raised in a central situation, for the more regular performance of divine service; but it is found inconvenient for general attendance, many of the inhabitants being separated by a marshy tract seven miles across, and others by two arms of the sea. There is a meeting-house for Independents, and another for Wesleyans. The parochial school, the premises for which were built in 1803, at the cost of £105, affords instruction in reading, writing, arithmetic, and book-keeping; the master has a salary of £26, with a dwelling, and the fees. There are also two schools supported by the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, who grant the teachers salaries of £15 each; and one Assembly's school, of which the master has a salary of £21. An institution called "the Shetland Fishermen's Fund," was established in 1810, for the relief of aged and decayed fishermen, and the widows of fishermen; it is managed by twelve directors, and has been of much benefit to the parish among the objects for whom the charity was designed. The parish contains numerous barrows or tumuli, the supposed places of sepulture of the ancient Scandinavians; and several forts built on high ground for watch-towers and other purposes. There are also five burying-places, at one of which, situated at Sand, a mile distant from Kirk-holm, is still the chancel of a church which tradition reports to have been constructed by the crew of one of the ships of the Spanish Armada that was wrecked here in 1588, out of gratitude for the kindness of the inhabitants. The sufferers had at first taken refuge and fortified themselves in Kirk-holm; and remains of their works are yet visible on the isle.
Sandwick
SANDWICK, an isle, in the parish of Yell, county of Shetland. It is a very small isle, situated in the sound of Yell, and a short distance from the western coast of the island of that name. Between it and the Mainland of Shetland is the isle of Stour-holm.
Sandwick and Cunningsburgh
SANDWICK and CUNNINGSBURGH, a quoad sacra parish, in the parish of Dunrossness, county of Orkney and Shetland, 9 miles (S. by W.) from Lerwick; containing 2167 inhabitants. This place comprises the ancient parishes of Sandwick and Cunningsburgh, annexed at an early period to Dunrossness, from which they were separated for ecclesiastical purposes, by act of the General Assembly, in 1833, and erected into one quoad sacra parish. The district occupies that portion of the southern peninsula of Shetland which extends from Dunrossness Proper, on the south, to the parish of Quarff, on the north; and is bounded on the east by the North Sea, and on the west by the sound of Cliff. It is nearly eleven miles in extreme length, and varies from two miles and a half to almost six miles in breadth, comprising about 20,000 acres, of which not more than 1200 are arable, and the remainder moorland pasture, moss, and waste. The surface is diversified only with hills of moderate height, chiefly covered with moss; and the scenery, from the want of timber and plantations, is somewhat destitute of interest. The shores are bold and rugged; and between the headlands of Haly Ness, on the north, and No Ness, on the south, is the small island of Mousa, off the eastern coast of Sandwick. On this island are some very perfect remains of an ancient Scandinavian fortress or Pictish castle, a circular tower fifty feet in diameter and forty-two feet in height; the walls are about ten feet in thickness, with an intermediate space between the outward and inner surfaces. It is situated close to the shore; and on the opposite shore of the main land are the ruins of a similar fortress, around which are the foundations of several small houses. There are no rivers in the parish, with the exception of a streamlet near Channerwick, and a small stream which flows from Cliff sound, and falls into the sea near the hamlet of Cunningsburgh, at the head of Sandwick bay. The soil of the arable land is tolerably fertile, but nothing that can properly be called a system of husbandry has been introduced. The parish is generally inhabited by persons engaged in the fisheries off the coast, and to whose cottages, which are scattered in clusters, are attached small portions of land in the cultivation of which they employ themselves during the intervals of the fishing-season, for the maintenance of their families. The mosses afford abundance of peat for fuel: almost in the immediate vicinity of the several cottages are tracts of moss, on which the people have a right of cutting turf. Some few families, however, make use of coal, obtained chiefly from the north of England.
