Lerwick Town Hall

Stained Glass Windows inside 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,[3] 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.[4] There were also windows presented by the Corporation of Amsterdam and the Corporation of Hamburg.[5] 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.[6] A clock, designed and manufactured by Potts of Leeds, was installed in the tower in 1887.[7]

The town hall was the headquarters of Lerwick Town Council until 1975 and was the home of the Shetland Islands Council until 2022.[8][9] The front steps, which had badly decayed, were replaced in spring 2008[2] and the local registrar's office moved from the County Buildings to Lerwick Town Hall in February 2015.[10] The Duke of Rothesay visited the town hall and reviewed the conservation work being undertaken in July 2021.[11]

Works of art in the town hall include a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Leonard Boden[12] and a portrait of Charles Rampini, Sheriff of Dumfries and Galloway,[13] by John Henry Lorimer.[14]

The town hall is used for functions such as marriages, wedding receptions, concerts, coffee mornings and evening events.[15]

• List of listed buildings in Lerwick