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Scalloway Public Hall

Coordinates: 60°08′19″N 1°16′36″W / 60.1385°N 1.2767°W / 60.1385; -1.2767
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Scalloway Public Hall
The building in 2008
LocationBerry Road, Scalloway
Coordinates60°08′19″N 1°16′36″W / 60.1385°N 1.2767°W / 60.1385; -1.2767
Built1902
Architectural style(s)Freestyle
Listed Building – Category C(S)
Official nameScalloway, Berry Road, Scalloway Hall and Library, including railings and gatepiers
Designated28 July 2000
Reference no.LB47295
Scalloway Public Hall is located in Shetland
Scalloway Public Hall
Shown in Shetland

Scalloway Public Hall is a municipal building on Berry Road in Scalloway in Shetland in Scotland. The building, which is used as a community events venue, is a Category C listed building.[1]

History

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Stained glass, depicting Scalloway Castle, in the centre window on the ground floor

Following significant population growth, largely associated with fishing industry, civic leaders decided to commission a public hall for Scalloway. The development, which was financed by the Scottish-American businessman, Andrew Carnegie, included a public library and a mechanics' institute.[2] The site they selected was open land on the west side of Berry Road.[3]

The new building followed a freestyle design, was built in rubble masonry with ashlar stone dressings and was completed in 1902.[4] The design involved a main block of three bays, with a circular entrance tower to the right, facing south onto Berry Road. The main block was fenestrated by three casement windows on the ground floor and by a large Venetian window on the first floor with a wide gable above. At roof level, there was a square metal tower with a slate base and clock faces, surmounted by a weather vane. The circular entrance tower, which was faced in ashlar stone, featured a doorway in a stone surround on the ground floor, and a casement window on the first floor, all surmounted by a crenelated parapet. Internally, the principal room was the assembly hall, which stretched back to the north behind the main frontage.[1]

During the Second World War, when Scalloway accommodated the headquarters of the Shetland bus, part of the Norwegian resistance against the German occupation, the public hall operated as a 100-bed hospital for use by soldiers and evacuees from Norway.[5] The assembly hall was extended to the east and west with modern additions during the second half of the 20th century.[1]

In the early 1970s, the building was the venue for a talk by the county development officer from Zetland County Council, Michael Stansbury, on the proposed Sullom Voe Terminal and the likely implications for Scalloway as a potential service centre.[6][7] In the 21st century, the building continued to be used for public meetings,[8][9][10] film premieres[11] and concerts.[12] Performers have included Jarvis Cocker and Candida Doyle from the rock band, Pulp, who appeared at a function in August 2023.[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Historic Environment Scotland. "Scalloway, Berry Road, Scalloway Hall and Library, including railings and gatepiers (Category C Listed Building) (LB47295)". Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  2. ^ "Scalloway Public Hall (established 1902)" (PDF). Useful Knowledge: the Magazine of the Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria Inc. p. 23. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  3. ^ "Ordnance Survey Six-inch 1st edition, 1843–1882". Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  4. ^ Coull, James R. (1985). The County of Shetland. Scottish Academic Press. p. 169. ISBN 978-0-906736-12-8. Scolloway Public Hall dates from 1902 while Tingwall Public Hall was opened in 1905
  5. ^ Irvine, James W. (1990). Waves are Free Shetland/Norway Links, 1940 to 1945. Shetland Publishing Company. p. 94. ISBN 978-0906736128. the public hall was a 100-bed hospital, with the RAMC in Nissen huts beside the hall
  6. ^ Nicolson, James R. (1975). Shetland and Oil. Luscombe. p. 83. ISBN 978-0860020875. At a well-attended meeting in the public hall addressed by Mr M. J. Stansbury, County Development Officer, the potential for development was discussed
  7. ^ Hansen, Anne Merrild; Johnstone, Rachael Lorna (28 February 2020). Regulation of Extractive Industries Community Engagement in the Arctic 2020. Taylor and Francis. ISBN 978-0429594717.
  8. ^ "Twenty-one turbines may be built on hills above Brig o' Fitch". Shetland Times. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  9. ^ "Sustainable group first to object to Peel windfarm project". Shetland Times. 14 April 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  10. ^ "Wind farm substation planned for outskirts of Lerwick". 23 April 2024. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  11. ^ "Sunshine as Screenplay film festival is officially opened". Shetland Times. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  12. ^ "Concert: Scalloway Public Hall". Visit Scotland. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Brit-pop heroes Pulp make visit to Scalloway". Shetland Times. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2024.