(b) Other Measures Within conservation areas, the principle of the use of interpretation boards has been approved with the first boards erected during 1988, and a standard cast aluminium plaque has been erected in prominent locations in conservation areas to subtly reinforce conservation area status. In addition to the major exhibition, a tape/slide presentation set to music has been used, partly as a marketing service for the book but also as a logical extension of the use of the archive. CONCLUSIONS It is hoped that I have demonstrated there has been an attempt, within a relatively short timescale, to develop a coherent programme of information bases and tools to assist public awareness of the existence and to a lesser extent, the implications of statutory protection. This type of work is a prerequisite to successful conservation measures and one which must be systematically pursued over a period of time. In time, one hopes that a mutually reinforcing conservation ethic is established, which not only diminishes the need for the first stage of notification, but leads to a proper understanding of what conservation means in terms of the building fabric. 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111' Ill IIIJHIIJHllll lllfilllII1111111111111111111111111111111111111111 I 11111I11 111 I 1111111111 I Ill I I ilil 11111111 A Shetland Diary by Alistair Hamilton Lerwick was little more than a muddy bay - the Old Norse meaning of the name - until the seventeenth century, when it began to be used as a base by Dutch fishermen. Most of the old part of the present town dates from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Traders established their jetty stores, called lodberries, like the one on the left. The winding main street developed behind these, closely following the shore. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a more formal 'new town' of straight streets, parks and stone villas was created inland. The town has continued to expand and now accommodates about 7,500 people, about a third of the Shetland total. Monday* * * It's hard to believe that this is January. No snow so far, hardly any frost and the grass still growing well: it can't last. My daughters, Hannah and Rebecca, are ready and we set off from Burra Isle for Lerwick, where they go to school and I occupy myself as Conservation Officer for Shetland Islands Council. It's a pleasant journey: we cross the sea three times by bridge, then climb over the range of hills which separates the east and west sides of Shetland at this point. In not much more than twenty minutes, I'm at my desk overlooking the old harbour. My first hour or so is spent catching up on the weekend mail and in \ talking to an architect who is anxious to make progress on a site in Lerwick which happens to lie within the area of a waterfront study I've begun. Mid-morning, there is a site meeting with a Council architect who is preparing a refurbishment scheme for some of the oldest Council houses in the town, beautifully built of stone and slate in the thirties. As usual, the only real problem is how to reconcile the desire for highperformance windows with the need to stick to the original style. In the afternoon, there are some grant applications to deal with, including one for a listed church where the proposal is to replace some plain but attractive boarded panelling with varnished plywood and parana pine. I reflect again on ecclesiastical exemption and write to seek a meeting. Tonight I have to go to Levenwick, some eighteen miles south of Lerwick, where I want to discuss with the local History Group the possibility of conserving a listed lighthouse. We have a very constructive couple of hours, followed by a talk with the Community Council. Lighthouses have featured rather prominently recently; the Council is concerned about the social impact of their automation on the local community and I'm working on an amendment to the Merchant Shipping Bill which would allow such things to be considered. After the meeting, I am revived by some excellent homemade tomato soup and peach crumble at a friend's house nearby. Tuesday * * * I sort out my thoughts on a possible agreement between the lighthouse authority, the History Group and ourselves. Meanwhile, there is the usual range of enquiries about grant aid, scrap vehicles, SSSis and the odd astragal. My afternoon is spent 4
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