Yell
Mid and South Yell is a united parish in the northern part of Shetland. It comprehends several islets, the inhabited isles of Hascussay (Hascosay) and Samphrey, and the middle and southern parts of the island of Yell. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).
Burravoe, Dalsetter, East Yell, Gossaburgh
Midbrake
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
In the sixteenth century this parish and South Yell were united. To them Fetlar and North Yell were joined near the close of the seventeenth century. This union of four parishes was broken up in 1709, when Fetlar and North Yell were severed from the other two. There are now mission chapels in this parish at West Sandwick and East Yell.
Mid Yell. The church of Mid Yell at Reafirth was dedicated to St John.
South Yell, or Hamnavoe. The church of South Yell at Hamnavoe was dedicated to St Magnus. South Yell was disjoined quoad sacra from Mid Yell on 19 July 1880.
Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.
Mid Yell (QO)
South Yell, or Hamnavoe (QO)
(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)
Parish registers turned over to the Registrar-General, as a result of the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages (Scotland) Act of 1854. The letters B. D. and M. indicate Births (or Baptisms), Deaths (or Burials), and Marriages (or Proclamations of Banns) respectively. Numbers indicate separate volumes or books. Note: These records are by no means complete or without damage; consult the Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland (1872) to learn more about the condition of the records.
| OPR and RD Numbers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date Range | Name | Number | Type |
| 1723-1854 | Mid and South Yell | 6 | OPR |
| 1855-1892 | Mid and South Yell | 6 | RD |
| 1893-1971 | Mid and South Yell | 6-1 | RD |
| 1893-1971 | North Yell | 6-2 | RD |
| 1972-2006 | Yell (Mid and South) | 102 | RD |
| 2009 | Shetland Islands, North Yell | 101 | RD |
| 2009 | Shetland Islands, Mid and South Yell | 102 | RD |
| 2026 | Shetland Islands Council; Yell Community Council | ||
(2009: Parishes and Registration Districts of Scotland - Old and New, National Records of Scotland)
Local community councils (2026) are provided as a potential source of additional information for settlements within the original boundaries of the parish. (Source)
Statistics from informal and official censuses
Mid Yell: Anderson, Clark, Johnson, Manson, Petrie, Robertson, Smith, Spence, Thomason, Williamson
South Yell: Anderson, Green, Guthrie, Hughson, Johnson, Robertson, Sharp, Thomason, Tulloch, Williamson
Note: Names appearing in research materials, other than censuses. Simple names (First name, surname only) have been omitted unless they appear associated with large properties. All women's names, and men's names with occupations, military ranks, or peerage titles are included.
By the Reverend Mr Andrew Dishington.
"There are but few mechanics, or tradesmen, in these parishes, the useful arts not having yet made their appearance here, in any great perfection. Wool, it is true, the staple commodity of the country, so remarkable for its fineness and softness, might be a source of industry and opulence; yet, in the way it has been hitherto been managed, it turns to very small account. All the women, of every rank and distinction, are employed in spinning wool, and knitting fine and coarse stockings, to their great loss, and miserable mispending of their time: For, if it were fairly calculated, they cannot earn, by this species of industry, three halfpence a day. The materials they consume, in this gainful trade, might be manufactured into good cloths of all sorts, which might serve all ranks for clothing, and put a stop to the pernicious rage they have for foreign fopperies."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)
Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 2, p. 565
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 15, Section IV, p. 82
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
