SANDWICK-AND-CUNNINGSBURGH, a quoad
sacra parish, in the parish of Dunrossness, county of
Orkney and Shetland, 9 miles (S. by W.) from Lerwick;
containing 2167 inhabitants. This place comprises
the ancient parishes of Sandwick and Cunningsburgh,
anne.xed at an early period to Dunrossness, from
which they were separated for ecclesiastical purposes,
under act of the General Assembly, and erected into one
quoad sacra parish. The district occupies that portion
of the southern peninsula of Shetland which extends
from Dunrossness Proper, on the south, to the parish of
Quarff, on the north; and is bounded on the east by
the North Sea, and on the west by the sound of Cliff,
It is nearly eleven miles in extreme length, and varies
from two miles and a half to almost six miles in breadth,
comprising about 20,000 acres, of which not more than
1200 are arable, and the remainder moorland pasture,
moss, and waste. The surface is diversified with hills
of moderate height, chiefly covered with moss; and the
scenery, notwithstanding the want of timber and planta-
tions, is not wholly destitute of interest. The shores
are bold and rugged; and between the headlands of
Ilaly Ness, on the north, and No Ness, on the south, is
the small island of Mousa, off the eastern coast of Sandwick.
On this island are the remains of an ancient
Scandinavian fortress or Pictish castle, the most perfect
probably in Europe, consisting of a circular tower fifty
feet in diameter and forty-two feet in height; the walls
are about ten feet in thickness, with an intermediate
space between the outer and inner surfaces. It is situated
close to the shore; and immediately opposite, on
the main land, are the ruins of a similar fortress, around
which are the foundations of several small houses.
There are no rivers in the parish: a small stream flows
from Cliff sound, and falls into the sea near the hamlet
of Cunningsburgh, at the head of Sandwick bay; and
there is another streamlet, of equal size, in the neighbourhood
of Channerwick.
The soil of the arable land is tolerably fertile, but
nothing that can properly be called a system of husbandry
has been introduced. The parish is generally
inhabited by persons engaged in the fisheries off the
coast; and to their cottages, which are scattered in
clusters, are attached small portions of land in the
cultivation of which they employ themselves during the
intervals of the fishing-season, for the maintenance of
their families. The mosses afford abundance of peat
for fuel: almost in the immediate vicinity of the several
cottages are tracts of moss, on which the people
have a right of cutting turf. Some few families use
coal, obtained chiefly from the north of England. Stone
of good quality for building, and a greyslate which is
well adapted for roofing, are quarried to a moderate
extent; limestone is also found in abundance, and
there are kilns for burning it at Cunningsburgh. Towards
the close of the last century, a vein of copper
was discovered at Sand Lodge, and was wrought for
some time by a company from England; but not being
found sufficiently productive to remunerate the working
of it, it was soon after abandoned, and the mine has not
been re-opened.
The fish taken here are ling, tusk, saith or coal-fish,
cod, skate, halibut, haddock, flounders, and other kinds
of white-fish; and during the herring season, which
usually commences about the beginning of August and
continues till the end of September, the inhabitants are
engaged in the herring-fishery, for which a considerable
number of large boats have been fitted up at a great expense.
For some years past the herring-fishery has not
been very successful, though in favourable seasons several
thousand barrels of fish have been taken by the boats
belonging to the parish, for the accommodation of which
there is a convenient harbour. The fish caught here are
purchased by the merchants of Lerwick, the nearest
market-town, and are sent thence by vessels to various
markets on the English and Irish coasts. Sand Lodge
is a neat modern mansion situated on the shore, and to
which several additions have been made by the proprietor.
There is no village properly so called, and the facilities
of inland communication are inconsiderable; a turnpikeroad
from Lerwick to Dunrossness was commenced a
few years since, but it was discontinued for want of
funds. Ecclesiastically the district is within the limits
of the presbytery of Lerwick and synod of Shetland.
The minister's stipend is £120, paid from the exchequer,
with a manse built by government, a garden, and an
acre of uninclosed land; patron, the Crown. The church,
erected by the heritors in 180", at a cost of £'00, is a
neat substantial structure situated on a level green at
the head of Sandwick bay, and contains nearly 600
sittings. There are also places of worship for Wesleyans
and Independents. The parochial school of Dunrossness,
situated here, is attended by about sixty children;
the master has a salary of £25. 13. 4., with a house, an
allowance of £2. 2. iu lieu of garden, and the fees. A
school is supported by the Society for Propagating
Christian Knowledge; and there are two small subscription
libraries, one iu Sandwick, the other at Cunningsburgh.