Easthouse at Duncansclate on West Burra is now a rare example of what was once a common traditional crofthouses, with drystone walls and a thatched roof.
The Burra History Group is seeking to restore and refurbish Easthouse for use as a local heritage centre. This will provide a very important example of Shetland’s indigenous heritage with a valuable and secure ongoing use.
However
Easthouse is not just important to Shetland. It is everybody's story. This type of building and the
lifestyle that went with it represent a phase of history that everywhere in Britain
can recognise. Scottish Lowland cotters and English peasant farmers would have
lived in structurally similar buildings in the 18th , 17th
and 16th Centuries.
These homes would have varied with the local resources available, but all represent the independent achievement of ordinary people relying on their own abilities. These achievements were based on very limited resources, and accomplished without exploiting anyone. This history has been almost completely swept away and it is only at the margins that we still have a final chance to save few last examples.
The
significance and interest of Easthouse has
been recognised by the BBC in its inclusion in the Restoration series, where it
is highlighted as one of six Scottish buildings to be featured. Easthouse will
be screened on 29th August 2003 on BBC2 where you will have the chance to vote
for it.
The opportunity to bring the buildings and the lives of their inhabitants to a wider audience is very welcome and it is hoped that the British public will agree that the heritage importance of Easthouse is far larger than its physical dimensions.
Burra
has long been one of the primary centres for Shetland's fishing effort, because
it lies
close to the highly productive “Burra Haaf” inshore fishing grounds, and offers
a number of good harbours and beaches for drying and curing the catch. The
Ewanson family who lived in Easthouse for 150 years were fishermen crofters in
the classic Shetland tradition. they fished for cod, ling and haddock as far afield as Iceland and Greenland,
but mainly close to home; at first in their open boats, and later in larger
craft.
While fishing was the main money earning activity, the croft was what kept the family fed for most of the year. It provided so many materials for living, like wool for clothes, day to day utensils, bone, sinews and skins from animals, and also thatching materials such as straw to provide shelter from the elements.
For
Shetlanders and “ordinary” people everywhere, valuing
the heritage of their own community created from its own resources, is vital to
developing a properly rooted sense of identity. It also promotes confidence that
“ordinary” individuals and communities can continue to achieve their goals in the
modern world, relying on their resources and talents.
For individuals and communities, local history is an increasingly popular topic. Locally, the Burra History Group has an active membership, but nationally and internationally there are many individuals with a direct connection to communities such as Shetland, who are interested in finding out more.
What
better location to house materials and research facilities than a restored croft
house, with the personal history of the community in its very stones? What better
venue for intimate events such as poetry, dialect and music recitals, craft
workshops or demonstrations, what better venue for the old to reminisce, the
young to learn or visitors and tourists to get a flavour of the pride today’s
community takes in its local heritage?
It is easy to assume that the lives of “ordinary” people who lived in simple homes were no more than a daily drudge eking out a meagre existence. The story of Maggie Reid featured on the Restoration programme clearly shows that lives in the 1840’s could be just as complicated as today and love, loneliness and loss as tragic and dramatic in homes like East house as any grand house or castle. The poignancy of the story is hauntingly captured in song by Shoormal.
We would like to thank Shetland Islands Council and the Burra and Trondra Community Council for their assistance and support to date.