Symbister is the largest village and port on
Whalsay, an island in the
Shetland
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
The islands lie about to the ...
archipelago of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
. The population in 1991 was 797. The focus of the village is the harbour, which is home to small
fishing boats
A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing.
The total number of fishing vessels in the world in 2016 w ...
as well as large deep sea
trawlers. The village is overlooked by the granite mansion
Symbister House
Symbister House is a former country house in Symbister, Whalsay island, in the Shetland islands of Scotland. It was built in 1823 by the Bruce family who were lairds (landlords) of the island for about 300 years from the 16th century. Since 1964 ...
, built by the Sixth Robert Bruce of Symbister in 1823.
The harbour is also known by the names Bay Of Symbister, Symbister Harbour and Symbister Old Harbour.
The
Pier House, now a museum, was once the centre for the export of dried and salted fish to the
Hanseatic League, an
alliance
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
of
trading
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market.
An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exch ...
guild
A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
s that established and maintained a trade
monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...
over much of
Northern Europe between the 13th and 17th centuries.
History
The island has been inhabited for more than 4000 years as witnessed by the
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several part ...
houses of
Yoxie and
Benie. An Iron Age block house to the northeast overlooks the
Loch of Huxter
Loch of Huxter is a loch of southeastern Whalsay, Shetland Islands, Scotland, to the southwest of the village of Huxter. There is a water pumping station on its bank. Huxter Fort is located on an islet to the southeast of the loch, connected by a ...
. In the 14th century, the Huxters took over the island and held it until they went bankrupt in the 1830s.
Germans
, native_name_lang = de
, region1 =
, pop1 = 72,650,269
, region2 =
, pop2 = 534,000
, region3 =
, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
, region4 =
, pop4 = ...
also sailed to Symbister for trading and brought their goods, iron tools, seeds, salt and cloth to barter for dried and salted fish from the island.
The old Hanseatic house which had been used by the Germans for several centuries until 1707, was refurbished into the museum.
William Bruce of Symbister
William Bruce of Symbister and Sumburgh (died 1624) was a Scottish landowner.
William Bruce was a relation of Laurence Bruce of Cultmalindie, Perthshire, who built Muness Castle on Unst. William Bruce's descendants built Symbister House at Symbis ...
, who had migrated from
Fife
Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross ...
to Symbister, was a deputy to
Laurence Bruce
Laurence Bruce of Cultmalindie (20 January 1547 – August 1617) was the son of John Bruce of Cultmalindie and Eupheme Elphinstone. Easter Cultmalindie is a small hamlet or " fermtoun" in Tibbermore parish, Perthshire, Scotland. Laurence Bruce fea ...
of Cultamalindie. In 1571, he was the Great
Foude of Shetland, under
Lord Robert Stewart
Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney and Lord of Zetland (Shetland) (spring of 1533 – 4 February 1593) was a recognised illegitimate son of James V, King of Scotland, and his mistress Eupheme Elphinstone. Robert Stewart was half-brother to Ma ...
. He married Marjorie Stewart, a daughter of
John Stewart, Commendator of Coldingham. After his retirement, he moved back to his home country but he left his properties at Symbister to his eldest son and Fife to a son by his second wife. William Bruce, his grandson, the third in the lineage left his properties to a son by his second wife. The family lived in Symbister until recently and had considerable power on the island.
Tobset Bruce built the Symbister House
Symbister House is a former country house in Symbister, Whalsay island, in the Shetland islands of Scotland. It was built in 1823 by the Bruce family who were lairds (landlords) of the island for about 300 years from the 16th century. Since 1964 ...
at a cost of more than £30,000 pounds using granite in 1823. In the 1850s, Robert Bruce of Symbister leased part of his estate to Robert Mouatvery, a merchant who illtreated his tenants and exploited the four estates. Symbister estate's fishing tenure under his lease was still run in a primitive form even in the 1860s, as William Stewart testified before a Royal Commission in 1872.
The last resident of the Symbister House died in 1944. Since the 1960s, Symbister House has been used as Whalsay Junior High School, providing education to students of age 4–16.[ The land around the Symbister House has an old wooden boat sculpture. Ghost stories are also narrated about this place, including that of an old sailor who was murdered for arguing with the gardener of the house during a game of cards.]
Facilities and economy
Symbister is a sheltered harbour
''Sheltered'' (Brantley) is a 4-part documentary Canadian television series which premiered on October 20, 2010 on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. Co-produced by Mountain Road Productions and Bossy Jossy Productions the series follo ...
and is busy with small fishing boats
A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing.
The total number of fishing vessels in the world in 2016 w ...
and recreational craft plying alongside large ocean-going trawlers. The marina
A marina (from Spanish language, Spanish , Portuguese language, Portuguese and Italian language, Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a Dock (maritime), dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.
A marina dif ...
here is a seventy-berth facility and also accommodates ferries travelling between the islands. A ferry to Laxo
Laxo is a small settlement at the end of Laxo Voe in Vidlin, Shetland, Scotland.
A ferry from the Mainland to Symbister in Whalsay operates from the nearby Laxo Ferry Terminal, and is operated by the Shetland Islands Council
The Shetland Is ...
on the Shetland mainland
Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...
operates from Symbister. Apart from ferry services, Symbister is also accessible by road from Whalsay airstrip
Whalsay Airstrip is located at the village of Skaw in the northern end of the island of Whalsay, Shetland
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Fa ...
, located in the island at its northeastern end at Skaw.[
As a village, Symbister has infrastructure facilities and basic amenities such as a post-office, many shops, a community hall, police station and a medical hospital with surgical facilities.][ Whalsay Leisure Centre, Grieve House camping Böd and ]Harbison Park Harbison is a surname, and may refer to:
*Beth Harbison, American author
*Clarence Ellis Harbison (1885–1960), Animal psychologist
*E. Harris Harbison, American academic
*Ed Harbison, American politician
*Frederick H. Harbison (1912–1976), Ameri ...
, home of Whalsay Football Club, are also of note. Symbister Harbour is now a modern harbour with a large fleet of fishing craft which have contributed to the economic progress of the island and making it one of the most prosperous in the region. Whalsay Boating and Sports Club
Whalsay ( sco, Whalsa; non, Hvalsey or ''Hvals-øy'', meaning ' Whale Island') is the sixth largest of the Shetland Islands in the north of Scotland.
Geography
Whalsay, also known as "The Bonnie Isle", is a peat-covered island in the Shetla ...
is based at the harbour.
Fishing has been the mainstay of the island of Whalsay and its harbour housed the fishing community. During the earlier centuries herring was the main fishing focus with catches peaking in 1834. However, this industry suffered due to drastic decline of yield within a few years. Fishing picked up again in the late 1800s and in the mid-1900s.
Aquatic fauna
Sea mammals such as porpoise
Porpoises are a group of fully aquatic marine mammals, all of which are classified under the family Phocoenidae, parvorder Odontoceti (toothed whales). Although similar in appearance to dolphins, they are more closely related to narwhals ...
, dolphin
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (t ...
, minke whale, and orca
The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white ...
can be seen from the rocks offshore over the harbour. Many migrants birds, like wheatear, meadow pipit, snow bunting and buff breasted sandpiper have been sighted.
See also
* List of lighthouses in Scotland
* List of Northern Lighthouse Board lighthouses
References
External links
Whalsay Heritage and Community Centre, Symbister
Northern Lighthouse Board
{{Lighthouse identifiers , qid2=Q29347454
Villages in Whalsay
Fishing communities in Scotland