Lerwick Town Hall

For much of the 19th century meetings of the local council were held in the Parish Kirk in Queens Lane. After a period of rapid population expansion in Lerwick associated with the growth in the herring industry, civic leaders decided to procure a purpose-built town hall: a site on the north Hillhead was selected. in the Scottish Baronial style and builder John M. Aitken of Lerwick won the tender competition with a price of £3,240. There were also windows presented by the Corporation of Amsterdam and the Corporation of Hamburg. Panels with the coats of arms of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Leith, which had been presented by the respective corporations, were installed in a corridor. A…