Shetland

Extract from John Thomson’s Atlas of Scotland 1832. Reproduced by permission of the National Library of Scotland

BREVICK HOUSE, LERWICK   Formerly the Lerwick Combination Poorhouse, Brevick House originally opened on 17 September 1887 and was built to designs by T. S. Peace. The same architect designed the Orkney Poorhouse which was built on almost the same plan.

Extract from the 2nd-edition OS Map, surveyed in 1900. Reproduced by permission of the National Library of Scotland

Various minor alterations were carried out during this century. It closed as a hospital in 1983 and the elderly patients were transferred to the Montfield Hospital. For some time Brevick House was retained by Shetland Health Board, but by 2023 the buildings were boarded up and awaiting redevelopment.

Former Brevick Hospital, photographed in June 2023. © H. Richardson
Main entrance block, former Brevick Hospital © H. Richardson
north front of the former Brevick Hospital, © H. Richardson
South-west elevation of the former Brevick Hospital, © H. Richardson
rear of the former Brevick Hospital, © H. Richardson

GILBERT BAIN HOSPITAL, LERWICK The new Gilbert Bain Hospital was built on the site of the former infectious diseases hospital. The foundation stone was laid on 21 April 1959 and the first phase was officially opened on 8 August 1961.

Gilbert Bain Hospital, photographed in June 2023. © H. Richardson
Gilbert Bain Hospital, photographed June 2023. © H. Richardson

GILBERT BAIN HOSPITAL (FORMER), LERWICK   The hospital opened in 1902 and was designed by W. A. Baird Laing, an architect and civil engineer from Edinburgh.

The former Gilbert Bain Hospital, photographed in June 2023. © H. Richardson

It was built with a bequest from Miss Enga Bain of £2,000 for the building and £1,000 towards its endowment. Further funds were donated by her sister Mrs Isabella Anderson. They were both sisters of Gilbert Bain, formerly a merchant in Singapore, and afterwards residing in Edinburgh. The hospital was subsequently extended in 1912 and 1925.

Extract from the 2nd-edition OS Map, revised in 1928. Reproduced by permission of the National Library of Scotland

With the opening of the new Gilbert Bain it was retained as a geriatric unit until the new Montfield Hospital was opened in 1983. The building was sold in 1988 to a firm of undertakers.

Former Gilbert Bain Hospital, in 2023 © H. Richardson

THE KNAB HOSPITAL, LERWICK (Demolished)   The Knab Hospital opened as a fever hospital c.1850.

Extract from the 1st-edition OS Map, surveyed in 1877. Reproduced by permission of the National Library of Scotland

LERWICK COMBINATION HOSPITAL (Mostly demolished)   The Combination Hospital for infectious diseases opened in 1889 to replace the old fever hospital at the Knab, where a hut was retained for smallpox cases.

Extract from the 2nd-edition OS Map, revised in 1928 (see also the map above of the poorhouse, Brevick House, which shows the site in 1900). Reproduced by permission of the National Library of Scotland

The new Gilbert Bain Hospital was built on the site of part of the hospital and the last remaining block is scheduled for demolition in the future.

MONTFIELD HOSPITAL, LERWICK   Montfield Hospital originally opened on 13 November 1928 as the Zetland County Sanatorium, built to designs by P. Thompson. It provided twenty‑four beds and was built on the open air principal, despite the northerly climate, with verandas onto which the beds could be pushed.

Extract from the 2nd-edition OS Map, revised in 1928. Reproduced by permission of the National Library of Scotland
Montfield Hospital, photographed around 1989 © H. Richardson
A similar view taken in June 2023. © H. Richardson
Montfield Hospital, photographed around 1989 © H. Richardson
Montfield Hospital, photographed around 1989 © H. Richardson
Montfield Hospital, photographed around 1989 © H. Richardson

In 1962 it became mostly a hospital for long‑stay patients and was renamed the Montfield. In 1983 major extensions were completed to convert it into a geriatric hospital. [Sources: Shetland District Archives, Minutes.]