The hills and rocks are of the secondary sandstone formation, and the substrata mainly whinstone and slate. Stone of good quality for building, and a greyslate which is well adapted for roofing, are quarried to a moderate extent; limestone is also found in abundance, and kilns for burning it have been erected at Cunningsburgh. Towards the close of the last century, a vein of copper was discovered at Sand Lodge, and was wrought for some time by a company from England; but not being found sufficiently productive to remunerate the working of it, it was soon after abandoned, and the mine has not been re-opened. The fish taken here are, ling, tusk, saith or coal-fish, cod, skate, halibut, haddock, flounders, and other kinds of white-fish; and during the season, which usually commences about the beginning of August and continues till the end of September, the inhabitants are engaged in the herring-fishery, for which a considerable number of large boats have been fitted up at a great expense. The herring-fishery is moderately successful; and in favourable seasons, several thousand barrels of fish have been taken by the boats belonging to the parish, for the accommodation of which a very convenient harbour has been formed. The fish caught here are purchased by the merchants of Lerwick, the nearest market-town, and are sent thence by vessels to the various markets on the English and Irish coasts. The only gentleman's seat in the parish is Sand Lodge, a neat modern mansion situated on the shore, and to which several additions have been recently made by the proprietor. There is no village properly so called, and the facilities of inland communication are very inconsiderable; a turnpike-road from Lerwick to Dunrossness was commenced a few years since, but was discontinued for want of funds. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Lerwick and synod of Shetland. The minister's stipend is £120, paid from the exchequer, with a manse built by government, a garden, and an acre of uninclosed land; patron, the Crown. The church, erected by the heritors in 1807, at a cost of £700, is a neat substantial structure situated on a level green at the head of Sandwick bay, and contains nearly 600 sittings. There are also places of worship for Wesleyans and Independents. The parochial school is attended by about sixty children; the master has a salary of £25. 13. 4., with a house, an allowance of £2. 2. in lieu of garden, and the fees, averaging £8 annually. A school is supported by the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge; and there are also two small subscription libraries, one in Sandwick, the other at Cunningsburgh.
Scalloway
SCALLOWAY, a village, in the district of Tingwall, parish of Tingwall, Whiteness, and Weesdale, county of Shetland, 6 miles (S. by W.) from Lerwick; containing 405 inhabitants. This place, the name of which is said to signify "the harbour by the mansion-houses," was in ancient times the capital of Shetland, a burgh, and the occasional residence of the earls of Orkney and Shetland, as well as of nearly all the persons of consideration belonging to the islands. After the cession of Shetland to the crown of Scotland, the principal court of law, which under the crown of Denmark had been held in a small island in the loch of Tingwall, was removed to Scalloway, and the Foud or chief magistrate himself resided here. But the most memorable facts connected with the history of the place, relate to the government and tyranny of Earl Patrick Stewart, who, in 1600, obtained from the crown a grant of the Shetland Isles, and erected a splendid castle at Scalloway, the ruins of which are still imposing. Here he took up his residence, and so cruelly oppressed the inhabitants by laying on them numberless intolerable burthens, and by other abuse of his unlimited authority, which placed their lives at his disposal, that the parliament, about the year 1612, in consequence of an appeal from the inhabitants, revoked his charter, and annexed the lordship to the crown; and the earl, two years afterwards, was executed for high treason. The village is situated at the south-western extremity of the Tingwall district, at the foot of a valley consisting of one of the finest and most fertile tracts in the country, having a rich soil incumbent on a stratum of valuable grey limestone. East of Scalloway stands the ancient castle, on the margin of one of the best harbours in the locality, called Scalloway Voe: the building was occupied in the time of Cromwell as barracks by his soldiery, who are said to have introduced the cultivation of the cabbage, with other improvements. Mr. Scott, the chief proprietor, has a residence and garden in the village, where there are several other good family houses; but it is principally distinguished as a fishing-station, and has risen to a condition of much prosperity within the last few years, chiefly through the attention paid to the taking of herrings, about 15,000 barrels of which were shipped in a recent year. A church has been lately erected for the benefit of the village and neighbourhood; and there is a small place of worship for Independents; also a school supported by the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge.
