Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

Fort Charlotte, excluding scheduled monument SM90145, Commercial Street and Harbour Street, LerwickLB37255

Status: Designated

Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Category
A
Date Added
08/12/1971
Last Date Amended
29/05/2018
Local Authority
Shetland Islands
Planning Authority
Shetland Islands
Burgh
Lerwick
NGR
HU 47552 41516
Coordinates
447552, 1141516

Description

Fort Charlotte was designed by John Mylne, Master Mason to King Charles II. Work began on the original fort in 1665-7, and it was subsequently rebuilt in 1781 after lying in disrepair for almost a century. The fort has roughly pentagonal ramparts with bastions at the corners enclosing a complex of predominantly 18th century buildings (some with later alterations) with lime harled walls and droved sandstone ashlar dressings. The roof is grey slate with cast-iron gutters and downpipes.

The external walls of the fort, are constructed of: random rubble with a flagged wallhead. The east wall is battered to Commercial Street and the west wall buttressed on its east side.

Western block: This is a 2-storey, 11-bay symmetrical block on the west side of the fort. East (entrance) elevation: This elevation has a timber entrance door which has a heavy bracketted cornice above the door. The barrack block has a blank (rather than a window) at 1st floor level above the door. The rest of the barrack block has regular windows, although left and right ends of the building are stepped forward and higher than the main block. North and South elevations: This elevation has a door at ground floor in its centre with a window above and windowless blank bays flanking the door. The south elevation mirrors the north. West (rear) elevation: This is a 10-bay near-symmetrical elevation with doorways flanking the centre bay at ground floor level. There are regularly spaced windows at 1st floor with segmental-arched lintels. There are additional doorways at ground floor level in the bays to the outer left and right with an additional window inserted to the left of the latter.

Northern block: This is a 2-storey, 7-bay asymmetrical barrack block on a sloping site comprising a 5-bay near-symmetrical building which has been extended to the west by 2 wider additional bays. The building has 12-pane timber sash and case windows, a grey slate M shaped roof with harled chimney stacks with copes and circular cans. South (entrance) elevation: This elevation is made up of 7 bays with a harled stair which accesses the 1st floor in the penultimate bay to the left. This bay also contains the main door into the building. The barracks have regular windows across the elevation. East and West elevations: These elevations have M shaped gable; the east has two doors at ground floor level. North (rear) elevation: This elevation is asymmetrical, grouped in 5-2 bays. The 5-bay group is symmetrical with a door at 1st floor in the centre bay. The 2-bay group is blank at ground floor level.

Out-house: This is a harl-pointed building with a hipped grey slate roof. Of note is the single 16-pane timber fixed-light in the west elevation to the right of centre.

Southern block (artillery storehouse): This is a single storey 11-bay building by the south gate. It is constructed of random rubble. The building is part harled with timber doors and timber sash and case windows. The roof is hipped grey slate with harled and coped ridge chimney stacks. A rubble store stands adjacent to the west elevation.

Reservoir: This is a single storey rubble building with a platform roof with pitches flanking it to the east and west.

Powder magazine: This has a harl-pointed and coped rubble wall enclosing a submerged and flagged courtyard with shifting room at the southeast corner and magazine at the centre. The shifting room is gabled with 2 evenly spaced square windows in west elevation and a door in the centre of its north elevation. The gabled magazine has slit windows in the middle of each elevation and doors on the south elevation.

In accordance with Section 1 (4A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 the following are excluded from the listing: scheduled monument SM90145 (Fort Charlotte: see separate designation record).

Statement of Special Interest

The ramparts of the 18th century fort follow the outline of those begun in 1665-7. It is uncertain, however, whether the fort was ever completely finished before peace was declared at Versailles in 1783. Drawings made that year by Captain A Frazer show traverses but it is doubtful that they were ever built. Otherwise, all the principal buildings shown on Frazer's plan still survive, some with later modifications. Except for being burnt with the town of Lerwick by the Dutch in 1673, Fort Charlotte has never seen enemy action throughout its history. The buildings inside have been variously used as the town jail and courthouse (1837-75), custom house, coastguard station, RNR depot and armoury, and drill hall for the Territorial Army. A photograph of the North bastion in the 1860's shows the gun embrasures "with breeching and quarter-tackles rove exactly as in Nelson's day". They were used at this time for training seamen of the Royal Navy

In accordance with Section 1 (4A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 the following are excluded from the listing: scheduled monument SM90145 (Fort Charlotte: see separate designation record).

Statutory Address revised in 2018. Previously listed as 'COMMERCIAL ROAD AND HARBOUR STREET, FORT CHARLOTTE'.

References

Bibliography

Finnie M (1990). Shetland p18.

Fojut N and Pringle D, (1993). The Ancient Monuments of Shetland p59.

Gifford J (1992). Highlands and Islands p491.

Henderson T (1978). Shetland from Old Photographs plate 43.

Irvine J W (1985). Lerwick p51, 58, and 138.

RCAHMS (1946). Inventory Volume 3 Shetland p63 (Item 1244).

Historic Environment Scotland Properties

Fort Charlotte

https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/fort-charlotte

Find out more

Related Designations

  1. Fort Charlotte,LerwickSM90145

    Designation Type
    Scheduled Monument
    Status
    Designated

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

Images

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Printed: 29/03/2024 15:29