Symbister | |
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Symbister Harbour, viewed from Ward of Clate | |
Location within Shetland | |
Population | 797 |
OS grid reference | HU539622 |
Civil parish | |
Council area | |
Lieutenancy area | |
Country | Scotland |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | SHETLAND |
Postcode district | ZE2 |
Dialling code | 01806 |
Police | Scotland |
Fire | Scottish |
Ambulance | Scottish |
UK Parliament | |
Scottish Parliament | |
Symbister Ness Lighthouse | |
Coordinates | 60°20′26″N 1°02′17″W / 60.340482°N 1.038066°W |
Constructed | 1904 (first) |
Foundation | concrete basement |
Construction | metal skeletal tower (current) cast iron tower (first) |
Height | 7 metres (23 ft) |
Shape | quadrangular tower covered by aluminium panels with light on the top (current) octagonal prism tower with balcony and lantern |
Markings | white tower |
Power source | solar power |
Operator | Northern Lighthouse Board[2] |
First lit | 2000s |
Focal height | 11 metres (36 ft) |
Range | white: 8 nautical miles (15 km; 9.2 mi) green: 6 nautical miles (11 km; 6.9 mi) [1] |
Characteristic | Fl (2) WG 12s. |
Symbister is the largest village and port on Whalsay, an island in the Shetland archipelago of Scotland. The population in 1991 was 797. The focus of the village is the harbour, which is home to small fishing boats as well as large deep sea trawlers. The village is overlooked by the granite mansion Symbister House, built by the Sixth Robert Bruce of Symbister in 1823.[3] The harbour is also known by the names Bay Of Symbister, Symbister Harbour and Symbister Old Harbour.[4]
The Pier House, now a museum, was once the centre for the export of dried and salted fish to the Hanseatic League, an alliance of trading guilds that established and maintained a trade monopoly over much of Northern Europe between the 13th and 17th centuries.