Shetland, or Zetland, Islands
SHETLAND, or ZETLAND, ISLANDS, forming, with Orkney, a maritime county, in the northern extremity of Scotland, bounded on the north by the North Sea, on the east by the German Ocean, and on the west by the Atlantic. They lie between 59° 51' and 60° 52' (N. Lat.) and 52' and 1° 57' (W. Long.), and extend for about seventy miles from north to south, and fifty-four miles from east to west; comprising an area of about 855 square miles, or 547,200 acres; 5530 houses, of which 5388 are inhabited; and containing a population of 30,558, of whom 13,176 are males, and 17,382 females. These islands, like those of Orkney, with which in their history they are closely identified, appear to have been visited by the Romans, though they effected no permanent settlement in either. They were at a very early period inhabited by the Picts, of Scandinavian origin, who, long after their defeat by Kenneth II., and the consequent union of the two kingdoms, continued, under his successors, to maintain in these distant territories a kind of independent sovereignty. As closely connected with the Orkneys, the islands were governed by a succession of petty kings till they were subdued by Harold Harfager, who attached them as appendages to the crown of Norway, and placed them under the government of a succession of Norwegian earls. On the marriage of James III., however, with the Princess Margaret of Norway, they became, and they have ever since remained, part of the kingdom of Scotland. After various grants to different individuals by succeeding monarchs, and their subsequent reversion to the crown, as detailed under the head of Orkney, the Shetlands became partly the property of Sir Lawrence Dundas, ancestor of the present superior, the Earl of Zetland, to whom they give that title.
Previously to the Reformation, Shetland formed part of the diocese of Orkney; at present it constitutes the synod of Shetland, and comprises the presbyteries of Lerwick and Burravoe, and twelve parishes. For civil purposes the islands are united with those of Orkney, forming one county under the jurisdiction of a sheriff-depute, who appoints two sheriffs-substitute, one for each of the districts. By the provisions of the act of the 2nd of William IV., Shetland is also associated with Orkney in returning a member to the imperial parliament. The only town of any importance is Lerwick, besides which there are merely the small town of Scalloway, with some villages and small hamlets on the coasts.
Shetland comprises a cluster of ninety islands, of which twenty-five are inhabited, and the remainder small holms principally appropriated to pasture. They are nearly contiguous to each other, and separated only by narrow sounds or friths, with the exception of Foula and Fair isle, of which the former is about twenty-five miles to the west, and the latter twenty miles to the south, of Mainland. Of the inhabited islands the principal is Mainland, above fifty-five miles in length and twenty-five miles in breadth. To the north of Mainland, from which it is separated by Yell Sound, is the island of Yell, twenty miles long and seven miles in average breadth, to the north of which, again, is the island of Unst, about twelve miles in length and from three to four in breadth. These three are the most important of the group. Of the other islands the largest is Fetlar, to the east of Yell, about four and a half miles in length and three and a half miles in breadth; and to the south of this, and opposite to Lerwick, is the island of Bressay, about four miles long and two miles in breadth. Of the two distant islands, Foula, supposed to be the Ultima Thule of the ancients, is three miles in length and a mile and a half in breadth; while Fair isle is about the same in length and two miles broad. Among the remaining inhabited islands are, Whalsay, Trondray, and the Out Skerries; and in addition to these are numerous small isles, holms affording pasturage to cattle, skerries covered by the tide at high water, and rocky islets, which it would be tedious to enumerate.
The general surface is diversified with hills, of which the highest, named Rona, has an elevation of 1476 feet above the level of the sea, but of the others few attain a height of 500 feet. Between these hills are valleys of pleasing appearance, of which those near the coasts have a wildly romantic character; but the great scarcity of trees detracts much from the beauty of the scenery. There are numerous springs of good water, and some of them send forth streams of moderate extent, none of which, however, can claim the appellation of rivers. The surface is also enlivened with lakes, many of picturesque character, and some of considerable size; most of them abound with trout, and in several are small islands on which are the remains of Pictish castles. On an island in Loch Strom are the ruins of a castle once inhabited by a son of one of the earls of Orkney.
