Parish of Delting

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

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1791-99: Delting 1834-45: Delting

Delting, a parish in the Mainland of Shetland, including the islands of Bigga, Fishholm, Brother Isle, Little Roe, and Muckle Roe, only the last of. which is inhabited. It is bounded N by Yell Sound, separating it from Yell; E by Lunnasting and Nesting; S by Weesdale and Sandsting; and W by St Magnus Bay and Sulem Voe. Joined to Northmaven by a narrow neck of land, less than 100 feet broad, that separates the German from the Atlantic Ocean, it has an utmost length of 20 miles, and varies in breadth from 3 to 6 miles, being much intersected by voes or arms of the sea. The surface is, for the most part, hilly, bleak, and barren; but along the banks of the voes and in the valleys are patches of good arable land. The chief harbours are St Magnus Bay, Sulem Voe, Olnafirth Voe, Busta Voe, and Goufirth Voe. In the island of Muckle Roe there is some fine rock scenery; and the sea washes into several large caves-the haunts of numerous wild birds. There are remains of an ancient artificial harbour at Burravoe, and some vestiges of a Pictish house at Brough, on Yell Sound. Fully one-half of the parish belongs to the estate of the Giffords of Busta. The next largest proprietor is Major Cameron of Garth. The other properties are small. The principal residences are Busta, Garth, Udhouse, Mossbank, and Voe. There are large stores and fish-curing establishments at Voe, Brae, and Mossbank. Delting is in the presbytery of Olnafirth and synod of Shetland; the stipend is £150, with 9 merks of glebe and a good manse. There are two parish churches, distant about 10 miles from one another, viz., Scatsta, built in 1811, and Olnafirth in 1868. There are also a Free church at Brae and a U.P. church at Mossbank; and the six schools of Brae, Goufirth, Firth, Muckle Roe, Olnafirth, and Mossbank, with total accommodation for 254 children, had (1880) an average attendance of 164, and grants amounting to £201,14s. Valuation (1882) £2361,12s. 8d. Pop. (1801) 1449, (1831) 2070, (1861) 1975, (1871) 1862, (1881) 1654.

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available, or use the map tab to the right of this page.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer