71 - 79 Commercial Street

The Shetland Times Bookshop.

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Former businesses & History

Old undated Shetland Museum photo, showing Carlton Bar

View showing display window, entrance and signage of Andrew Smith's grocer shop at No. 77, just right of centre, and the premises of J.P. Tait. Watchmaker & Jeweller to the right in No. 79, in the 1890's.
Photo from Shetland Museum and Archives.

Prior to the early 1860's 77 Commercial Street was the premises of the Zetland Hotel operated by John and Margaret O'Brien. In 1860 Dr. Stephen de Djunkowsky, Apostolic Prefect for the Arctic Region, travelled from Kirkwall, Orkney, to baptise one of the O'Brien's children, and stayed on with the intent of converting as many people to Catholisim as possible. After a very short while, he was succeeded by a Belgian priest, Theophilus Verstraeten who acquired the hotel, and constructed a chapel within it. Unfortunately he contracted smallpox, and died in 1871.

The Catholic church to whom ownership had fallen, were apparently disinterested in continuing with the work already started, and sold the building to Andrew Smith, who converted it in to a licensed grocers shop.

Reference

Information contained within an article by Douglas M. Sinclair published in Shetland Life No. 373, November 2011 was the main source of reference when preparing the history section this article.