Diana memorial drinking fountain, Victoria Pier, Lerwick

Diana Memorial Drinking Fountain, Victoria Pier, Lerwick

This drinking fountain, dated 1890 and made by James Hunter of Aberdeen, commemorates the 1866-67 whaling voyage of the ship Diana. The fountain stands on a circular grey granite base and is constructed from polished pink Peterhead granite. Its design comprises two stacked cylinders supporting a domed upper section, which is held up by four columns and topped with a spire-shaped finial. Two niches at the base allow dogs to drink, and small metal eye hooks are embedded in the granite for attaching drinking cups. A stylised chalice sculpture by local artist Alan Hart was added in 2000, replacing the original water tap. The circular base itself is a later addition, surrounded by granite setts arranged in a circular pattern. The fountain is located at the southwestern end of Victoria Pier in Lerwick.

The inscriptions record the fountain's purpose across its sections. The bottom cylinder reads: "Erected 1890 / by / Alderman Frederic Smith J.P / 4th Mayor of West Ham, / And Brother of the Late Surgeon." The middle cylinder states: "In Memory of / The Providential Return of the / S. Whaler "Diana" of Hull, 1866-67 / Captain Late John Gravill / Surgeon Late Charles Edward Smith / Then they cried unto the Lord in / their trouble and he delivered them out of their distresses. Ps. DVII.8." with a reverse side bearing religious quotations from John and Revelation about thirst and living water. The top section is inscribed: "God is faithful, I will trust and not be afraid. Is. 12.2."

Historical Context

The fountain was inaugurated on 26 May 1890, ten years after the death of the ship's surgeon, Dr Charles Edward Smith. His brother, Frederic Smith, who was Mayor of West Ham in London, erected it in his memory.

The whaling ship Diana was built in 1840 in Bremen, Germany, with a steam engine added later. Setting out from Hull on an expedition to Baffin Bay in 1866, the ship left Lerwick in May of that year with 52 crew members, 30 of whom were Shetlanders. The Diana became trapped in Arctic ice for over six months. Captain John Gravill and other crew members died during this ordeal. Once freed from the ice, the surviving crew navigated the ship to Ronas Voe, arriving on 2 April 1867. Thirteen crew members died in total, nine of them from Shetland. The Diana was subsequently repaired and re-crewed, continuing on whaling expeditions for another two years before sinking off the Lincolnshire coast in October 1869.

Alterations and Relocation

The fountain first appears on the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1900, originally positioned at the head of Victoria Pier at its intersection with The Esplanade. It remained in this location until the 1950s, when it was moved slightly to the north, a shift recorded on the 1965 Ordnance Survey map. It was relocated again further north in the mid-1990s to make way for a circular pump house on the pier.

Photographs from the 1890s show the fountain originally stood on a two-stage base comprising an octagonal plinth with a smaller circular base above. It originally featured a tall metal tap with drinking spouts beneath the dome. A later photograph shows a drinking cup attached to the tap by chain. At some point during the late 20th century, the tap was replaced, disconnected, and eventually removed before the current chalice sculpture was added in 2000.