In response to the high interest in Helen Acklam’s exhibition, we have listed the pieces still available for sale here.| Shetland Museum & Archives
It’s that time in August now, the new school term is near, new experiences, people, and challenges. For many Shetland children, a new term meant living in a new place, residential education in Lerwick, some spending as much as a whole term there. For rural boys from 1947 onwards that meant living in the Janet Courtney Hostel, an imposing edifice at Twageos, now awaiting redevelopment. But who was Janet Courtney?| Shetland Museum & Archives
Helen Acklam’s exhibition 'Mootie’s Hoos' opened this weekend in the Gadderie. The gallery has been transformed into a calming, reflective space filled with evocative images of Shetland crofthouses.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland Museum and Archives is proud to present Mootie’s Hoos, an emotive new exhibition by Scottish-based artist Helen Acklam, opening this Sunday in Da Gadderie.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland Amenity Trust is preparing to release Bressay Lighthouse for sale, working with Savills estate agents to find a new custodian for this iconic heritage property.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Keep up to date with new stories and details of what our researchers are doing to preserve and promote Shetland's heritage and culture.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland Amenity Trust is inviting the public to experience Shetland’s extraordinary natural heritage through two very special, environmentally focused events that bring together community, culture, and conservation.| Shetland Museum & Archives
We're delighted to unveil our latest archaeology display, Play in the Past, a fascinating new focus case that explores the timeless role of toys and games in childhood.| Shetland Museum & Archives
We have listed all the events, workshops, open days and tours taking place at the Shetland Museum & Archives, Shetland Crofthouse Museum, Old Scatness Broch and Sumburgh Head Lighthouse this summer. Keep an eye on this page as more events may be added.| Shetland Museum & Archives
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Tracey Hawkins as the new Collections Manager at Shetland Museum and Archives| Shetland Museum & Archives
In response to the local and national interest in Ron Sandford's exhibition, Spirit of Places, we have listed the pieces still available for sale here.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Within our archive collection we hold a number of 1940s war time audio recordings of local men and women who worked and fought during World War II where they share memories and experiences during that time.| Shetland Museum & Archives
We’re delighted to announce that Ron Sandford’s exhibition, Spirit of Places, is now on display in Da Gadderie. There was a real air of excitement at the opening event as guests queued up to see the much anticipated exhibition and purchase their favourite piece.| Shetland Museum & Archives
We had the most incredible evening at the museum on Thursday 8th May, marking the 80th anniversary of VE Day in style and spirit.| Shetland Museum & Archives
The Shetland Museum’s Gadderie space will be transformed by Spirit of Places, a wide-ranging exhibition by Yell-based artist Ron Sandford. Opening Saturday 10 May, the exhibition brings together over 60 works that reflect Sandford’s deep connection to place – drawing on his life in Shetland, time spent in China, and travels across Europe.| Shetland Museum & Archives
The eighth of May is the eightieth anniversary of the Victory in Europe. Plans for the seventy-fifth anniversary in 2020 were largely cancelled and the anniversary passed in the stillness of the Covid lockdown. There are few people alive now who can recall VE-Day clearly, and fewer still who can recall it as members of the armed forces. VE-Day is becoming a matter of retrieving records, rather than personal experience recounted by the living.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Scotland’s Treasure Trove Unit is set to visit Shetland this May for a two-day programme of events celebrating the islands’ rich archaeological heritage. Hosted by Shetland Museum and Archives, the events will take place on Friday 16th and Saturday 17th May, offering the public an exciting opportunity to learn about recent significant finds in Shetland and to attend a drop-in event with their own ‘treasures’.| Shetland Museum & Archives
To mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Shetland Museum and Archives will host a special evening event on Thursday 8 May, inviting the community to step back in time and reflect on a key moment in history. The programme offers a chance to honour those who lived through the Second World War and to explore how the end of the conflict was experienced in Shetland. The museum will come to life with activities that capture the spirit of celebration that swept the nation in May 1945.| Shetland Museum & Archives
In celebration of International Women’s Day we’re remembering just one of the many pioneering women in Shetland’s history, Christina Jamieson.| Shetland Museum & Archives
