Lighthouses
Early Lighthouses
The Isle of May Light, at the mouth of the Firth of Forth, is generally regarded as being the earliest lighthouse constructed in Scotland. It was built in 1635 by James Maxwell of Innerwick and John Cunninghame of Barnes.[1] Other lighthouses and similar buildings on the Scottish coast, such as bell towers, were simple structures and were built and maintained principally by individual burghs or by local acts of parliament. Concern at the number of wrecks due to severe storms in 1782 led the Convention of Royal Burghs and a House of Commons committee to recommend legislation to set up a body to fund, build and supervise lighthouses in Scotland, similar to Trinity House, the lighthouse authority for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar.[2]
Northern Lighthouse Commissioners
An act of 1786 founded the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses, who had the power to borrow money, purchase land, levy dues from ship owners, and to construct lighthouses.[3] The jurisdiction of the Commissioners was extended by statute to include the Isle of Man in 1815 and lighthouses established by burghs and other local authorities in 1836.[4] The 1836 Act made plans for new lighthouses to be built by the Commissioners subject to approval of Trinity House.[5] The powers of Trinity House were strengthened and the funding of lighthouses consolidated into the Mercantile Marine Fund in 1853.[6] In 1854 and again in 1894 the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses were confirmed as the authority for lighthouses in Scotland and the adjacent seas and islands, and the Isle of Man.[7] The Merchant Shipping Act of 1979 freed the Commissioners from the supervision of Trinity House.[8]
The Lighthouse Stevensons
Much of the early building work was undertaken by two innovative engineers: Thomas Smith, an Edinburgh ironsmith and streetlight designer, and his stepson, Robert Stevenson. They built 9 lights between 1786 and 1806. Under Smith and Stevenson many improvements were made to light design, including oil lamps, reflectors, clockwork mechanisms to rotate the beams, and increased height of the lighthouse buildings. Robert Stevenson’s sons, David, Alan and Thomas, followed their father into engineering. His grandson, Robert Louis Stevenson, served three years as an engineering apprentice, but turned to legal studies and writing.
Location of records
Records relating to lighthouses in Scotland are held by various archives in Scotland and The National Archives in London, but the principal source of information is the records of the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses, held by the National Records of Scotland (reference NLC), with the exception of the Northern Lighthouse Board Drawings Collection, which is held by Historic Environment Scotland. The records of the Clyde Lighthouse Trust are held by Glasgow City Archives (reference: T-CN40-44). For a list of other collections in Scotland containing records relating to lighthouses, consult the introduction to the NLC catalogue at the National Records of Scotland. The National Library of Scotland holds the business papers of Robert Stevenson and Sons, lighthouse engineers (Acc. 10706). The National Archives in London holds records relating to Scottish lighthouses in Ministry of Transport, Admiralty and Treasury records. For further details see the Discovery website
Contributors: Sheila Mackenzie (National Library of Scotland, 2002); David Brown (National Archives of Scotland 2002) Joanna Baird, Robin Urquhart (both SCAN 2002).
Bibliography
Allardyce, K. & E. Hood, At Scotland’s edge: a celebration of two hundred years of the lighthouse service in Scotland and the Isle of Man (Collins 1986)
Allardyce, Keith, Scotland’s Edge Revisited (Harper Collins, 1998)
Bathurst, Bella, The Lighthouse Stevensons (Harper Perrenial, 2007)
Hume, John, Harbour Lights in Scotland (Scottish Vernacular Buildings Working Group, 1997)
Leslie, Jean & R. Paxton, Bright Lights: The Stevenson Family of Engineers 1752-1971 (J. Leslie & R Paxton, 1999)
Mair, Craig, A Star for Seamen: the Stevenson Family of Engineers (J Murray, 1978)
Munro, R. W., Scottish Lighthouses (Thule, 1979)
Stevenson, R. L., Records of a Family of Engineers (London:, 1896)
Websites: [all accessed 24 April 2024]
Scottish Lighthouse Museum <https://lighthousemuseum.org.uk/>
Ardnamurchan Lighthouse <https://www.ardnamurchanlighthouse.com/>
References
[1] Historic Environment Scotland <http://canmore.org.uk/site/57875> [accessed 26 April 2024].
