In January 2002 the Shetland Amenity Trust was awarded a grant of £4.9 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund to build a new museum and archive alongside Hay's Dock, the last remaining part of old Lerwick waterfront. After a lot of hard work, the new building has finally opened to the public and the National Archives of Scotland (NAS) offers its congratulations to the Trust on its achievement.
To celebrate, the museum and archives will be hosting a number of public events and special exhibitions.
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The NAS has loaned the early 17th century sheriff and justice court book of Shetland (SC10/1/1) for the opening until the end of July. This is a significant document for Shetland's history, as it contains written evidence of the Norse law which held sway there until 1611.
The new archive has about 750m of storage space, plus room for expansion, and it has significantly more space for researchers than previously.
The Archive's normal services will resume on Monday 4 June. Its new opening hours will be:
Monday-Wednesday and Friday: 09:30 - 16:30
Thursday: 10:00 - 17:00
Saturday 10:00 - 13:00
The Archives contain written records of Shetland's past, from the fifteenth up to the twentieth century. Its holdings include records of Shetland Islands Council and its predecessors; some categories of crown records (Procurator Fiscal, Customs, Sheriff Court); and a wide variety of papers generated by individuals, estates and societies. There is also a large collection of oral history material, and microfilm of local newspapers, old parochial registers and census records.
For more information on the new museum and archives, go to the Shetland Museums Service and Shetlands Council Archives websites (see 'Other Websites' on the left side of this page). | 
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