Sandsting and Aithsting is a united parish in Shetland. It comprehends a district near the middle of the mainland, the inhabited islands of Vementry and Papa-Little, and seven pastoral islets of the kind called holms. The mainland district is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, by the parish of Walls, by an inlet of St Magnus' Bay, and by the parishes of Delting and Tingwall. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).
Aith, Brindister, Gruting, Skeld, Twatt
Reawick
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
The parishes of Sandsting and Aithsting were united in the sixteenth century.
Sandsting. The church of Sandsting was dedicated to St Mary. There were chapels within the bounds at Skeld and Gruting. The present church was erected in 1780.
Aithsting. There is now a mission chapel in this parish at Twatt.
Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.
(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 |
| 1733-1854 | Sandsting and Aithsting | 9 | OPR |
| 1855-1971 | Sandsting and Aithsting | 9 | RD |
| 1972-2006 | Sandsting and Aithsting | 110 | RD |
| 2009 | Shetland Islands, Sandsting and Aithsting | 110 | RD |
| 2026 | Shetland Islands Council; Sandsting and Aithsting 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
Abernethy, Fraser, Henry, Hunter, Jamieson, Johnston, Leask, Nicolson, Robertson, Tait
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 Patrick Barclay.
"The people, in general, have a turn for handicrafts; but, as they have no opportunity to learn, and but very little steadiness in themselves, they seldom come to perfection in any trade. Every man almost tans his own leather, (often with the tormentile root), makes his own shoes, coarse cloths, &c. In the month of June, almost every man in the parish leaves his home, and goes to the proper fishing stations in the neighbouring parishes of Walls and Northmavine.
There are 3 blacksmiths, 4 masons, many tailors, weavers, wrights, boat-builders, shoemakers, &c.; but none earn their bread by that occupation alone: Every man almost is fisher, farmer, and artificer; so that hardly any man in the parish, except the minister, makes his bread by one trade."
(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 7, p. 580
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 15, Section IV, p. 97
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
