Stenness
Shetlopedia - The Shetland Encyclopaedia
| Shetland Settlements | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Stenness |
 | |
| UK Grid Reference: | HU214772 |
| Distance from Lerwick by road: | 40 miles |
| Community Council: | Northmavine |
| Google Street View: | |
Stenness, Northmavine, was the location of one of the busy Haaf Stations in the 1880's.
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Stenness Haaf Station
Picture right : The haaf station and crofts. Sixareens drawn up on the ayre, nearest one 759 LK, of Hillswick. Sixareen outside the Bød is lined out as a flitboat. The Bød was a fishstore on ground level, and had stores above. In the centre of the beach are salting vats, salt barrels, and shearlegs set up. The boats crew's bøds are at end of the ayre, and men can be seen in the vicinity.
Picture left : Sixareens 2741 LK Janet, 2806 LK Swan, 197 LK Onward, 2655 LK Mary Scott, 343 LK Alma, 2805 LK Catherine on the beach. Beside the sixareens themselves, all the other equipment of the fishery can be seen; vats for salting the fish; handbarrow used to carry fish; masts set up to support iron scales to weigh the fish; barrels; "piltik" wands and buoys. In the background, some crewmen are gathered outside their seasonal home, the "lodges". Smoke rises from the "poan" (turf) roofs.
Picture right : Stenness haaf station, with crofts behind. Bøds at end of the ayre, with poan roofs. Piltick wands lie up along the walls. Sixareens are drawn up. Salting vats, washing tub and part built steeple in foreground, with more vats in distance. Legs set up with scales for weighing the dried fish; at furthest scales can be seen splitting board and salt barrels. The crofts have tekkit roofs and some buildings have fellie gables. (Note this photo is slightly more recent than JR 220 and R 268 - two more Bøds have been built).
Two pictures showing closer up views of the fishermen's bods.
On the right one is two men seated by the pump; at left is Robert Johnson, Moorfield, Eshaness.
The station was seasonally occupied by fishermen during the summer months of the haaf fishing.
The men usually spent two days and one night fishing and would bring the catch back to the station for curing by the shore staff. The boat would make two trips a week and they would return home for the weekend, if possible, to tend to the croft.
The two last pictures shows how fast nearly everything has disappeared.
