DUNROSSNESS, a parish, in the county of ShetLAND;
including Fair Isle, the island of Mousa, and the
quoad sacra district of Sandwick and Cunningsburgh;
and containing 4494 inhabitants. This parish is situated
on the southern extremity of the Mainland, and
forms the principal part of a peninsula, washed on the
east, south, and west by the sea. The shore, though
not so deeply indented with inlets as that of most other
parts of the Shetland Isles, is still very irregular in its
outline, and contains several voes, the chief of them
being Grutness and West voe: both these, with Quendale
bay, are near Sumburgh head, the most southern point
of the Mainland, rendered classical by Sir Walter Scott's
Pirate, and on which an excellent lighthouse was erected
a few years since, at an expense of about £40,000.
Among the islands in the parish are those of Colsay,
Mousa, St. Ninian's, and Fair Isle; they are used chiefly
for the pasturage of sheep and cattle, and, with the exception
of the last, are inconsiderable. The exposure of
Dunrossness is remarkably bleak and stormy; farms
have been destrpyed by the drifting of sand, and there
is an inlet now filling up which before was used as a
creek or harbour: on the whole, however, the district
yields to very few, if any, in Shetland, in the fertility of
its soil and the quality of the crops. The lochs of Braw
and Spiggie are the resort in winter of wild swans; and
eagles, ravens, and hawks, with a great variety of wildfowl,
frequent the shores. At this time of the year, the
stormy seas, and the dreary tracts of peat-moss, invest
the locality with a wild and uninviting appearance; but
at other periods the scene is greatly altered, and especially
during the operations of harvest and fishing every
thing wears a pleasing aspect.
The SOIL of the lands under cultivation is various,
comprehending sand, loam, and clay; the crops consist
principally of bear, black oats, potatoes, and turnips.
Ploughs, drawn by horses, are used in some parts; but
most of the small farms are turned by the spade, and
husbandry, as in all other districts of Shetland, is made
entirely subordinate to the occupation of fishing. The
annual value of real property in the parish is £1665. At
a place called FitfiU, copper-ore was wrought some years
since; and shafts were also sunk at Sand Lodge, in
Sandwick, but the operations, proving unsuccessful, were
shortly abandoned. The inhabitants are engaged in the
ordinary kinds of fishing, and three or four vessels come
annually to Levenwick bay, from Rothesay, to receive
the herrings immediately after they are taken. In addition
to the trade in fish, considerable quantities of potatoes
of very good quality, as well as of oats and bear,
are sent to Lerwick for sale; and a small profit is derived
from the manufacture of kelp. Ecclesiastically
the parish is in the presbytery of Lerwick, synod of
Shetland, and in the patronage of the Earl of Zetland.
The minister's stipend is £208, exclusive of a vicaragetithe
on a certain number of lambs and quantities of
butter and wool; the manse and glebe are valued at £20
per annum. The church was built in 1790, and contains
858 sittings. On Fair Isle is another church, a substantial
edifice, erected many years ago by the then proprietor
of the island; it affords accommodation to about
150 persons. There are meeting-houses for Baptists
and Methodists. The parochial school is situated in the
Sandwick district; and in Dunrossness, and also at
Cunningsburgh, is a school supported by the Society for
Propagating Christian Knowledge: in each of the three
places a library has likewise been instituted.