Not
far along the road from the ferry terminal you will see Brough Lodge,
built around 1820 for the Nicolson family. Although the house is not
accessible to the public, it is clearly visible from the road.
Close to the Douse, sitting prominently on the site of an Iron Age
broch, is a rare Shetland example of a Victorian folly. The tower, built
for Sir Arthur Nicolson, was used at one time as an astronomical
observatory.
Another
example of a folly built for Sir Arthur is the Round House at Gruting.
Leagarth House was built in 1900 by Sir William Watson Cheyne, a Fetlar
man who became Lord Lister's assistant in his pioneering work on
antiseptic surgery in the late l9th century, and later a prominent surgeon
in his own right.
Like Brough Lodge, the house itself is not open to the public, although
an exhibition on both houses can be seen at the Interpretive Centre.
The
red roofed building at Aithbank was until recently home to Jamesie
Laurenson, who was well known for his local knowledge and stories, and on
the east side of the island is the now ruined Haa of Funzie, which was a
fishing station in the late 1700s.
