Belmont House, Island of Unst, Shetland

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Details of our garden work party on 11 and 12 July.

Work is continuing on programme

Work is continuing to restore the interior of Belmont. The completion date for this is in June 2010—a year from now.
Much has been done this year - all the first fix services are now in place with water, drainage, heating pipes and electrical and phone cables carefully inserted ingeniously and unobtrusively within the existing structure. We also have a sprinkler system - essential with an original interior which would have been impossible to upgrade to meet fire regulations.
The floors are being repaired, damaged plaster taken down and the original lathe re-fixed to the stone walls or, where it was too badly decayed, replaced with new lathe. Floors have been soundproofed, natural sheeps wool insulation inserted where this is possible and Belmont is slowly returning to a house - gone are the holes from basement to roof. While it is great to see all this work happening the process is covering up some of the amazing restoration work. We can no longer see the skilled craftsmanship of the new timber spliced to the old floor joists, the lathe will all be covered and the original roof timbers (numbered using Roman numerals) have vanished above the newly boarded attic ceilings.

Several years ago our volunteers cleared and catalogued all the loose timber from inside the house. This was carefully stored and is now being taken back into the house and fitted back in its original place. As much original timber as possible is being reused. Where any elements are missing or too badly decayed for re-use new ones are made. Missing fielded panels have been made for the drawing room perfectly matching the originals.

Many decisions have been made: what type of kitchen fittings (we decided on open shelving which will be made to match original Georgian types), what bathroom fittings (as there were no Georgian bathrooms to copy we have opted for modern fittings) and of course the treatment of floors, wall colours and how to treat the windows (do we use the shutters or hang curtains, or both?). All of these decisions are a balance between retaining the original features and ensuring that the house has all the facilities that are expected in the 21 century. We need to ensure that the house will be warm enough for visitors who may be coming from a much more southerly climate and we also need enough hot water to supply showers and baths for 12 people.

The workmanship by the North Isles squad of the Shetland Amenity Trust and their subcontractors continues to be of the best quality with the craftsmen taking great pride in their work and having a fondness for Belmont. The house is in very safe hands.


June 2008

2004

Belmont is a small but perfect Georgian house built in 1775 and set in a designed landscape overlooking a vista on three sides - sea, sky and islands.
It is classically symmetric with quadrant walls, twin pavilions and formal gardens, and it retains the original interior mouldings and paint colours.
A house of this sophistication, set in an incomparably beautiful natural setting, would be memorable anywhere; it is now being reinstated by the Belmont Trust as one of Shetland's most important buildings. Phase 1 of the restoration was completed in May 2006 and the first part of phase 2 in September 2007. The second part of phase 2 is now on site.


An early drawing of Belmont clearly showing the planned walled policies and the farmstead behind. Undated c.1830