Church Overview

Originally a fishing village, Scalloway eventually became the capital of Shetland until 1708 when that honour passed Lerwick. During World War Two the village of Scalloway was the operational headquarters for the famous “Shetland Bus” Allied clandestine campaign to support Resistance efforts in Norway.  

The village kirk, built in 1840-41, is a handsome two-storey square building with a piended roof and a distinctive bellcote above its entrance porch. The bell came from the full-rigged sailing ship Achilles, out of Bremen, that foundered on the Sands of Scousburgh in a gale-force storm in 1858. The ship was so badly damaged it was towed to Dundee and broken up for spares, but not before the canny villages of Scalloway had salvaged the ship’s bell to hang in their kirk!

Inside the church, a white-painted horseshoe gallery and pews and red carpets make the interior bright and welcoming, the result of a significant refurbishment and redecoration of the building, inside and out, in 1997. Its organ is now one of only four pipe organs remaining in Shetland and was built by organ-builder Andrew Watt of Glasgow in 1902, with funding from Scottish-American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The historic instrument was fully rebuilt and refurbished in 1981.

Following a restructuring of the Church of Scotland parish system in Shetland in the early 2020s, which sadly saw the closure and sale of a number of local church buildings, Scalloway Church is now part of one enlarged parish that encompasses 15 congregations that meet in buildings across the Islands. 

Services

Sundays at 10am

Opening Arrangements

Open by arrangement

Disclaimer

The information about churches in Scotland’s Churches Scheme has been provided by the congregations or taken from the Historic Scotland list and published sources, in particular, the Buildings of Scotland volumes and the RIAS Illustrated Architectural Guides. To contact this specific church please complete the Contact this Church form above. The information is not authoritative; please contact Scotland’s Churches Trust to let us know of any errors or omissions.