Myth or a Fact that Shetland’s Boats are Viking in Origin?
A Talk by Dr Marc Chivers
The romantic idea that Shetland’s boats are of direct Viking descent was popularised by writers and scholars such as: Gilbert Goudie, J.M.E. Saxby and J.J. Haldane Burgess and expounded by Charles Rampini, Sheriff-Substitute of Caithness, Orkney and Shetland, who, in February 1884 stated to the Philosophical Institution in Edinburgh:
“… and despite all, the four hundred years’ connection which binds them to the Crown of Scotland, the islands and their inhabitants are still as essentially Norse as when they formed an integral part of the Scandinavian kingdom of Denmark and Norway … These ‘sixerns.’ Which like the Fair Isle skiff, the Orkney yawl, and the Faroen fishing-boat, were lineal descendants of the lang-skip of Viking times, were perfect in the eyes of the islanders …” (Rampini 1884:14, 80).
This late nineteenth century romance with the Viking Age continues to fascinate people today as exemplified by Shetland’s winter fire festivals, and in particular by Up Helly Aa. However, this is naught but a simplistic trope that masks a much more interesting and nuanced narrative of a fundamental economic need for boats from which to fish. This was an era when labour was cheap and materials were expensive and where politics was the shaper of Shetland’s offshore (haaf) fishery.
Within this talk the evidence for early and medieval boat use, the development of the boat import trade and the subsequent west Norwegian influence on Shetland’s own unique boatbuilding tradition are explored.
Thursday 28th November, 2024. 7.00pm
Islesburgh Community Centre
Members - Free / Non-Members £5.00
To the End of the days of sail: the mariners of shetland
An illustrated talk by J Laughton Johnston
Laughton Johnston's grandfather, like so many Shetland seamen of the 19th century, moved to Leith where his father's generation was brought up. The Shetland family and seafaring connections, however, proved strong and a trip 'home' to the islands became an almost annual summer event of Laughton's childhood. He and his eldest brother then followed their grandfather to sea. Laughton only for a few adventurous and enjoyable years. Eventually, he moved back to Shetland permanently, which led him to seek his Shetland roots.
Exploring his grandfather's career then led the author to research the wider story of 19th century Shetland seamen. What began as a casual recording of those, who like his grandfather, took officer tickets between 1850 and the 1920s, became over a period of a decade, a spreadsheet of the careers of over 2000 men.
However, Laughton's interest in that extraordinary period, when thousands of Shetland men went to sea, was not only in the facts and figures but in their untold stories, making this book a blend of both.
Laughton's talk will explore the content of the book and raise the question of what further research is needed into this untapped wealth of knowledge about such an important part of Shetland's maritime heritage.
Laughton has written several books on Shetland: on its natural history, biographies of a talented Victorian family and of the founder of the Shetland Museum, Shetland emigration and the departure, one hundred years ago, of the community from one of the last of Shetland's many diminutive islands. In 2018, to commemorate the anniversary of the end of the Great War, he wrote the first comprehensive account of Shetland's mariners who were lost, which was a prelude to the present book.
Thursday 27th February 2025. 7.00pm
Islesburgh Community Centre
Members - Free / Non-Members £5.00
The Salt Roads
Having worked in the seafood industry all his life, John Goodlad is well known to a Shetland audience. His new book, The Salt Roads, looks at how salt fish connected Shetland and Europe for more than 300 years. As well as tracing the rise and fall of the haaf, the cod and the herring fisheries, this wide ranging book also shows how the society and culture of Shetland has been largely made by the sea and boats.
John will give a talk on the content of his book and will have copies to purchase available. (cash only sales)
Islesburgh Community Centre
7.00pm. Thursday 23rd November2023
Members Free
Non-Members £5.00
Industrial Boats
Shetland has a long maritime history and connection with the sea.
The changes in fishing techniques and other seafaring industrial practices have changed dramatically over the years and the Shetland Film Archive has a fantastic range of footage illustrating the industrial and social history of this.
We will present a selection of films from various donors and are grateful to the Shetland Film Archive for their support with this.
Islesburgh Community Centre
7.00pm, 25th January 2024
Members Free
Non-Members £5.00
Shetland and the North Boats
Brian Smith is not a great sailor. But the North Boats were a vitally important innovation in Shetland’s transport and social history during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Brian will discuss the services they provided for passengers and goods, en route to Shetland and in the islands.
Islesburgh Community Centre
7.00pm, 22nd February 2024
Members Free
Non-Members £5.00
Swan LK243: Restoration and Continuing Adventure
Brian Wishart and Maggie Adamson join up to present an overview of the Swan, from restoration to her more recent adventures; criss-crossing the North Sea, circumnavigating the UK, Tall Ships Races and the involvement of young sail trainees. The session will include a few tunes from Maggie too!
Islesburgh Community Centre
7.00pm, 28th March 2024
Members Free
Non-Members £5.00