The Shetland Museum & Archives was full of activity last week as we celebrated Up Helly Aa. There is always such a lively atmosphere in the building with lots going on for both locals and tourists.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland Amenity Trust is seeking expressions of interest from experienced operators to run a café in Hay’s Dock at Shetland Museum and Archives.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland Museum and Archives is delighted to announce the opening of an inspiring new exhibition, Seen Furt, a photographic exhibition in the Gadderie space, launching this Saturday. Curated by the Islesburgh Photographic Club, the exhibition is a collection of images celebrating Shetland’s landscapes, diverse wildlife and striking natural colours.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland Museum was recently awarded an exciting Viking Age find through the Treasure Trove process – a beautiful copper alloy sword pommel with a date range of AD 900-1100 discovered in Fetlar.| Shetland Museum & Archives
The fiery season will soon be back and Shetland Amenity Trust is putting together a packed schedule of events and extended opening times at its heritage sites to celebrate Up Helly Aa.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Join us at the Shetland Museum & Archives as we celebrate Up Helly Aa with extended opening times, Viking tours, a food and drink event, Jarl Squad visit, UHA photo display and a Peerie Vikings craft session for the bairns.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Chris Morphet shares his inspiration behind the iconic photography of 1970s Shetlanders and their knitwear.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Last month’s cold snap and the crunch of snow underfoot, followed by the battering of Storms Bert and Darragh, have likely made many of us think about preparing for winter. At the Crofthouse Museum in Dunrossness, this preparation happens a bit earlier, right after the busy summer season ends.| Shetland Museum & Archives
By chance, in searching for something else in our Art Collection, I came across a large, humorous, and unusual holiday greeting card from wartime Shetland. It is in the form of a cartoon, hand-coloured with watercolours and mounted on plywood. The artist is signed “R. F. Buckley 1942” and in the top left corner is written “With Best Wishes for Christmas and The New Year”.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland Museum and Archives has plans to update its galleries to coincide with its 20th anniversary in 2027 and is inviting the public to share their views on how the displays could be redeveloped.| Shetland Museum & Archives
During the winter months, our team at Shetland Museum and Archives dedicates a lot of time to community engagement connecting with people of all ages and interests. We host workshops, tours and informal talks in the building as well as heading out into the community visiting schools and local groups to share heritage skills and our love for Shetland’s culture.| Shetland Museum & Archives
What a fun Friday night we had at our Skekler Social, there was making, yarning, music, stories and even a bit of dancing too!| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland Amenity Trust is delighted to announce that it has been approved funding of just under £97,000 from the Coastal Communities Fund to embark on an exciting new maritime heritage initiative at Shetland Museum and Archives. This transformative project, set to begin in early 2025, aims to preserve and promote both the tangible and the intangible cultural heritage surrounding traditional boat use in Shetland and encourage interaction with these traditions.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland Museum and Archives invites visitors to an afternoon of festive cheer, exclusive shopping opportunities and creative crafts this Sunday 1 December in support of the global campaign Museum Shop Sunday.| Shetland Museum & Archives
It is with regret that we announce the closure of 'Hay's Dock by The Dowry', which was operated by Beervana Ltd, located at Shetland Museum and Archives.| Shetland Museum & Archives
We would love to be able to find the name of the lady standing in front of a peat stack and complete our search before the exhibition closes on 29th December 2024| Shetland Museum & Archives
Wool Week is upon us, posters have been printed, the annuals (thousands) are being packed and sent off, and visitors (a lot) have arrived at the Shetland Museum & Archives. Time to think about sheep and sheepie things. In the Archives, towards the end of the Thomas Irvine of Midbrake papers, there’s small stash of sheep information. But first, a word or two about Thomas Irvine.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland Museum and Archives is delighted to announce the opening of its latest exhibition next Saturday, ‘Allover’ celebrating the iconic Fair Isle knitwear of the 1970s through the captivating lens of photographer Chris Morphet.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland Museum and Archives is proud to announce a new display, The Crafts of Foragers, offering a captivating glimpse into Shetland's rich tradition of basket and rope-making using locally foraged plants. The exhibit, now open to the public, includes a small collection of Shetland baskets, highlighting the wide range of native plants historically used to create everyday items essential for life on the islands.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland Museum is delighted to announce the opening of an inspiring new exhibition, Twenty Shades of Blue, in the Gadderie space this Saturday.| Shetland Museum & Archives
A new photographic exhibition opens today at Shetland Museum and Archives which provides a glimpse into an aspect of Shetland’s social history during the 1970s.| Shetland Museum & Archives
