Crofthouse Museum

The Shetland Crofthouse Museum is now closed for the season and will reopen in May 2025.

Head down to the delightful setting of Dunrossness and step back in time as you enter the traditional 19th century thatched crofthouse.

Opening Times: view the Shetland Crofthouse Museum's opening times here.

Admission: The Crofthouse Museum is free to visit, with donations welcome.
Group Tours: For groups of eight people and over please email us to book.
Note: small charge of group tours.

The Shetland Crofthouse Museum is operated by Shetland Museum and Archives.

The property is presented in the style of how it would have looked in the 1870s. Smell the peat fire, discover the box beds and try to set the traditional Shetland mouse trap. The crofthouse also has a lovely garden.

Hear our knowledgeable custodians tell stories about how it would have been to live in a typical crofthouse and what families would have to have done to make a living from the land.

Location
The Shetland Crofthouse Museum is situated in Dunrossness, Boddam and is easy to reach by public transport. Click here to view the ZetTrans website for the latest timetables and information.


Accessibility: Due to the nature of the building it is not suitable for wheelchair access. Entry to the crofthouse site is down a narrow, steep sloped track with three steps at the start of the path. The doorways into the interior of the buildings are narrow, the door-lintels are low and the floor is uneven.

Group Tours
For groups of six people and over please email us to book. Please note the Crofthouse Museum's capacity is 15 people - larger parties can be split, while one group has the tour the other can explore the gardens and surrounding area.

Crofthouse Museum Blog Posts

Where is Shetland?

Where is Shetland?  Well, it depends who you ask.  "In the north Atlantic" is the most likely answer, but it isn't the only one, ...

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Witchcraft in Shetland

Between around 1615 and 1680 Shetland was afflicted by a mania that was disturbing other parts of Europe. Ordinary Shetlanders and ...

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Beltane Festival

We're all familiar with calendar customs. Those we have in Shetland today (with one notable exception in late January!) are identical ...

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The Man Behind the Lowrie Stories

Sometime in the 1920s a middle-aged businessman in Lerwick began to write stories. He didn’t write about his native town. The hero ...

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His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

We are saddened to hear of the passing of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

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Why burn peats?

As part of the Between Islands project, Shetland’s new online exhibition, ‘Fair Game’ examines three customs that are now ...

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The Bohemian Girl

In 1843 White’s, a firm of Quaker shipbuilders, launched a schooner, 125 tons, 104ft x 22.5ft x 12ft, the Bohemian Girl.

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Celebrating International Women's Day: Britta Laurenson

International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. Here Jenny ...

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Get Your Skates On!

The weather has changed, the temperature risen, wind and rain are back, the frosty winter fun gone. In 1909 though, one organisation ...

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A present from Lerwick?

Some artefacts are interesting for what they tell us, and others are simply nice to look at. Here's one that's both. On the face of ...

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Why hunt whales?

Pilot whales were important to islanders’ survival, providing many useful products. Subsistence whaling was unpredictable, because ...

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St Sunniva's Tableware

The pandemic meant no cruise liners came to Lerwick, but not many Shetlanders realise that an important one lies on the seabed at ...

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Winter Sports

We’ve had a fine spell of weather of late, snowy, frosty, crispy. Out for a walk one day I was told someone had been spotted skiing, ...

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Northwest Passage

On the 26th of June 1576, three ships anchored near St Ninian’s Isle. These were the Gabriel, a twenty-five tonne barque, the ...

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Why hunt fowl?

As part of the Between Islands project, Shetland’s new online exhibition, ‘Fair Game’ examines three customs that are now ...

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