A guide to Shetland’s museums & heritage centres
Despite its relatively small size, Shetland has an incredible number of cultural heritage centres, supported by a willing army of volunteers who are passionate about recording the past, telling and sharing Shetland’s history, and celebrating the stories and folklore of the islands. Shetland has a strong storytelling tradition, and much of its cultural heritage has been preserved, meaning there’s a vast swathe of information to be explored. It’s perhaps therefore not surprising that for a community so passionate about its heritage, and one steeped in thousands of years of human history, that there are so many museums and heritage centres to explore.
Smaller community museums and heritage centres offer unique and detailed insights into individual communities – from the fascinating links to the wider world and entrepreneurial people who made their mark on the international stage, to the individual communities and the details of what shaped them.
For those researching family history, The Shetland Family History Society provides genealogical services for those looking to trace their ancestry – or reddin’ up kin, as we say here.
Central Mainland
Shetland Museum & Archives
Hay’s Dock, Lerwick
Purpose-built museum set in the historic Hay’s Dock area of Lerwick. The award-winning museum, which opened in 2007, takes visitors through 5,000 years of human history in Shetland. You’re going to need a few hours here, and even after that you will probably want to go back for more.
www.shetlandmuseumandarchives.org.uk
Open all year round
Shetland Textile Museum
Böd of Gremista, Lerwick
With a collection of more than 700 items, including Fair Isle and lace knitting, taatit rugs, tools and tweeds plus a gift shop selling local knitwear, the Textile Museum is a fantastic place to learn more about Shetland’s textile industry.
April to October
Up Helly Aa Exhibition
Galley Shed, St Sunniva St, Lerwick
Shetland’s Up Helly Aa celebrations date back to the 1880s. The seasonal exhibition at the Galley Shed, where the galley (longship) is built over the winter months, traces the history of this unique winter festival, which celebrates the islands’ Scandinavian heritage.
April to September
Bressay Heritage Centre
Bressay
The Heritage Centre houses detailed local history displays that change periodically. Outside is a reconstructed Bronze Age burnt mound that was excavated and reconstructed by archaeologists to save it from nearby coastal erosion.
www.bressay.org/visit/heritage
May to October
Scalloway Museum
Castle Street, Scalloway
A fascinating local history museum focusing on the area’s social and economic past. The museum also has extensive displays about the history of the Shetland Bus Operation and an outdoor display area featuring traditional wooden Shetland boats.
May to October
Easthouse Croft
Papil, West Burra
Home of the Burra History Group, Easthouse is a traditionally thatched crofthouse that hosts an annual summer exhibition showing historic photos and artefacts associated with the area’s fishing and crofting way of life. The History Group releases a calendar each year with historic photographs, available to buy locally in the Burra or Scalloway shops.
Facebook: Burra History Group
Sundays 2-5pm throughout summer
Nesting, Lunnasting & Delting
The Cabin Museum
Wirlie, Vidlin
This wartime museum displays a unique collection of artefacts and photos detailing Shetland’s contribution to the two world wars.
Facebook: The Cabin Museum
May to September (Tues, Thurs, Sat & Sun 1-5)
South Mainland & Fair Isle
Hoswick Visitor Centre
Hoswick, Sandwick
Boasting local history displays about weaving and fishing, a cafe serving hot and cold food, a gift shop full of locally made Shetland produce and a series of walking trails through the former fishing village, Hoswick Visitor Centre is unmissable.
Open all year round
Cunningsburgh History Hut
Cunningsburgh
Home of the Cunningsburgh History Group, the History Hut sits beside the former ship’s lifeboat from the White Star liner Oceanic. The hut is a hub for the local history group who meet here and hold summer exhibitions for the community and visitors. Outside the History Hut is a memorial to the Mosquito that crashed on Royl Field in the Second World War, and a replica Adam Christie sculpture made by Peter Christie.
Facebook: Cunningsburgh History Group
Seasonal (Sunday afternoons); or by appointment
Sandsayre Interpretive Centre
Sandsayre Pier, Leebitton, Sandwick
This small shed acts as both the Mousa Boat waiting room and a local heritage information point, with displays and interpretation panels giving a history of the area, including the story of the grand house of Sandlodge and the attempts at a copper mining industry. There is also extensive information about the nearby brochs of Mousa and Burland.
April to October
Shetland Crofthouse Museum
Boddam, Dunrossness
The Crofthouse Museum, near Boddam, is a traditional Shetland but-an’-ben thatched cottage, styled as it would have been in the 1870s, complete with a working peat fire. Set in a picturesque rural setting, this delightful 19th-century gem shows how people in Shetland used to live, with box beds for the family to sleep in and adjacent barn and byre as part of the crofting way of life. Custodians are always on hand to help interpret the buildings for visitors and paint a picture of what life once looked like.
https://www.shetlandmuseumandarchives.org.uk/visit/crofthouse-museum
May to September
Quendale Mill
Quendale
At the restored 19th-century watermill at Quendale, you can discover more about the milling traditions of the islands. You can also have a go yourself at using a pre-industrial quern stone to grind oats and bere (an ancient form of barley), as crofters would once have done.
