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Royal visit to the oldest rock
lighthouse in the British Isles
Today sees the 200th
anniversary of the start of construction work of Bell Rock lighthouse
It was on this day (17 August) in history some 200 years ago that
work began building the magnificent Bell Rock lighthouse. The
lighthouse, which continues to act as an essential aid to marine
navigation, marks the notorious Inchcape Rock, a long and treacherous
reef lying in the North Sea, some 11 miles of Arbroath.
To mark this occasion the Patron to the Northern Lighthouse Board, Her
Royal Highness The Princess Royal, recently visited the Bell Rock
lighthouse with members of the Board and climbed to the top to view
the lens system in the lightroom and to sign the visitor’s book.
The Bell Rock lighthouse was engineered by the famous Scottish
engineer Robert Stevenson, and is the oldest existing rock Lighthouse
in the British Isles.
On the 17 August 1807 twenty-four men sailed from Arbroath for the
dreaded Inchcape rock to start work. The building of the light
presented some difficult structural problems as the surface of the
rock is only uncovered at low water, while at high water it is
submerged to a depth of some 16 feet. The build took four years to
complete and a light was finally shone from the structure in February
1811. Over the period around 110 men worked on the building of the
Bell Rock.
The tower, which is of stone quarried from Mylnfield, near Dundee, and
from Rubislaw, Aberdeen, is 115 feet in height, 42 feet is the
diameter at the base, tapering to 15 feet in diameter at the top. It
is of solid dovetailed masonry for the first 30 feet, half of which is
below high water and above there are five chambers and the lightroom.
Each stone was cut at Arbroath and checked to ensure fit before being
shipped out to the rock.
The Bell Rock has seen many changes over the years, it was fully
automated and the keepers withdrawn on the 26 October 1988 and is now
remotely monitored from the Northern Lighthouse Board’s offices in
Edinburgh. It also now boosts an array of solar panels to charge the
batteries to supplement the diesel cycle charge as the Board moves
towards more environmentally friendly power sources.
The Great Stevenson Engineers…
For over one hundred and fifty years Robert Stevenson and his
descendants designed most of Scotland's Lighthouses. Battling against
the odds and the elements - the Stevenson's constructed wonders of
engineering that have withstood the test of time, an amazing
historical achievement. Robert Stevenson's talented family also
included the famous writer Robert Louis Stevenson (his grandson).
Visits with his family to remote lighthouses are thought to have
inspired his books Kidnapped and Treasure Island.
Northern Lighthouse Board - Playing a vital role in safety at sea
for over two hundred years…
Navigating around Scotland’s shores has always been a hazardous
undertaking, with over 6000 miles of coastline, including some of the
most beautiful treacherous in Europe. The Northern Lighthouse Board
operate a network of over 200 lighthouses, over 200 Buoys and Beacons,
a Differential Global Positioning System provided for the mariner and
an eLoran system. They are experts in the safety of marine navigation
and play a vital role in developing and providing all these systems.
Moray Waddell, Northern Lighthouse Board, Director of Engineering said
“200 years on, the Bell Rock lighthouse remains an impressive
engineering achievement and I am sure that Robert Stevenson would be
pleased, that in its modern automated form, the light is still
successfully providing the service to mariners he originally
envisaged.'
Arbroath, Bell Rock Signal Tower
The original lighthouse keeper’s shore station and family living
quarters for the Bell Rock lighthouse and signal tower was built in
1813 and is beside Arbroath’s harbour. These building stopped being
used in 1955 and are now owned by Angus Council who operate them as
the Signal Tower Museum, here you can find out about the fascinating
history of the lighthouse, visit the outhouse to see the massive lens
of the last manually operated lamp and hear the keeper talk about his
day. In addition the museum displays reflect the past lives of the
keepers’ families and the wider community of Arbroath and district.
Other displays tell the story of Arbroath’s fishing heritage and of
its great Industries of textiles and engineering.
The Signal Tower Museum is open Monday to Saturday 10.00 - 17.00 all
year. Closed 25/26 December and 1 - 2 January. Also open Sundays 14.00
- 17.00 July/August. On Sunday 26 August it will be open all day as
part of Arbroath Sea Fest. Tel: 01241 875598.
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