Of the large number of acres, not more than 25,000 are arable and in cultivation; more than 500,000 of the remainder are hilly moorland pasture, water, and waste; and there are several fertile meadows, and wide tracts of moss affording an abundant supply of fuel. The soil is generally a light sand intermixed with clay and gravel, but in some parts a clayey loam; the most fertile lands are those near the coasts. The chief crops are, oats, bear, potatoes, and turnips. The system of husbandry is in a comparatively low state; but from the institution of agricultural associations, which award premiums for the breaking up of waste lands and for other improvements, there is every prospect of its advancing. The principal manure is sea-weed, of which great abundance is found upon the coasts, with dung, ashes of peat, and mould mixed together. Spade husbandry is still much in vogue; little has been done in the draining and inclosure of lands; and the want of good roads is a great obstacle to improvement. The cattle and sheep are both of the native breed, strong and hardy, though small in stature; of the former about 45,000, and of the latter about 80,000, are generally fed on the different pastures. Poultry are largely kept on the several farms, and swine are fed in great numbers. The horses, of which about 20,000 are pastured on the hills, are of the native breed, small, hardy, and sure-footed; they are well known as Shetland ponies or shelties, and not a few are reared for the supply of the southern markets.
The principal substrata are limestone and sandstone. The former is used for mortar, for which purpose it is burnt with peat, but it is not employed for agricultural purposes; sandstone-slate is also found, and quarried for roofing. The prevailing rocks are of granite, gneiss, mica and clay slate, limestone, and serpentine; copper and iron ores are found, and also chromate of iron, of which great quantities have been quarried from the serpentine rocks in Unst. From the remains of ancient trees found in the mosses, there is every reason to conclude that the islands formerly abounded with wood, though at present, except in one or two gardens, in which are a few sycamores, there is scarcely a tree of any kind to be seen. The residences of the proprietors of land are, Gloup, Midbrake, Busta, Greenbank, Buness, Reawick, Belmont, Hammer, Lund, Uyeasound, Uyea, Brough Lodge, Smithfield, Reafirth, West Sandwick, Burravoe, Symbister, Gardie House, Ollaberry, and others.
The chief manufactures are, the knitting of wool into stockings, gloves, and shawls, and the weaving of coarse woollen-cloth; the fleece of the Shetland sheep is remarkably soft, and has been wrought into stockings of so fine a quality as to sell for forty shillings per pair. The manufacture of kelp, for which the coasts do not afford so ample a supply of material, is not carried on to so great an extent as in the Orkneys. The main dependence of the population is the cod, ling, and herring fisheries, for which convenient stations have been established on the coasts, at Unst, Delting, Yell, Fetlar, Bressay, Scalloway, Northmavine, Papa-Stour, and other places. Among the fish taken are, tusk, haddock, skate, halibut, flounders, and oysters of very large size; the shores also teem with saith, or coal-fish, which form part of the food of the inhabitants, and, according to their size, are called sillocks and piltocks. The trade embraces the exportation of dried fish, herrings, oil, butter, beef, cattle, sheep, Shetland ponies, hosiery, and shawls; and the importation of almost every requisite for the use of the fisheries, clothing, manufactured goods of all kinds, groceries, and numerous other articles for the supply of the inhabitants. The port is Lerwick, where is the custom-house; and exclusively of the sloops employed in the fisheries, the number of vessels registered as belonging to the place is seventy, of the aggregate burthen of above 2000 tons. Vessels on their voyage to the Greenland whale-fisheries, and to those of Davis' Straits, touch at this port, where they take in a considerable number of men, who are much esteemed for their skill and intrepidity. On Sumburgh Head, the southern extremity of Mainland, is a substantial and elegant lighthouse, erected at a cost of £40,000, displaying a fixed light visible at a distance of twenty-two nautical miles. The annual value of the Shetland Isles, as assessed to the income-tax, is £19,929. The remains of antiquity are, Pictish castles, which are found in profusion, in many instances on islands in the lakes; tumuli, which were found to contain human bones inclosed with square stones; the ruins of churches and religious houses, among which are those of St. Hilary's kirk; Druidical pillars; old forts, of which one consists of two concentric circular mounds of earth and stone; numerous barrows; and various other relics, which are noticed under the heads of the islands and parishes in which they occur.