The creative and colourful work of Eric Gray students is on display from today in a new exhibition ‘All About Everything’ at the Shetland Museum and Archives.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Roup is a word not commonly used in Shetland any more, although the Shetland Times in 1962 advertised a house in Scalloway “for sale by public roup.” A roup is an auction. The word derives from old Scots and old English terms meaning to shout or cry out. There may even be a connection to an Icelandic word meaning to brag or boast. Some roups, like sales of stock could be fine social occasions, meeting places for the like-minded. Some other roups were sadder – business ventures gone awry...| Shetland Museum & Archives
A new exhibition celebrating cultural and maritime connections with Scandinavia through the work of Scottish and Norwegian artists opens this Saturday in Da Gadderie, Shetland Museum and Archives.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland Amenity Trust is delighted to announce the successful acquisition of a significant 19th century notebook to the Shetland Archives, thanks to the generous support of the Shetland Family History Society (SFHS).| Shetland Museum & Archives
What a fantastic evening at the Shetland Museum celebrating the announcement of the new Shetland Wool Week Patrons, the Doull Family, and their beautiful Islesburgh Toorie.| Shetland Museum & Archives
A new publication, ‘Shetland Fine Lace Knitting – Recreating patterns from the past’ by Shetland Museum’s textiles curator, Carol Christiansen, has launched this week.| Shetland Museum & Archives
To celebrate International Women’s Day 2024 we shine a light on Ann Harriet Pottinger, née Hunter, one of many unsung, hard-working Shetland women who made a difference to their community and family.| Shetland Museum & Archives
A profound new exhibition which captures the fragile and shifting beauty of the Arctic landscape opens this Sunday 10 March at Da Gadderie, Shetland Museum and Archives.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Evenings celebrating Shetland’s rich culture and heritage will begin next month as Shetland Museum and Archives launches its programme of ‘Thursday Lates’ talks.| Shetland Museum & Archives
We’re warming ourselves up to the idea of Valentine’s Day. Some might say Shetlanders are not renowned for being romantics and references to Valentines in our archives are somewhat sparse. However Mark in our archives team did come across this article from the 1950s which explores old courtship and marriage customs in the isles - thankfully things have moved on a bit since then….| Shetland Museum & Archives
It’s that time of year, Valentine’s Day, the 14th of February. In the Shetland Archives Catalogue references to Valentines are few. Entries for the romantic meaning are fewer still, and most are to the surname “Valentine.” It’s not surprising, Shetlanders are not renowned for their romantic gestures. Read Angus’ blog as he describes how St Valentine’s Day has had ups and downs of taste, attention and presentation since reviving in the 1950s, but it shows no real sign of going away.| Shetland Museum & Archives
The Shetland Museum & Archives was full of activity last week as we celebrated Lerwick Up Helly Aa with a series of fiery events and extended opening times.| Shetland Museum & Archives
One of the results of years of peat-cutting in Shetland is that occasionally interesting objects are revealed. So it was the case in Foula, our western-most island located 25 miles (40km) from the Shetland mainland, and currently home to about 40 people.| Shetland Museum & Archives
The images of Up Helly Aa go like this – the burning longship, arms and armour, and bearded men. The present Jarl Richard Moar has made a good effort – about a foot of facial hair – and a recent Jarl had a difficult moment when his own formidable effort got caught in a car door. It wasn’t always so....| Shetland Museum & Archives
The fiery season will soon be back and Shetland Amenity Trust is putting together a series of events as well as offering extended opening times to its main sites to appeal to locals and visitors alike.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland’s War Memorial on Hillhead is now one hundred years old, and was rededicated with a ceremony on 6 January. The memorial intended to commemorate loss in a war many thought so terrible that civilised people might abandon it as a solution to problems forever. But who put up the Shetland Memorial?| Shetland Museum & Archives
1923, like many of the years between the wars, was not a good one. The Shetland Times year end report spoke of a poor herring fishing, and boats barely clearing expenses. White fishing was a little better, and on the land the potato crop failed. There was a healthy demand for Shetland woollen goods, and still a demand for the new product – the jumper. So how was Christmas in 1923?| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland Amenity Trust has commissioned a research project with two local straw makers to understand more about the growing of traditional Shetland Aets (oats) - and they are looking for the public to get involved.| Shetland Museum & Archives
An ambitious new exhibition dedicated to the artistry of well-known local artist Mike McDonnell opened this weekend at the Shetland Museum and Archives. The retrospective, ‘Logical Confusion’, shows the diversity of Mike’s work as an artist, community activist and creative initiator.| Shetland Museum & Archives
‘Love in Human Herts’, a new publication celebrating Vagaland’s finest poetry has been launched today by the Shetland Amenity Trust.| Shetland Museum & Archives
In the 1880s Lerwick was changing rapidly. As the great herring fishery of that era developed, there were new streets, and potential streets, to name. Forty years previously there had been a general labelling of streets in the town, but some of the names formulated then had become obsolete, or had never caught on.| Shetland Museum & Archives
