THE TOWN HALL AND THE COUNTY BUILDINGS
A little way
southwest of the Fort is Lerwick's Town Hall, a beautifully preserved
building with Scots Baronial and Gothic influences designed by Alexander
Ross and completed in 1883 by local builder John M. Aitken, at a cost of
£3,240. Armorial work recalls many of the town's cultural and trading links.
Rich stained glass best seen in late afternoon or evening sunlight depicts
characters from Shetland's history. A guidebook is available. Across the
road from the Town Hall, prominent crow-stepped gables lend the more
restrained County Buildings a particularly Scottish flavour. They house the
sheriff court, police station and cells.
THE SHETLAND MUSEUM AND LIBRARY
On Lower Hillhead,
the Shetland Museum tells the islands' story from prehistory to the present,
with a good collection of archaeological finds and fascinating detail on
crofting and fishing. The Library's `Shetland Room' reflects the
proliferation of writing about Shetland.
THE LEGACY OF ARTHUR ANDERSON
Arthur Anderson was
born in 1792 in the Böd of Gremista, now a museum
celebrating his life. As a youth, he helped with the curing and drying of
fish and in 1808 joined the Royal Navy. He later joined a London partnership
running ships to Spain and Portugal which was to become the Peninsular and
Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O).
A philanthropist,
Anderson provided funds for the establishment of the Anderson Institute (now
Anderson High School). Its motto "dö weel and
persevere" was the advice given to Arthur Anderson by his employer as he set
off to join the Navy. He also built the Anderson Homes, intended originally
for the widows of seamen, and for five years was Member of Parliament for
Orkney and Shetland.
