Lerwick Town Hall

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Lerwick Town Hall
GB-lerwick-rathaus.jpg
Lerwick Town Hall
Location Lerwick
Coordinates 60°9′16″N1°8′46″W / 60.15444°N 1.14611°W / 60.15444; -1.14611 Coordinates: 60°9′16″N1°8′46″W / 60.15444°N 1.14611°W / 60.15444; -1.14611
Built1883
ArchitectAlexander Ross
Architectural style(s) Scottish Baronial style
Listed Building – Category A
Designated8 November 1974
Reference no.LB37256
Shetland UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Shown in Shetland

Lerwick Town Hall is a municipal building located in central Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland. The town hall, which is the headquarters of Shetland Islands Council, is a Category A listed building. [1]

Contents

History

Stained Glass Windows inside Lerwick Town Hall Stained Glass Windows, Lerwick Town Hall - geograph.org.uk - 2068918.jpg
Stained Glass Windows inside Lerwick Town Hall

For much of the 19th century meetings of the local council were held in the Parish Kirk in Queens Lane. [2] After a period of rapid population expansion in Lerwick associated with the growth in the herring industry, civic leaders decided to procure a purpose-built town hall: a site on the north Hillhead was selected. [2]

The foundation stone for the new building was laid by Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh on a visit to the isles on 24 January 1882. [2] That same evening Lerwick saw the first ever Up Helly Aa torchlight procession. [2] The new building was designed by architect, Alexander Ross from Inverness, [3] in the Scottish Baronial style and builder John M. Aitken of Lerwick won the tender competition with a price of £3,240. [2] The building was officially opened by George Thoms, Sheriff of Caithness, Orkney and Shetland, on 30 July 1883. [2] The design involved a symmetrical frontage with five bays facing on Hillhead; the central section featured an arched doorway on the ground floor; there was an oriel window on the first floor with a pediment bearing a coat of arms above and there were bartizans at the corners of the building. [1] There was a battlemented tower on the east side and a rose window on the north side. [1] Internally, the principal rooms were a council chamber and a courtroom; there were also police cells in the building. [2]

Stained glass windows, designed by James Ballantine & Son, were subsequently installed in the building: these included a depiction of the marriage between Margaret of Denmark and James III of Scotland in 1469. [4] There were also windows presented by the Corporation of Amsterdam and the Corporation of Hamburg. [5] Panels with the coats of arms of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Leith, which had been presented by the respective corporations, were installed in a corridor. [6] A clock, designed and manufactured by Potts of Leeds, was installed in the tower in 1887. [7]

The town hall was the headquarters of Lerwick Town Council until 1975 and was the home of the Shetland Islands Council until 2022. [8] [9] The front steps, which had badly decayed, were replaced in spring 2008 [2] and the local registrar's office moved from the County Buildings to Lerwick Town Hall in February 2015. [10] The Duke of Rothesay visited the town hall and reviewed the conservation work being undertaken in July 2021. [11]

Works of art in the town hall include a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Leonard Boden [12] and a portrait of Charles Rampini, Sheriff of Dumfries and Galloway, [13] by John Henry Lorimer. [14]

Services

The town hall is used for functions such as marriages, wedding receptions, concerts, coffee mornings and evening events. [15]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Historic Environment Scotland. "Lerwick Town hall, Hillhead and Charlotte Street, Including Lamp Standards, Gatepiers, Boundary Walls and Railings, Lerwick (Category A Listed Building) (LB37256)" . Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "It cost £4,940 15/6d to build, now monument to civic splendour is 125 years old". The Shetland Times. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  3. ↑ Gifford, John (2003). Highland and Islands (Buildings of Scotland Series). Yale University Press. p. 66. ISBN   978-0300096255.
  4. ↑ "Lerwick's Fine Victorian Town Hall Is Reborn". Shetland Islands Council. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  5. ↑ "Hamburg Window". Shetland Islands Council. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  6. ↑ "Lerwick". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  7. ↑ Potts, Michael (2006). Potts of Leeds – Five Generations of Clockmakers. Mayfield Books. p. 395. ISBN   0-9523270-8-2.
  8. ↑ "Shetland: a model for the future". The Shetland Times. 5 April 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  9. ↑ Taylor, Ryan (11 May 2022). "First look inside new council chamber". The Shetland Times. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  10. ↑ "County Buildings". Shetland Times. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  11. ↑ "Royal Visit to Lerwick Town Hall". Shetland Islands Council. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  12. ↑ Boden, Leonard. "HM Queen Elizabeth II (b.1926)". Art UK. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  13. ↑ "No. 27196". The London Gazette. 25 May 1900. p. 3333.
  14. ↑ Lorimer, John Henry. "Charles Rampini (1840–1907)". Art UK. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  15. ↑ "Welcome to Shetland Islands Council". shetland.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 13 August 2006. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
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