old gates

Today two of the three grandchildren had summer camp activities, so a somewhat depleted, (and much quieter), party went out for a meal in Lerwick.

It was very fine to spend the afternoon walking round the town. There are always familiar faces and folk to stop and chat to, but I am getting worse at remembering names. Faces very familiar, but names just gone completely from my brain.

I wanted to walk round by the old school. It sits in an area which is going to be re-developed, since the pupils now have a brand new building across town.
In 1862 the school opened as the Anderson Educational Institute. It was gifted by Arthur Anderson, a Shetland entrepreneur, liberal reformer and co-founder of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which became P&O. Anderson wanted to improve educational provision for all, not just those parents who could afford to pay for their children's schooling.
The building contained a north and a south wing and between them, a house for the Headmaster. It was quite a substantial house, allowing him to keep boarders as a means of supplementing his income.

My blip is of the old school gates.

Just round the corner are the gates to the Bruce Hostel. From the early 1920s it provided accommodation for pupils from all over Shetland who lived too far from Lerwick to travel in each day. 
To the right of the heart, there's a glimpse of the school.