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Summary

Description

Dated 1815. Palladian merchant laird?s house comprising 2-storey 3-bay principal block with entrance elevation to W, flanked to N and S by single storey 2-bay pavilions; formal arrangement of walled enclosures linking to byre and store to NE; single storey booth situated at shorefront to W. Random rubble walls with polished, stugged and droved sandstone dressings.

PRINCIPAL BLOCK: W (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: symmetrical, double-doored porch with narrow window to E at ground in centre bay, fronting entrance door with lintel inscribed GS 1815; regular fenestration in flanking bays and at 1st floor (partially collapsed 1997).

S GABLE: blank.

E (REAR) ELEVATION: asymmetrical 3-bay elevation with large stair window in centre bay, and door at ground in left bay only.

N GABLE: single window to left at 1st floor.

Random rubble gablehead stacks with stugged sandstone dressings and stone copes; sandstone ashlar skew copes with bracketted skewputts.

S PAVILION: 2-bay W elevation with door in bay to left and window in bay to right; single window centring E (rear) elevation; rubble stack to S gable.

N PAVILION: mirrored image of S pavilion, but with false gablehead stack to S gable.

WALLS, BYRE AND STORE: formal arrangement of random rubble walled enclosures to each side of house; low garden wall to W of principal elevation with single square pier of former central gateway surviving. Paddock to NE bounded to S by long 2-chamber byre. Small store at NE corner with doorway in W elevation and slit ventilators in N elevation.

BOOTH: random rubble store with entrance door and window centred in S and N gables respectively, ventilators in side elevations.

Statement of Special Interest

The lands of Smithfield were acquired by James Smith in 1774 from Gilbert Tait against a debt of ?70. The house of Smithfield was built by James Smith?s son, Gilbert, in 1815. He acted as factor to the Nicolsons for the eastern part of the Brough Estate and was heavily involved in the establishment of the Free Kirk in Fetlar after the Disruption in 1843. The Free Kirk minister stayed at Smithfield until the East Manse was built. Around this period, there was a shop attached to the house and the family traded from there. Gilbert Smith is reputed to have taken oak logs from the cargo of the ship Neptune which was wrecked off Fetlar in 1847. He sank the logs in the Loch of Urie until Curstoms had dealt with the wreck, and then later used the timbers in the building of Smithfield. Gilbert Smith died in 1866 by which time most of his family had emigrated to Australia. The estate was sold to the Nicolsons in 1874. The was roof removed and used in the refurbishment of Still in 1887, and the stairs were incorporated in the chapel at Brough Lodge. Although currently a roofless ruin (1997), this is a particularly fine example of a merchant laird?s house. Its Palladian form is unusually grand for this type of building in Shetland, and its formal relationship with the booth serves as a reminder of the importance of the sea in trade and communication during the 19th century.

References

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