Search our Archive catalogue

Manuscripts, books, oral history recordings, maps and more

We have an extensive online archive of Shetland's records. Browse the Shetland Archives Catalogue and discover our collection of manuscripts, books, oral history recordings, maps and many other types of material held by us.


Now more than ever we need your support

We hope you enjoy our free online activities. The Shetland Museum and Archives is managed by the Shetland Amenity Trust, a small charity caring for Shetland's natural and cultural heritage. We are a free to visit museum and any donations are welcomed to help the Trust care for the collections and our heritage both now and in the future.

Other ways to support us include...


Search our Archive catalogue Blog Posts

Up Helly Aa has a most interesting history

With the cancellation of Up Helly Aa there will be no torchlit procession, galley burning or all night partying this year. These ...

Read more

The Shetland Archives - behind the searchroom

In the Shetland archives, we are lucky to have an enormous collection of our recent-forebears on tape. There are recordings of men and ...

Read more

Unveiling the Shetland War Memorial, 6 January 1924

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the time of the armistice that ended the Great War. Remembrance in ...

Read more

VJ Day in Shetland

VJ Day (Victory Over Japan) has never been as important a celebration as VE Day, but for some people in Shetland it was a very ...

Read more

Peter and Olla

Archivist Brian Smith retells the story of cousins Peter and Olla, two very different characters, who met one notable New Year's eve. ...

Read more

James A Teit: Tackling racism in the late 1800's

In December 1883, Lerwick Man James Teit emigrated to Canada where he lived and worked with indigenous communities, listening and ...

Read more

Captain Lawrence Irvine

Captain Lawrence Irvine of Bridge of Walls was one of the few Shetlanders to enter the West Indies Trade in the late 1700’s, a trade ...

Read more

The adventures of Ninian Neven

Archivist Brian Smith delves into the incredible story of his ten-times great grandfather the accomplished and unruly Ninian Neven. ...

Read more

The hundredth birthday of John Alexander Cruickshank

Today, a rather special one, John Alexander Cruickshank, has his hundredth birthday. He is now the last living Victoria Cross holder ...

Read more

Victory in Europe

Shetland took the news of the end of the war in Europe in much the same way as the rest of Britain, a mixture of relief, reflection, ...

Read more

Reading in the Archives

The Shetland Archives has an extensive collection of manuscripts, books, oral history recordings, maps and many other types of ...

Read more

Social Networking in the 1940s

Anyone reading this blog is used to sharing information and connecting with people online. We take it for granted that, if we want to ...

Read more

Da Croon o Da Ura

One of Shetland’s more remarkable archaeological sites is Da Croon o Da Ura, in Unst, just about the most northerly part of the ...

Read more

One Piece at a Time

From teapots to lepidoptera, there is a place for objects, large or small, in Shetland’s Museum and Archives’ collection. Here, ...

Read more