April to October
Old Scatness Broch & Iron Age Village
Scatness, Sumburgh
A complex and fascinating archaeological site, accidentally discovered in 1975 during construction of a road to the airport, Old Scatness is an Iron Age settlement with a broch at its centre surrounded by a series of roundhouses. The whole settlement is enclosed by an impressive protective (or defensive) ditch. The broch and wider excavations at Old Scatness have drastically changed how we view this period. One of the most remarkable finds to come out of Old Scatness was the Scatness Bear, a stone carving depicting a bear. Bears have never been native to Shetland, so whoever carved it must have seen one somewhere else.
www.shetlandamenity.org/old-scatness
Seasonal opening on limited days, booking is advised
Jarlshof Prehistoric & Norse Settlement
Sumburgh
This fascinating and fully immersive site sits on the southernmost tip of Mainland Shetland, where the North Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. This is one of the most important, and largest, multi-period sites in Europe, having an almost uninterrupted occupation from the first Neolithic farmers right up until the 1600s when the Stewart Earls ruled, giving us a clear picture of settlement in Shetland through the years.
The name Jarlshof was coined by the novelist Sir Walter Scott, who visited here in 1814 with the Stevenson brothers, who were building the lighthouse at Sumburgh Head.
www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/jarlshof-prehistoric-and-norse-settlement
Open all year round
Sumburgh Head Lighthouse, Visitor Centre and Nature Reserve
Sumburgh Head, Sumburgh
Today, the lighthouse-keeper’s accommodation and the outlying buildings are part of a complex managed by Shetland Amenity Trust. Visitors can explore the engine room, smiddy, recreated radar hut and the Marine Life Centre, as well as the visitor centre, cafe and gift shop. The site is also home to the RSPB, who monitor marine life in the area as well as across Shetland as a whole.
April to October
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George Waterston Memorial Centre and Museum
Fair Isle
Documenting island life over the years, including its rich music traditions, knitting, fishing and its famous straw-backed Fair Isle chairs, this beautiful little museum is a must-see when visiting Fair Isle.
Facebook: George Waterston Memorial Centre and Museum
May to October
North Mainland
Tangwick Haa Museum
Tangwick, Esha Ness
Housed in a former laird’s house – known as a haa – in Esha Ness, this 17th-century building is now a community museum run by local volunteers. The museum has excellent local history displays and a fantastic gift shop stocking local gifts and knitwear from local crafters, artists and knitters, as well as displays on the famous Gunnister Man.
May to October
North Isles & Whalsay
Old Haa Museum
Burravoe, Yell
This fascinating museum is steeped in local history and lore, with engaging displays, a substantial archive, exhibition space, a small shop stocked with local crafts, and a tearoom selling some of the best cakes in Shetland. The museum itself is a traditional haa dating to 1672, which opened as a museum in 1984. Don’t forget to explore the extensive gardens that include sculptures showing the geology of Yell.
April to October
Unst Boat Haven & Unst Heritage Centre
Haroldswick, Unst
Unst has a long tradition of seafaring, and the exhibitions in the Boat Haven tell these stories through a unique collection of small boats and artefacts. In the Heritage Centre you’ll also find out more about the community of Unst, its crofting and knitting past and its rich and diverse geology, arguably the best in Shetland.
Facebook: Unst Heritage Centre
May to October or by request (winter)
Fetlar Interpretive Centre
Houbie, Fetlar
Packed with local history displays, folklore and a wealth of information about island life – this should be one of the first places you explore in Fetlar. You can also get a hot cuppa!
www.fetlar.org/things/activities/fetlar-interpretive-centre
May to October; on demand April & October
Whalsay Heritage Centre
Gardentown, Symbister, Whalsay
The Heritage Centre, housed in the farm buildings that once served the imposing Symbister House, is the community's heritage hub: a treasure trove of trinkets, tools and accumulated stories and artefacts from more than 5,000 years of island life, as well as seasonal exhibitions and events.
May to September
Hanseatic Böd (Booth)
Pier House, Symbister, Whalsay
This building was used as a trading booth by Hanseatic merchants who came to Shetland from ports such as Hamburg, Bremen and Lübeck to trade stockfish – dried whitefish such as ling and cod. For about 500 years, the Hanseatic League and German merchants were Shetland’s main trading partners. The Böd in Whalsay was renovated in 1984 and now houses a small interpretive centre detailing the history of the Hanseatic League and German merchants in Shetland over the years.
Open all year round – Visitors can pick up a key from the shop across the road
Other resources:
Genealogy at Bayanne House
Sellafirth, Yell
Bayanne House features a craft workshop, ancestral research facility, croft and archaeological site. The online genealogical search facility is a must for anyone tracing Shetland and Orkney ancestry.
www.bayanne.co.uk and www.bayanne.info/shetland (the Shetland genealogy website)
Open all year round
Shetland Family History Society
Garthspool, Lerwick
The Society promotes the study of genealogy for Shetland families and their descendants. Members can access a wealth of archive materials and seek advice from knowledgeable researchers.
February to November, Monday to Friday, 2-4pm
Shetland Heritage Association
The Heritage Association gives a voice to Shetland’s heritage groups, many of whom exist as voluntary groups without visitor centres. Many of these groups, predominantly history groups, have specialist interests and can be contacted with queries.
Facebook: Shetland Heritage Association
Shetland Amenity Trust
Garthspool, Lerwick
Shetland Amenity Trust strives to preserve and enhance everything that is distinctive about Shetland's cultural and natural heritage. The Trust operates several sites across Shetland, including Shetland Museum & Archives, The Crofthouse Museum, Old Scatness Broch & Iron Age Village and Sumburgh Head Lighthouse, Nature Reserve & Visitor Centre. They are also responsible for Shetland Geopark.
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