Former Netloft, Brae House, Shetland North, Shetland Islands

Description

Brae House was built circa 1800-1804 and extended circa 1850. It is a 2-storey and attic, 4-bay, gabled former merchant's house incorporating a shop to lower ground floor at right. It is situated on a shore site with associated pier and various outbuildings.

The building is harled rubble, with smooth margins and there are two, circa 1890s gabled porches on front with slated roofs and vertically boarded timber doors on each side. There is a 1940s lean-to brick extension at rear.

The front of the building has 6 over 6-pane timber sash and case windows, with a larger, window to far right, indicating the former shop. There are two staircase windows at the rear, one with 4 over 4-pane timber sash and case with lying panes. There are small skylights to the roof and one small attic window to the south gable. There are Welsh slates and raised skews to the roof and there are gable ended and ridge chimneystacks.

The interior was seen in 2014. The room layout is largely unaltered from the 19th century with the former shop to the lower ground at right and a former mid 20th century post office situated within the lean-to extension at the rear. Much of the 19th century timber work has been retained and includes 4-panel doors, flooring and timber lining to one attic floor room. There is some moulded cornicing and there are two closed timber staircases. Some rooms have internal presses. There are a number of decorative fire surrounds and there is an iron range in the kitchen area and a stove in the shop. The shop retains many 19th century internal fittings including counter, shelves and drawers. There is a timber counter in the former post office.

There are a number of outbuildings and structures grouped around Brae House including a pier to the west comprising a rubble slipway and wall; a former single storey rubble store to the west; a rubble barn and byre range containing a stable and lamb house to the southeast; and a rubble former net loft store to the northwest.

Statement of Interest

Brae House is an important surviving example of a merchant's house that combined residential and commercial accommodation, a building which was typically found in coastal island communities. It dates predominantly to the early 1800s and has been little altered to its exterior or interior. The interest of the building derives partly from the lack of later alteration, the survival of much of its 19th century interior and in the survival of a number of associated structures including an early pier.

Until the 20th century, the main trading route for most goods to rural Shetland communities was by sea. This is in common with most rural, coastal communities across Scotland where road transport was limited. Brae House was built around 1800-1804 by the nearby Busta Estate as a trading post for the area and it continued to be owned by the estate until 1922. In stylistic terms, the building is similar to other 18th and early 19th century Haa houses on Shetland. These were the residences of landowners and merchants. Some, especially in Lerwick, reflected the prosperity of independent merchants who had begun to dominate the trading economy of Shetland from the late 18th century onwards.

Information from the current owner notes that the Busta Estate factor, Gilbert Anderson, was in residence at Brae House in 1804 and by 1809, there was a shop incorporated into the rear of the house. The shop eventually was moved into the rubble store building at the front of the house around 1810.

As trade increased, more buildings were built around the property and by 1817, it is likely that these consisted of a pier, the shop, a barn/byre and a yard at the site. The house was extended around 1850 to provide further living accommodation and a larger shop. The building which had housed the shop was refitted out as a pub. The original house was slightly modified internally at this time to provide a link on the first floor between one part of the house and the other. The business continued to expand to meet the demand of local residents with fish and textiles playing a major part. A post office was installed in the house in the 1820s. By the 1840s, the business was being run by James Inkster, who was responsible for the expansion of the property.

The business continued to grow over the 19th and 20th centuries and a number of smaller timber stores were built around the property, including ones for wood, meal, salt, textile processing and storage of goods from a local steamer. Some of the stone foundations for these stores still survive, with modern stores above. The net loft was built in the 1890s.

After the first roads scheme in Shetland was introduced in 1849, the transport of goods by sea declined and by the mid 20th century, all goods arrived by road. The shop finally closed in 1981 and the post office closed in 1989. The house is now a private residence (2015).

At Brae House, the surviving arrangement of the house, shop and surrounding associated buildings is of interest. Overall, it is an important survival of a building related to coastal trading and the survival of its associated pier and outbuildings give insight into the development of the site, the breadth of the goods stored and traded and the overall status of the property. Two of the outbuildings are recent in date and most have been erected within the footprint of their 19th century predecessors. This means that the historic layout of a merchant's house and its accompanying buildings can still be seen, informing a greater understanding of the history of settlement and trade in this part of Shetland. Although other trading properties retain their positions next to a pier, the amount of buildings here is unusual.

While the combination of residential accommodation and shop is not unusual, particularly in rural communities, the size of the property at Brae is more unusual and suggests a degree of prosperity that was not always the case in more rural situations. The lack of much alteration here is also unusual, with little in the way of late 20th century expansion.

The room layout in the interior has been little altered since the 19th century and includes the former shop. The fittings in the shop are likely to be 19th century in date and include the counter, shelving, and drawers. Shop interiors of this date are an increasingly rare feature, as many shops update their fittings over time. The retention of the materials here give an insight into 19th century rural trading customs.

The statutory address and listed building record was revised in 2015. Previously listed as 'Brae, Brae House with Pier and Outbuildings'.

External Links

Historic Environment Scotland Listing

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