Hay & Company: Merchants in Shetland

Hay & Company, the best known of all Shetland firms, was founded in 1844 by William Hay and two of his sons. As general merchants their shops at Lerwick, Scalloway, Whalsay, North Roe and other parts of Shetland supplied a complete range of household goods while by the middle of last century they were the islands' largest suppliers of coal and timber - a position the firm still holds.

Hay & Company played a decisive role in the development of the islands' fishing industry, both as fish-curers and owners of fishing vessels. By the latter half of the 19th century their vessels fished as far away as the Davis Straits. No transaction was too small or too large for Hay & Company as they organised outlets for cattle, chrome ore, kelp, knitwear, peat, ponies, potatoes and whale oil - indeed everything that the islands could produce.

In 1921 the firm became a limited liability company with the name of Hay & Company (Lerwick) Ltd. In 1975 it was acquired by John Fleming & Company of Aberdeen although it still retains its separate identity. It serves as agent for many important national firms and institutions, among them Lloyds of London, while for several generations the firm's directors have served as consuls or vice-consuls for Denmark, Finland, France, Norway and the Netherlands.

Since 1972 Hay & Company have played a vital role in the development of the North Sea oilfields as agents for most of the major oil companies.

Compiled from the company's letter books and ledgers this volume is more than just the proud history of a remarkable firm - it is a social history of the islands covering the past century and a half.