Skerries
SKERRIES, islands, forming part of the parish of Nesting, Lunnasting, and Whalsay, in the county of Shetland; and containing 122 inhabitants. These are three small isles, sometimes called the Out Skerries, in contradistinction to the Pentland Skerries, and named respectively Bruray, Grunay, and Housay. They lie about fifteen miles north-east from Whalsay, and twenty miles distant from the Mainland: on the western side are several detached rocks, and ten miles north-west of the group is the islet of Muckle Skerry. Each of the three islands is about a mile in extent, and in all are beds of primitive limestone associated with gneiss. The population consists of fishermen and their families. A lighthouse on the low rocks here would materially contribute to the security of the whole of the eastern coast, and in war time would be particularly advantageous, as naval vessels are then almost constantly cruising between the Naze of Norway and the Isles of Shetland.
Stenness
STENNESS, an isle, in the parish of Northmavine, county of Shetland. It is a small isle on the north coast of the Mainland, covering a small bay in the parish, where is a good fishing-station, with drying-houses and other conveniences.
Stourholm
STOURHOLM, an isle, in the parish of Northmavine, county of Shetland. It is a very small isle, lying on the north side of the Mainland, opposite to Sandwick, in the sound of Yell; and is about a mile in length and half a mile in breadth, and uninhabited.
Tingwall, Whiteness, and Weesdale
TINGWALL, WHITENESS, and WEESDALE, a parish, in the county of Shetland, 5 miles (N. W. by W.) from Lerwick; containing, with the village of Scalloway, and the islands of Linga, Oxna, and Trondray, 2957 inhabitants. This district consists of the ancient but now united parishes of Tingwall, Whiteness, and Weesdale. The first of these at one time comprehended the lands of Lerwick, which were disjoined from it, and erected into a separate parish, in 1701, and also those of Sound and Gulberwick, which were severed in 1722, and united to Lerwick. Tingwall appears as a place of some consideration in the ancient history of the Shetland Isles. It was created an archdeaconry, after bishops had been appointed for these islands by permission of Adlebert, Archbishop of Bremen; and most of the church lands were conveyed by Sir Jerome Cheyne, one of the archdeacons, to his nephew, in whose family they were allowed to remain without litigation. At the establishment of Presbyterianism in Scotland, in 1592, this place became the seat of the presbytery of Shetland, the business of which was, however, afterwards removed to the village of Scalloway. It is also celebrated in the ecclesiastical history of Scotland for its process of augmentation, a former incumbent, the Rev. William Mitchell, having obtained from the house of lords a decision in favour of an increase in the stipends of the clergy, by an appeal from the court of session, where, after a sharp discussion, the case had been rejected. During the time that Shetland belonged to the Danish crown, the chief magistrate, who was called the Foud, resided here; and when, in 1271, the isles were separated from those of Orkney, and united to Faroe, one "Foud" and "Lagamand" was appointed for both localities conjointly, who resided at Scalloway. The assize was held at a small holm in the loch of Tingwall, where, also, an appeal was admitted from the other courts, which were all regulated by the law called Gula Thing; and the final sentence was executed on criminals upon a hill in the vicinity. This superior court was removed to Scalloway when the islands were ceded to Scotland.
