This landmark work in North Atlantic ethnology establishes the first ever typology of Shetland’s indigenous buildings. Shetland Vernacular Buildings 1600-1900 analyses the characteristics and usage of farmsteads and outbuildings over three centuries, from a period of social upheaval, up to the start of socio-economic revitalisation. The study identifies native construction styles, standard and atypical forms, and regional distributions. All aspects influencing the tradition are considered, from cultural and economic shifts to the impact of imports and styles that eventually dissolved Shetland’s vernacular tradition. Much new light is shed on the strengths of Scandinavian and Scottish cultural factors in the Early Modern period.

Although Shetland’s elite architecture has benefited from frequent study, the buildings of its commoners – the majority of the populace – have received almost no scrutiny until now. Such absence of analyses necessitated exhaustive fieldwork to determine typologies, relationships and distribution, and Shetland Vernacular Buildings reveals all building types, normal and variant forms, and constructional details. Surveys and oral testimony are supported by historic photographs and lexical evidence. Comparisons with structures in neighbouring areas determine the limitations of cultural similarity and environmental coincidence.

Agriculture was based on daily and seasonal stock movements, therefore farms required structures whose use was interrelated, and geographical difference within Shetland was limited. North Atlantic regions were environmentally and agriculturally similar, and Scandinavia and Shetland were culturally linked, but economic differences caused building dissimilarities. Conversely, comparable buildings evolved in the unrelated cultures of Shetland and the Hebrides. Shetland’s closest comparator was Orkney, whereas Faroe’s dependence on imports contrasted with Shetland’s intense self-reliance.

This ambitious work is the culmination of 25 years’ research and fieldwork. Shetland’s indigenous building tradition has never been systematically examined until now, and Dr Tait, a native Shetlander, here presents a lifetime’s analysis on this important topic in Northern Isles ethnology. Most of the material, including the hundreds of illustrations, has never been published before.

The author holds a PhD from St Andrews University, and is Curator of the Shetland Museum.