[2] Munro, R. W., Scottish Lighthouses (Thule, 1979) pp. 51-55
[3] Erection of Lighthouses Act 1786 (26 Geo. III c.101).
[4] An Act for enabling the Commissioners of the Northern Lighthouses to erect Lighthouses on the Isles of Man and Calf of Man, 1815 (55 Geo. III c.67); Lighthouses Act 1836 (6 & 7 Will. IV c.79).
[5] Lighthouses Act 1836 (6 & 7 Will. IV c.79).
[6] Merchant Shipping Law Amendment Act 1853 (16 & 17 Vict. c.131) s.4.
[7] Merchant Shipping Act 1854 (17 & 18 Vict c. 104) s389; Merchant Shipping Act, 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. c.60) ss.634 & 668.
[8] Merchant Shipping Act, 1979 (c.39) s.33.
Where can I find information on lighthouses?
Information about the history of lighthouses in Scotland is relatively easy to get hold of through published books and the Internet, and by visiting lighthouse museums. Books to look at include R W Munro, Scottish Lighthouses (Thule, 1979); K Allardyce and E Hood, At Scotland’s Edge (Collins,1986); K Allardyce, Scotland’s Edge Revisited (Collins, 1998); B Bathurst, The Lighthouse Stevensons (Flamingo, 1998); J Hume, Harbour Lights in Scotland (Scottish Vernacular Buildings Working Group, 1997); J Leslie and R Paxton, Bright Lights: The Stevenson Family of Engineers 1752-1971 (1999); C. Mair, A Star for Seamen: the Stevenson Family of Engineers (J Murray, 1978); R L Stevenson, Records of a Family of Engineers (1896).
The most useful websites are those of the Scottish Lighthouse Museum <https://lighthousemuseum.org.uk/> Northern Lighthouse Board and Trinity House. All accessed 24 April 2024] Two lighthouses have visitor centres: the Scottish Lighthouse Museum at Fraserburgh (in the north east of Scotland) and the Ardnamurchan Lighthouse (in the extreme west of the British mainland).
Where can I find information about Robert Stevenson and his family?
Firstly, look at published histories: R L Stevenson, Records of a Family of Engineers (1896); B Bathurst, The Lighthouse Stevensons (Flamingo, 1998); J Leslie and R Paxton, Bright Lights: The Stevenson Family of Engineers 1752-1971 (1999); C. Mair, A Star for Seamen: the Stevenson Family of Engineers (J Murray, 1978).
If you need to consult original records, start at the National Library of Scotland, which holds the business records of Robert Stevenson and Sons (Acc. 10706).
Where can I find plans of a particular lighthouse?
Firstly, try the Northern Lighthouse Board Drawings Collection, which is held by the National Monuments Record for Scotland. Another source for plans of lighthouses is the Register House Plans series in the National Records of Scotland (RHP). For some lighthouses on the Clyde there are lighthouse drawings among the records of the Clyde Lighthouse Trust, in Glasgow City Archives (reference: T-CN40-44). The Robert Stevenson & Sons business papers in the National Library of Scotland contains a few lighthouse plans.
Where can I find original records and other information about the Flannan Lighthouse disaster?
Most of the information about the event is contained in the records of the Northern Lighthouse Commission, at the National Records of Scotland. In addition, most national newspapers at the time covered the story. The Northern Lighthouse Commission records (all at the National Records of Scotland) which relate to the incident are: NLC3/1/1 Secretary’s department correspondence and reports (1 Jan 1901 to 31 March 1902) includes: a letter from County Clerk, Dingwall, granting permission to place a winch on Breascleit Pier; copy telegrams and letters from the master of the Hesperus and others reporting the disaster and steps taken; correspondence with the Board of Trade and Crown Office; reports by Superintendent Muirhead and others; correspondence regarding insurance payments, pensions and the deceased keepers’ families; letters and reports regarding analysis of water in the well at Breascleit and an inspection voyage in1901. NLC 2/1/87-88, minute books of the Commissioners (1899-1903) includes minutes concerning the lighthouse in the years leading up to the disaster, the disaster itself, and subsequent enquiries, reports and events.