The parish is situated in the Mainland, and washed on the north, south, and west by the sea. Tingwall is from twelve to fourteen miles in length, from north to south; Whiteness, lying on the west of Tingwall, between five and six miles in length; and Weesdale, to the north-west of Whiteness, from six to seven miles in length; the three comprising together upwards of 20,000 acres, about 2500 of which are under tillage. The shore in general is similar to that on the other parts of the islands; but this locality is superior on account of its excellent harbours, formed by arms of the sea. The principal of these are, Deals voe, Laxfirth voe, Wadbister voe, and Catfrith voe, on the north; Weesdale voe, Binnaness voe, and Whiteness voe, on the west; and Cliff sound and Scalloway voe on the south; to the west of the latter of which is a cluster of islands belonging to the parish, and affording, in the waters towards the interior, several spots of fine anchorage. The surface comprehends much variety. A number of valleys lying parallel with each other run through the district from north-east to south-west; and on the sides rise hills, for the most part barren, and unfit for tillage, but serviceable for the pasturage of cattle and sheep, and for the supply of peat, which constitutes the chief fuel. Among the numerous lakes, most of which are well stocked with fish, the principal are, the lakes of Tingwall, Asta, and Girlsta, in Tingwall; and that of Strom, in Whiteness, where are the remains of a small fort which, according to tradition, was inhabited by a son of one of the ancient earls of Orkney, who was slain at the Standing-stone of Tingwall by order of his father.
The soil is in some places a light brown earth, in others a dark loam, and frequently moorish. The produce consists of almost every variety: wheat and rye seldom arrive at maturity for want of sun, but barley, oats, turnips, and potatoes thrive well, and with the last Lerwick and Scalloway are usually supplied from this parish. Grass-seeds, hay, peas, and pasture-grass, are likewise cultivated; and an improved system being practised here, founded on a regular rotation of crops, the district has advanced in husbandry far beyond most others in the Shetland Isles. The land in many parts is prepared by the spade; but ploughs are also much used, drawn generally by horses, but often by horses and oxen together. Shell-marl, of which there is a good supply, is found highly beneficial as manure. Draining has recently been carried on to a considerable extent, and is still attended to. Much waste land, also, has been reclaimed; but a large proportion of open common of the best quality is destroyed by the practice of cutting up the turf for various purposes, and carrying it to the respective farms. On many of the high grounds, too, especially those on the east side of Tingwall, which appear capable of cultivation, the moss has been so deeply cut out in places as to leave nothing but the rugged substratum of clay-slate and micaceous schistus, with stones of coarse granite and gneiss. The progress of agricultural improvement is much obstructed by the nature of the subsoil in some lands, and of the substratum in others. A bed of fine blue slate was lately discovered on the north-east of Tingwall, which is very superior to the grey slate generally quarried, and being such a valuable acquisition, it was for a time wrought. Sienite is found on the shores, and hornblende on some of the hills, where there is also a considerable quantity of quartz. The rateable annual value of the parish is £957. The only village is Scalloway (which see); and communication is carried on without any other tracks than those formed by the feet of horses, except in the Tingwall district, where roads have been constructed, which are now in very superior order compared with their former condition. Here, as in the Shetland Isles generally, the principal article of trade is fish, the taking of which constitutes the main occupation of the inhabitants. The first fishing in the year, which is that of cod and ling, begins in the spring, and is carried on in open boats; the produce is very considerable, and is exported partly to Leith and Liverpool, and partly to Spain. The "summer" fishery begins about the end of April, and is carried on in sloops of twenty tons' burthen, which bring home large freights of ling, saith, tusk, and other fish; that of herrings commences in June, and again in August, and is often a source of great profit to the inhabitants, who, however, by its failure at times, as well as by that of the agricultural crops, are occasionally reduced to great distress. Cattle and ponies, with several articles common to the islands, are exported to England; and oatmeal, tobacco, coffee, tea, and spirits, are imported for the use of the inhabitants.