A new film which brings to life the incredible story of 18th century inoculation pioneer and Shetland crofter Johnnie Notions has been launched today by Shetland Museum and Archives.| Shetland Museum & Archives
We had a great time at our recent Skeklers Hat workshop with local artist Eve Eunson in preparation for Halloween.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Bring your little explorers to the Shetland Museum & Archives for our heritage-filled fun sessions, designed especially for under 5's - where history comes to life through play and discovery!| Shetland Museum & Archives
To celebrate National Poetry Day we asked assistant archivist (and poet) Mark Smith to uncover a hidden gem from the archives. This poem is in a scrapbook compiled by the Shetland antiquarian and collector E.S. Reid Tait. There are lots of these scrapbooks in the archives and they are packed with newspaper cuttings and magazines articles about Shetland. ‘A Voyage on the Mexican Prince’ is in one of the books dedicated to poetry.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Join us this October Holidays for heritage inspired workshops and some spooky Halloween fun! From witchcraft to skeklers and faas fices to frightening feel boxes there's lots happening at the Shetland Museum and Archives this October.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Members of the public are invited to come along with their ‘treasures’ and meet experts from Scotland’s Treasure Trove Unit (TTU) at two drop-in events over the weekend of 9 & 10 September.| Shetland Museum & Archives
A new display of powerful and iconic photographs by Diane Arbus, one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century, opened last Friday evening (18 August) at Shetland Museum and Archives in front of invited guests.| Shetland Museum & Archives
A new online Archives catalogue has been launched today (Tuesday 8 August) at the Shetland Museum and Archives.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland’s maritime heritage will be at the heart of Shetland Museum and Archives’ summer programme, with a series of themed exhibitions, displays and workshops each highlighting a unique aspect of Shetland’s seafaring history.| Shetland Museum & Archives
When archivist Angus Johnson started to read through his copy of Alanbrooke's War Diaries, he did some digging in the archives to see if this important, but lesser-known figure from WW2 turned up in any papers. It turns out that Alanbrooke had visited Shetland and was a bird watcher. He spent time with the Kearton brothers who were possibly the world's first professional wildlife photographers.| Shetland Museum & Archives
George Gen and Sarah Mackintosh, members of our Visitor Experience team have pulled together a selection of photos from our online photo archive which provide an insight into Shetland's historic herring industry.| Shetland Museum & Archives
From exhibitions and workshops to family activities and evening talk, we would love to hear your thoughts on our current offering and ideas for the future. We would like to encourage members of the public, including Shetland residents and visitors, to share your thoughts and views with us as it will help inform our future learning programme.| Shetland Museum & Archives
An lovely evening of films, readings, talks and an interview with retained Lightkeeper Brian Johnson.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Visit the Shetland Museum this summer as we celebrate our maritime heritage with themed exhibitions, activities and tours.| Shetland Museum & Archives
In the summer of 1933 a man called Christopher Murray Grieve came to live in Whalsay. Originally from the Scottish borders, he had lived in various parts of Scotland and England but had no connection to Shetland. Christopher came to be called ‘Aald Grieves’ by his neighbours, but he is better known to the world by his nom de plume Hugh MacDiarmid, one of the most revered and controversial poets Scotland has ever produced.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland Amenity Trust is set to play host to a landmark exhibition this August featuring the iconic work of Diane Arbus, one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century.| Shetland Museum & Archives
To mark the 70th anniversary of Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary’s expedition to the summit of Mount Everest a new display in the Shetland Museum and Archives highlights the valuable contribution that Shetland knitwear played to this successful British achievement.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland Museum and Archives are hosting a special social evening to celebrate herring, heritage and art to coincide with the ‘Fisherwomen’ exhibition by award-winning social documentary photographer Craig Easton which is currently on display in Da Gadderie.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Hazel Hughson, Barbara Ridland and Joan Fraser explored the use of cloth to pay taxes in a series of thought-provoking art forms in their recent Gadderie exhibition, inspiring us to consider why and how cloth was fulled in the sea and the hard work and dangers faced whilst producing this essential commodity. Many visitors to the exhibition were intrigued by the title and subject of the artists’ work – the word toevakuddi being as unfamiliar as the processes involved.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Grace Leask (née Mouat) shared her memories of time spent as a gutter lass in Shetland.| Shetland Museum & Archives
It was a busy afternoon in Da Gadderie at Shetland Museum & Archives on Saturday (13 May) for the official opening of 'Fisherwomen' by Craig Easton.| Shetland Museum & Archives
