John Ballantyne (now a Trustee of Brough Lodge Trust) and I had the task of taking these items from Brough to the Interpretive Centre, a few miles across the island. What we discovered in the house was a treasure-trove. Not, of course, in the sense that the items were worth large sums of money, but in terms of Fetlar's (and indeed Shetland's) history. We spent hours packing things up carefully into boxes and taking them to the Interpretive Centre. We were as systematic as possible and tried to be careful not to overlook anything, but this was difficult in the dark conditions of the partially boarded-up house. In the end it took several trips and several more days at the house before the items were removed.

We had found china and crystal, and sets of books dating back over 200 years (unfortunately some of the volumes in the sets had "vanished" at some point). At another level we found over 200 gramophone records, mostly in playable condition, and hundreds of copies of sheet music dating back to the late 19th century. The latter were found crumpled and trampled on the floor, but were later easily straightened out and cleaned up. Perhaps the most fascinating finds of all were the personal memorabilia relating to the Nicolson family, and the hundreds of original photographs, including an album taken at what is most likely to be Peechelba in Victoria, Australia, where Lady Annie Nicolson's family lived in the mid-late 19th century.

It was heartbreaking to see the deteriorating condition of the house, not all of which had occurred naturally. The floorboards throughout the building were in a dangerous condition, the tiled fireplace in the living room was severely broken up, furniture was broken into pieces, and well-remembered landmarks in the house were either disfigured or had disappeared. Despite all this, it seemed to me that what remained, along with the wealth of surviving stories and information about the house and family, left good grounds for optimism that it could all one day be put back together.

That year, Rosemary Thompson and I cleaned up the Brough items at the Interpretive Centre. We dusted down the books and sheet music until they were once again in a condition to be displayed, and I washed the china and crystal. Then came the colossal, but rewarding task of sorting, cataloguing and either storing or displaying all the items. When the items had been cleaned, we were able to see the true extent of what we had found: items such as a small parlour Wimshurst-type machine (19th century) which created static electricity and made little silver-paper men "dance". We had discovered the large lens to the astronomical telescope which had once been in the Tower in the 19th century, as well as a number of hand-held telescopes. We had found Sir Arthur J. Nicolson's World War 1 naval officer's uniform which he had presumably worn at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. And we had found the frame and fragmented glass from the stained-glass window, on which the Nicolson motto had survived.

Over the course of communications with the owner about the care of the items over the next few years, and in response to her concerns for the safety of the house, I suggested that stabilising its condition, and eventual restoration, were not out of the question if the property were to be transferred to a Trust, as private money was clearly never going to be available for such extensive repairs. At the end of 1997, I received a letter from her solicitor giving me permission to follow up this suggestion. Brough Lodge Steering Group was then formed, which was largely a sub-committee of Fetlar Museum Trust. The Group obtained initial funding from Shetland Community Enterprise Network to research the possibilities and determine the process required to transfer Brough from private into Trust ownership. A new Trust was formed out of this group, and was called Brough Lodge Trust.

Brough Lodge Trust consists mostly of the original members of the Steering Group but with a number of additions, and the new Trust was successful in attracting funding from Shetland Amenity Trust, Shetland Community Enterprise Network and the Fetlar Development Fund, to transfer ownership of the property and to set up a "Friends Association" to liaise with Brough Lodge Trust in helping to produce a six-monthly newsletter. There was no question that the project was going to be massive, and also long-term, and the Trustees agreed that it should be approached in manageable stages.

The main aim of the Trust is to take on responsibility for, and hopefully restore, the house and demesne of Brough Lodge (which includes the chapel, tower and gardens). Phase 1 of the project involved the formation of the Trust. Phase 2 involves the transfer of ownership and setting up of the Friends Association, and this is the stage we are currently working on. Phase 3 will involve the boarding up of the property to prevent further deterioration and the commissioning of an extensive feasibility study into the future possibilities for the house, including an architectural study and appraisal. We then hope that funding can be attracted for Phase 4 to restore the house. The renovation is itself likely to be phased, beginning with the house and gardens, and moving on to the tower and chapel.

The main aim of the Friends Association is to liaise with Trustees in helping to produce the newsletter and in finding the funds for its production. Anyone interested in the project can take part for an annual membership of £4 (children £2.00). Of course, further donations will be most welcome. In return for membership, you will receive a copy of the six-monthly newsletter containing an update on progress with the house, and articles about its history. Members may also wish to take an active part in the production of the newsletter.