Undiscovered Scotland

 

Measuring some three miles from north to south and a mile and a half from east to west, Fair Isle is Scotland's most remote inhabited island. It lies some 25 miles south-west of the southern tip of Mainland Shetland and some 30 miles north-east of the nearest of the Orkney Islands.

There are two churches on Fair Isle. The white harled Church of Scotland Kirk was built in 1892 and stands a little to the south of the Fair Isle School and Hall. The Methodist Chapel was built in 1886 and lies close to the south end of the island, near the Fair Isle Haa and the George Waterston Memorial Centre and Museum. Sunday services alternate between the two.

The exterior of the chapel is plain stone rubble, with an entrance porch at the east end with a small bellcote at the top of the east gable.

The interior is lit by two windows on each side, deeply recessed in the thick stone walls. The colour scheme is strikingly attractive. The light blue woodwork of the pews contrasts strikingly with the red in which the lower half of the walls are painted, and which is used to outline the window alcoves.

Decoration includes a beautiful tapestry above the communion table. But perhaps most striking are the two stained glass windows. Both carry inscriptions noting that were gifted in 1936 by Thomas Wilson in remembrance of his father, mother and grand aunt.