Böd of Gremista

The Böd of Gremista, situated at the north end of Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland, is a typical 18th century Shetland fishing booth (or böd). It is protected as a category B listed building.^[1]

History

The Böd was built in 1780 by Arthur Nicholson, local landowner and manager of the Gremista fishing station. The building provided family accommodation and a store for the fishing and fish curing activities that took place on the adjacent beach.^[2]

It was the birthplace of Arthur Anderson, co-founder of Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, (now P&O).

The building fell into disrepair^[3] but was restored with grants provided by P&O and the UK Government in 1970,^[4] the first phase being completed in 1976.^[5] It opened as a museum in 1987, was acquired by the Shetland Museums Service in 1991 and was run as a community museum by the Shetland Amenity Trust. The exhibition included period furnishings and other artefacts together with displays on fishing and the life of Anderson. In 2017 the building was a Shetland textile museum run by a board of trustees and exhibited Shetland textiles from 1800s to the present day including wool, jumpers, Fair Isle, lace, rugs and weaving.^[3]^[6]

References

^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Gremista Road, The Bod of Gremista (Category B Listed Building) (LB37258)". Retrieved 20 March 2019.
^ Gittings, B.M. (2012). "Bod of Gremista". The Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
^ ^a ^b "Shetland's dedicated textiles museum at the Böd of Gremista". Shetland Textile Museum. 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
^ Irvine (1985), p.271
^ Irvine (1985), p.293
^ "Böd of Gremista and Shetland Textile Working Museum". Shetland Heritage Association. 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017.