To commemorate the Royal Coronation our curators have been working on a fascinating new display that shows objects that were worn or gifted to Shetlanders for various coronations over the years.| Shetland Museum & Archives
A compelling new photographic exhibition that pays homage to the integral role women have played in the fishing industry will open this weekend at the Shetland Museum and Archives in a collaboration between Shetland Amenity Trust and Shetland Arts.| Shetland Museum & Archives
What a buzz we had on Friday evening at the launch event of the new Shetland Week Patron Alison Rendall and her beautiful Buggiflooer Beanie!| Shetland Museum & Archives
The Coronation of 2 June 1953 is a long way away now, in a vastly different world and culture. True, a major war was going on, but the Korean armistice was to begin in July, after a final Chinese offensive on 10 June, and the Cold War was fully active in Europe. National service was a central experience for young British men, and end of empire conflicts such as the Kenyan and Malayan emergencies were ongoing. It was a sombre world for some, but World War Two was slowly falling further behind,...| Shetland Museum & Archives
Our bog butter is going 'home' for the season - and will be on display in the Old Haa, Yell as part of their summer exhibition about Yell archaeology.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Ian Bairnson, who died on 7 April, was certainly one of the more remarkable people from Shetland, born here on 3 August 1953.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland Amenity Trust is beginning to gather thoughts and views on the long-term future of Old Scatness and is inviting the public to a series of free site tours and feedback opportunities over Easter on 7th and 10th April.| Shetland Museum & Archives
During the global pandemic, we saw the impact that change and disruption caused to international trade and supply of goods, but it was not the first time ‘traders’ had adapted to change. A collaborative project led by Dr Natascha Mehler of the Leibniz Institute of Maritime History (German Maritime Museum) alongside the university of the Highland and Islands and Shetland Museum and Archives has been considering just that. The team are looking at how peripheral communities in Northwest...| Shetland Museum & Archives
As part of #ScottishApprenticeshipWeek2023 we wanted to shine a light on Jordan Clark, who is one of two staff currently working his way through the Modern Apprenticeship in Museum and Galleries Technician at the Shetland Museum| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland Museum and Archives continues its wide-ranging programme of exhibitions with the opening of a new art installation ‘Taxcloth: the Toevakoddi Project’ on Saturday 18 March in its Gadderie space.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Last weekend over 80 delegates took part in discussions to help us shape the future for Shetland’s local culture and heritage. There were a number of presentations and group discussions which covered topics ranging from how we tell Shetland’s story to digital heritage.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland Museum and Archives will be closed from 12 noon on Friday 21 July until 12 noon on Sunday 23 July, due to a private function. Hay's Dock by the Dowry opening times: *Friday 21 July: 11am - 4pm and evening meals *Saturday 22 July: evening only We apologise for any inconvenience.| Shetland Museum & Archives
For anyone who wants to read about Shetland, the archives is a good place to come. Our book collection, we like to think, is perhaps the most comprehensive library of Shetland-related titles anywhere in the world. If you are trying to find a book about Vikings, farming, birds or any other subject connected to Shetland, the archives has something for you to enjoy.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland Amenity Trust and Shetland Heritage Association have come together to host their first joint Heritage conference in March. Shetland’s Heritage – shaping our future will take place on Saturday 4 March in Shetland Museum and Archives.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Since we’ve got to St Valentine’s Day the time has come to consider the Shetland Archives holdings on the subject of love. Do we hold any love letters? The simple answer is YES! After that we have to add qualifications. We don’t have that many. Unsurprisingly, potential donors consider that kind of item as private, and destroy them or keep them in the family. Some think they’re of no interest to anyone else, which isn’t strictly true.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Hit's been a miss. They last visited in 2020, last Tuesday in January as always, and just before the deluge. That last Tuesday in 2021 and 2022 came and went, lockdowns, social distancing, and vaccinations not quite effective enough for an event Up Helly Aa is. Neil Moncrieff had to wait another two years for his time as Guizer Jarl.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Last night saw the official unveiling of the ‘Harriet’ portrait at a civic ceremony at Shetland Museum and Archives (Sunday 29 January) by renowned portrait artist Stuart Pearson Wright, as he presented his painting at the museum in front of invited guests.| Shetland Museum & Archives
Shetland Museum and Archives will be unveiling a contemporary art exhibition in its Gadderie space this weekend that is inspired by the extremes of Shetland’s landscape. The exhibition which comprises almost 40 watercolours is called ‘Clear Sight’ and features the recent work of award-winning, Shetland-based artist, Peter Davis, who has worked using the medium of watercolour throughout his art career.| Shetland Museum & Archives