Talk:Back Charlotte Street

Seeing this article being updated reminded me of something I noticed some time ago. I was looking at an old map of Lerwick and saw a hotel at the top of what seems to be an extension of Back Charlotte Street. Unfortunately I have forgotten both where I encountered the map, and also its date. I did keep a clip which I've uploaded:

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On the basis of the location I would expect it to have been a bit of a dive, so I'm surprised not to have heard any old tales involving it. It is called The Zetland Hotel. Anyone know anything about it?
EM 15:44, 15 April 2010 (MDT)

Which building is the "Zetland Hotel" though? Bear in mind that the "Royal Hotel" appears to have been somewhere in that locality, around the same time or somewhat after 173 was the "Royal Bar". Putting two and two together it might be reasonable to suppose the "hotel" part was upstairs and/or further up the same block that 173 fronts. Possibly a change of name at some point???

If you search bayanne for births at the "Royal Hotel" it brings back a few, which might suggest that it was more of a boarding house with longer term residents than a "hotel" per se, or then a place commonly used by expectant mothers from further afield to stay for a birth, maybe to be nearer a specific Doc/Midwife/etc.

Ghostrider 16:05, 15 April 2010 (MDT)

Ah, good point. I'd been assuming it was the very small building just to the left of the "Z," hence my supposition that it looked like a dodgy enterprise. If it is to the right of the label then it would be less interesting.
EM 17:18, 15 April 2010 (MDT)

I did the search you suggested and was surprised to find an individual with the middle names Mortimer Yule. These were, of course, famously the middle names of Mortie Manson. Surprised I looked to see if there were others and there is indeed one more, a sub-editor at the Shetland Times. Given Mortie's publishing links was he and the Royal hotel guy named after that guy? All very intriguing.
EM 17:31, 15 April 2010 (MDT)

Aha, things are getting clearer. I see that there was a Doctor Robert Mortimer Yule, so it seems likely they are named after him. Naming after Doctors was, I believe, quite common. The other common reason was to give children middle names which identified their father in cases of illegitimacy. My own grandfather being an example of the latter. He was named Thomas Fraser Moncrieff, though I've not worked out which of the various Thomas Frasers was my great grandfather.
EM 17:55, 15 April 2010 (MDT)