Fetlar
| Gaelic name | Unknown |
|---|---|
| Norse name | Fætilar |
| Meaning of name | Unclear |
| Location | |
 Fetlar
Fetlar shown within Shetland
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| OS grid reference | HU620919 |
| Coordinates | 60°37′N 0°52′W / 60.62°N 0.87°W |
| Physical geography | |
| Island group | Shetland |
| Area | 4,078 hectares (15.75 sq mi) |
| Area rank | 25 |
| Highest elevation | Vord Hill 158 metres (518 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | Scotland |
| Council area | Shetland Islands |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 61 |
| Population rank | 52 |
| Population density | 1.5 people/km2 |
| Largest settlement | Houbie |
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| References | |
Fetlar is one of the North Isles of Shetland, Scotland, with a usually resident population of 61 at the time of the 2011 census. Its main settlement is Houbie on the south coast, home to the Fetlar Interpretive Centre. Fetlar is the fourth largest island of Shetland and has an area of just over 4,000 hectares (15 sq mi).
One of the strange features of Fetlar is a huge wall that goes across the island known as the Funzie Girt or Finnigirt Dyke. It is thought to date from the Mesolithic period. So sharp was the division between the two halves of the island, that the Norse talked of East and West Isle separately.
Another attraction on the island is the Gothic Brough Lodge, built by Arthur Nicolson in about 1820, and which is undergoing restoration by the Brough Lodge Trust. The Fetlar sheepdog trials take place annually, normally in July. The Fetlar Foy was once very popular with Shetlanders and tourists alike. It took place at midsummer on the Links at Tresta where folk were entertained with music, food and drink.
Its most famous son was Sir William Watson Cheyne Bt FRS FRCS, a close associate of Lord Lister and one of the pioneers of antiseptics. He was professor of surgery at King's College London, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and wrote many books on medical treatments. He was made a baronet for services to medicine in 1908, was an MP first for the Universities of Edinburgh and St Andrews and then the Combined Scottish Universities in 1917 and 1918. He was Lord Lieutenant of the Shetland Islands from 1919 to 1930. Cheyne died on Fetlar on 19 April 1932.
Fetlar has a long tradition of fishing. According to Guinness World Records, in August 2012 what was then the oldest message in a bottle, released in June 1914, was found by Andrew Leaper, skipper of the Copious, coincidentally the same fishing vessel involved in a previous record recovery in 2006. The bottle, and Mr Leaper's World Record certificate, have been donated to the Fetlar Interpretative Centre. Fetlar also has an international selection of shipwrecks including Danish, Dutch, German, English and Soviet vessels.
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Wikipedia