History / Proposal to give Diana memorial fountain listed status
A MEMORIAL fountain at Victoria Pier in Lerwick could be given listed status.
Historic Environment Scotland (HES) is consulting the public on plans to make the Diana fountain a C-listed ‘building’.
The memorial, made in 1890, pays tribute to the crew of the Hull whaling boat Diana, which had many Shetlanders on board.
In 1866 she became stuck in ice in Baffin Bay for more than six months, resulting in some of the crew dying.
Other crew were said to be malnourished and were left in poor health, with the ship eventually returning to Ronas Voe in 1867.
The drinking fountain on the memorial has since been replaced by a chalice.
An application was made to HES in 2023 to invite the heritage organisation to consider assessing the site for designation.
The application to HES said it an “important touchstone to the C19 [19th Century] whaling industry of both Scotland and England, particularly in the Shetland Islands and Kingston upon Hull, England where it was a significant part of their economies”.
After a significant period of time since the application, HES has now confirmed it is consulting on the idea of making it a C-listed building.
HES said the fountain met the criteria of “special architectural or historic interest” for a number of reasons.
This included its social, historical and commemorative interest for its association with the whaling industry.
HES also highlighted the good quality construction and its historic setting.
In a report, the heritage organisation said the Diana memorial fountain is “not a rare example of its building type for its late-19th century date, however it is one of a small number of other designated sites and structures symbolic of whaling in Scotland”.
The consultation is open until 27 August.
Designations from HES included listed building status and scheduled monuments.
They are designed to protect and preserve features of historic or architectural significance.
An application for the Clickimin Leisure Complex in Lerwick was also submitted a couple of years ago by an architectural heritage charity, but HES ruled that the building should not be listed.
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