The parish is in the presbytery of Lerwick and synod of Shetland, and in the patronage of the Earl of Zetland: the minister's stipend is £263, exclusive of a manse, and a glebe of the annual value of £20. The church at Tingwall was built in 1788, and contains 570 sittings, but, when full, can accommodate 700 persons. A church has recently been built at Whiteness, in the place of the old church dedicated to St. Ola, for the use of the districts of Whiteness and Weesdale; and a missionary officiates who is supported by the Royal Bounty. A church has also just been erected at Scalloway, for the benefit of the village and its neighbourhood. There is a small place of worship for Independents. The parochial school is situated at Tingwall; the master receives a regular salary of £35 a year, a dwellinghouse built in 1799, and £8 fees. In addition, there are a school in Weesdale, another in Whiteness, and a third at Scalloway, all supported by the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge: in the island of Trondray, also, a school is maintained by the General Assembly; and at Laxfirth, a spacious school and a dwelling-house have been built by Mr. Hay. The principal antiquities are, the remains of numerous chapels, and the fine ruin of a castle near Scalloway. There are also several tumuli, originally used as places of sepulture by the Scandinavians, in which have lately been discovered urns containing calcined bones; and arrowheads, and steinbartes, or stone axes, here called thunderbolts, have been frequently found. A church formerly existed at Weesdale, dedicated to Our Lady, whose shrine is still visited by persons from various parts of Shetland, in the expectation of obtaining relief from trouble.
Trondray
TRONDRAY, an isle, in the parish of Tingwall, Whiteness, and Weesdale, county of Shetland; containing 8 inhabitants. This island lies in the sound of Cliff, south of Scalloway, and opposite to that village. It is about four miles in length and two in breadth, with a very indented coast; and is distant west-south-west from the town of Lerwick about four miles.
Unaray
UNARAY, an isle, in the parish of Yell, county of Shetland. It is a small uninhabited isle, lying in the sound of Yell, close to the north point of Bigga.
Unst
UNST, a parish and island, in the county of Orkney and Shetland, 43 miles (N. by E.) from Lerwick; containing, with the island of Uya, 2831 inhabitants. The island of Unst, of which this parish mainly consists, is the most northern part of the Shetland Isles, and of the British dominions in Europe. It is bounded on the east and north by the German Ocean; on the west by the Atlantic; on the south by a channel four miles wide, separating it from the island of Fetlar; and on the south-west by Blumel sound, a frith about a mile across, through which the tides run with great rapidity and violence. It is nearly of an oblong form, measuring about twelve miles in length from north to south, and between three and four in average breadth from east to west; and is distributed into three portions, called respectively the north, midland, and southern districts. These comprise together 24,000 acres; about 2000 are under tillage, nearly the same number uncultivated meadow and pasture, and the remainder hilly and mountainous land mostly covered with deep peat-moss. The shore is encompassed by small islets, or holms, of which that of Ska, the most northern, is broken in every direction by creeks, bays, caverns, and headlands. The surface of Unst, though not marked by such lofty elevations as those of the other Shetland islands, is diversified with numerous ridges and hills, between which are level tracts of good fertile land, and some picturesque valleys, investing the general scenery with a pleasing character. One of the chief ranges of hills, named Valleyfield, 700 feet in height, stretches along the western coast; it forms a defence against the impetuosity of the sea in that quarter, and ends, in the northern extremity of the island, in the prominent headland of Hermanness, so called from an ancient warrior who is reported to have landed at the point. Parallel, and nearly co-extensive, with this elevation, on its eastern side, is a valley ornamented with a succession of lochs, some containing good-sized trout, and the largest measuring about three miles in length; they empty themselves into the sea at Uya sound, in the southern, and at Burrafirth, in the northern portion of the isle. To the south-eastward of this, in the direction of the loch of Cliff, which is three miles long, much of the land is stripped of its moss, and exhibits a rough, bare, and stony appearance, affording, however, in many places nutritious pasture for native horses and sheep. In the southeastern portion, also, are several lochs called "the Small waters," on account of their diminutive extent; and in every place throughout the island perennial springs of fresh water of excellent quality are abundant.
