SHETLAND
By T. MAINLAND
PREFACE
The author begs to acknowledge his indebtedness to Messrs Peach and Horne (in Tudor’s Shetland) for the notes on Geology in Chapter 5; to Mr John Nicolson author of Arthur Anderson, for the Notes and photograph in Chapter 18; and to Goudie’s Antiquities for historical information.
1. County and Shire.[2] Name and Administration of Shetland
Shetland or Zetland is derived from the Norse Hjaltland, variant spellings being Hieltland, Hietland, Hetland. The Norse word is of doubtful origin.
Like Orkney, Shetland cannot be regarded as strictly a Scottish county till the seventeenth century. During that century various County Acts were framed for the better government of the islands. These lasted till 1747, when heritable jurisdiction was abolished and the judicial administration of Shetland was assimilated to the general Scottish system.
Shetland has the same Lord-Lieutenant as Orkney, but separate Deputy Lieutenants and Justices of the Peace. It shares a Sheriff-Principal with Orkney and Caithness, but has a Sheriff-Substitute of its own. The County Council, the Education Authority, Parish Councils, and Town Council of Lerwick are the administrative bodies. The civil parishes are: Unst, Fetlar, Yell, Northmavine, Delting, Walls, Sandsting, Nesting, Tingwall, Lerwick, Bressay, Dunrossness.
In Parliament one member represents both Orkney and Shetland.
Ecclesiastically the parishes are divided into three presbyteries, Lerwick, Burravoe and Olnafirth, which make up the Synod of Shetland.