Description
The monument comprises an abandoned township, including upstanding buildings and associated field systems and enclosures. The monument has a long settlement sequence and documentary evidence (relating to collected taxes) indicates that it was occupied from the late medieval period. Most of the upstanding buildings are of 18th- and 19th-century date, but the elaborate field systems, some of which are terraced into the slope above the Loch of Cliff, appear to contain earlier elements. The township consists of ten discreet farm buildings, all but one of which is unroofed. Next to the unnamed stream at the centre of the township are the foundations of at least one click mill, and immediately west (upslope) of the field system is a well. The site is situated on a steep slope that rises from sea level up to a level area about 90m OD.
At the core of the site is a stream that runs from a spring at the top of the hill down into the Loch of Cliff. On both sides of the stream, the slope has been cultivated in a series of elaborately terraced strip fields and enclosures aligned N-S, with clearance cairns. At the base of the slope, south of the stream, a further group of strip fields is aligned W-E and runs down to the Loch of Cliff. Some of the fields are subdivided by banks. The ten farm buildings (shown as roofed on both the First and Second Edition Ordnance Survey maps) were occupied until the early 20th century, and at least one building in the township was occupied until the 1970s. While most of the buildings in the township are farmhouses, some were used as schoolhouses at different periods in the settlement's history. Most of the buildings are orientated E-W and consist of single or one-and-a-half storey crofts or farmhouses, still standing to wall-head height. Behind the roofed farmhouse at the centre of the site, which still contains internal timber fixtures, there is a group of drying stacks behind a stone pig-pen. A quantity of 19th-century farming machinery is scattered around the site, as well as later debris from when the site was abandoned.
The area to be scheduled is irregular on plan to include the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling specifically excludes the above-ground elements of the single roofed building and all post-and-wire fences to allow for their maintenance.
Statement of National Importance
Cultural Significance
The monument's archaeological significance can be expressed as follows:
Intrinsic characteristics
This township is the product of later medieval to Improvement-period agricultural practices and demonstrates the settlement and economy of the rural population of Shetland from late medieval times through to the early 20th century. The township is very well-preserved and unexcavated. It therefore has the potential to provide high quality archaeological evidence for the date of its establishment, development sequence, use and abandonment. The development of the site from a late medieval farmstead to a post-medieval and early modern township enhances this potential. The field system is of particular interest because the cultivation dykes will contain soil deposits and buried surfaces which can tell us much about the organisation of the township, changing agricultural practices and past land-use. The layout of the grass fields in strips, and the meadow sections with the remnants of 'rigga-rendal' or rig and furrow, can inform our understanding not only of agricultural practice, but also of the social organisation of fields systems from this period. The long period of occupation of the township means there is a high likelihood that significant buried deposits will survive in the form of earlier building foundations, middens, yards, pens and fields. This material evidence can contribute to a much better understanding of the development of rural settlement and changes in both land-use and occupation of the site over several hundred years.
Contextual characteristics
The site is a good example of a type known throughout Shetland, but such settlements are rarely terraced into such a steep slope. The Petester fields are remarkably well-preserved, which is not always the case even on settlements abandoned considerably earlier. The association of the township and its surrounding field systems with a substantial head dyke to the south enhances the potential to understand the agricultural context of the township. The Petester township also forms part of a well-preserved wider historic landscape in Unst, comprised predominantly of medieval and later farmsteads. Comparison of the local vernacular buildings in this area with those on other Scottish historic rural settlement sites could enhance our understanding of regional variations in rural settlement between the medieval period and the early 20th century.
Associative characteristics
There are extensive local documentary records for the settlement, including detailed birth, death and emigration records. These records detail individual occupants from the 19th century onwards, which enables specific buildings to be associated with named families and individuals. The availability of this social history adds to the value and interest of the physical remains. Some of the buildings were periodically used as schoolhouses and one of the buildings functioned for a time as a small shop for the community.
National Importance
The monument is of national importance because it has an inherent potential to make a significant addition to our understanding of the past, in particular the positioning, function and construction of rural vernacular buildings, the social and economic organisation of a long-lived township, and the changes in land-use and agricultural practices from at least the late medieval period to the early 20th century. Its extremely good state of preservation and the notable survival of its elaborate terracing enhance this potential. The loss of the monument would affect our ability to understand rural settlement and land-use from the late medieval period to the 20th century in both Shetland and Scotland.
References
Bibliography
RCAHMS records the site as HP51SE 8, 9, 10, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26. The Shetland Amenity Trust SMR reference is MSN4096 (PrefRef 4050).
Smith, B, 2000, Toons and Tenants: Settlement and Society in Shetland, 1299-1899, Lerwick: The Shetland Times Ltd.
About Scheduled Monuments
Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.
We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.
Scheduling is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for monuments and archaeological sites of national importance as set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.
We schedule sites and monuments that are found to be of national importance using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)
Scheduled monument records provide an indication of the national importance of the
scheduled monument which has been identified by the description and map. The description and map (see ‘legal documents’ above) showing the scheduled area is the designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The statement of national importance and additional information provided are supplementary and provided for general information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within the statement of national importance or additional information. These records are not definitive historical or archaeological accounts or a complete description of the monument(s).
The format of scheduled monument records has changed over time. Earlier records will usually be brief. Some information will not have been recorded and the map will not be to current standards. Even if what is described and what is mapped has changed, the monument is still scheduled.
Scheduled monument consent is required to carry out certain work, including repairs, to scheduled monuments. Applications for scheduled monument consent are made to us. We are happy to discuss your proposals with you before you apply and we do not charge for advice or consent. More information about consent and how to apply for it can be found on our website at www.historicenvironment.scot.
Find out more about scheduling and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.
Images
There are no images available for this record, you may want to check trove.scot for images relating to Petester, abandoned township 530m N of Lee of Petester
There are no images available for this record.
Search trove.scot
Printed: 05/11/2026 06:18