The headlands are in general lofty and precipitous, especially on the northern, north-eastern, and western shores; and some of the channels are so difficult to cross when the tide runs in, that boats are frequently lost in the perilous attempt. The bays comprehend Burra-firth on the north; Norwick, Haroldswick, and Sandwick, on the east; Watswick, Wick, and Woodwick, on the south-west and west; Balta sound, on the east coast, about the middle of the island; and Uya sound on the south. They afford no protection for vessels, and are all rather dangerous landing-places, with the exception of Balta sound and Uya sound; these are defended against the sea by the islands from which they respectively take their names, and form excellent and safe harbours with both north and south entrances. The islands of Huna and Haaf-Grunie, and the holms of Newgord, Burra-firth, Woodwick, Weatherholm, Ska, and Heogaland, are all adjacent to Unst, and belong to it, but are used only for the pasturage of black-cattle and sheep. Among the numerous caves along this rocky, elevated, and precipitous coast, the most striking is one under a high steep rock at the north-eastern base of Saxa-Vord, the resort of large numbers of aquatic birds; it consists of a majestic natural arch 300 feet in length, of considerable height, and of sufficient span, and having sufficient depth of water to allow a boat to be rowed through it.
The soil is in general tolerably good, in some parts very excellent; and the chief produce is oats, bear, and potatoes, the crops of all which are pretty heavy. Angus oats have been raised by some of the proprietors, as well as rye-grass, clover, and turnips, on grounds where more than ordinary attention has been paid to cultivation; and the crops are said to have equalled those in the best grounds in more southern latitudes. The trees, however, and evergreen plants and shrubs, are stunted in the extreme, the hurricane that frequently blows from the Atlantic throwing the spray entirely across the island, and destroying every kind of ornamental plantation. The farms, exclusively of a contiguous portion of meadow and grass to each, are barely six acres in extent, having, within these few years, been reduced in size to accommodate the tenants, who prefer fishing to agriculture, and who have neither time nor inclination to pursue the latter, except for the supply of their urgent necessities. The land is consequently all prepared with the spade. The out-field portion is generally sown with the black oats common to the district, and left, unmanured, to its own resources; the in-field portion, being adjacent to the dwellings, obtains the principal attention, employing, in spring, males and females of every age in its cultivation. The fences usually consist of turf, or turf and stones; and many have been constructed with considerable care during the last few years, the inhabitants being much more intent than formerly on inclosing their lands. The average rent of arable land is eighteen shillings per merk; and about 20,000 acres are computed to be still in common, 2000 of which, however, are capable of being brought under tillage. The sheep, black-cattle, and horses are all of the native kind, mixtures not having been attended with much success: the last are fast degenerating, on account of no attention being given to the best selections for breeding.
Limestone is wrought at Cliff, and near Balliasta, and a mine containing the chromate of iron found in veins of serpentine is in operation; but this ore, once so largely wrought and so profitable, has latterly been greatly deteriorated in value, and is now comparatively but little raised, on account of the discovery in Norway and other parts of the same mineral, and its free importation into this kingdom. The island also contains gneiss, chlorite, talc, and mica-slate, quartz, hornblende, and a few other rocks. Belmont, the mansion-house at Buness, and a lodge near Uya sound, are the only residences of a superior class. The dwellings of the inhabitants, who live chiefly in the northern and southern districts, are either insulated or in small clusters, forming no assemblage at all entitled to the name of a village: the vicinity of the harbour of Uya sound is, perhaps, the most populous, having a neat range of tenements lately built along the shore, shops for merchandise, some warehouses, and some work-buildings for a blacksmith, a cooper, and a few boat-carpenters. Each neighbourhood has a water-mill for grinding corn, which every farmer uses for himself. The parish is entirely destitute of roads, though open in every part to persons on horseback. The inhabitants send their cattle for sale to the market-town of Lerwick: after driving them with great difficulty over mountains, and through many swamps, they are obliged to transport them in boats across two dangerous sounds before they can reach the Mainland. The other disposable commodities they carry to Lerwick in their own boats, in which they bring back sundry articles for domestic use. The women are all employed in the manufacture of shawls, stockings, and gloves of various quality, some of which obtain very high prices; and coarse woollen cloth is also made, chiefly for the clothing of the inhabitants. Fishing forms the principal occupation of the men, who have within the last few years added to that of ling, cod, and tusk, which they have long been in the practice of salting and drying for the markets of L