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, 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.[3] There were also windows presented by the Corporation of Amsterdam and the Corporation of Hamburg.[4] 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.[5] A clock, designed and manufactured by Potts of Leeds, was installed in the tower in 1887.[6]

The town hall was the headquarters of Lerwick Town Council until 1975 and has been the home of the Shetland Islands Council since then.[7] The front steps, which had badly decayed, were replaced in spring 2008.[2]

Works of art in the town hall include a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Leonard Boden[8] and a portrait of Charles Rampini, Sheriff of Dumfries and Galloway,[9] by John Henry Lorimer.[10]

The town hall is used for functions such as marriages, wedding receptions, concerts, coffee mornings and evening events.[11]