Bell Rock Lighthouse
The Bell Rock Lighthouse, off the coast of Angus, Scotland, is the world's oldest surviving sea-washed lighthouse. It was built between 1807 and 1810 by Robert Stevenson on the Bell Rock in the North Sea, east of the Firth of Tay. Standing tall, its light is visible from inland.
The masonry work on which the lighthouse rests was constructed to such a high standard that it has not been replaced or adapted in 200 years. The lamps and reflectors were replaced in 1843; the original ones are now in the lighthouse at Cape Bonavista, Newfoundland, where they are currently on display. The working of the lighthouse has been automated since 24 October 1988. The Northern Lighthouse Board, which has had its headquarters at 84 George Street in Edinburgh since 1832, remotely monitors the light.
The lighthouse previously operated in tandem with a shore station, the Bell Rock Signal Tower, built in 1813 at the mouth of Arbroath harbour. Today this building houses the Signal Tower Museum, a visitor centre that offers a detailed history of the lighthouse.
Because of the engineering challenges that were overcome to build the lighthouse, it has been described as one of the Seven Wonders of the Industrial World.
History
According to legend, Bell Rock got its name because, in the 14th century, the Abbot of Arbroath had had a warning bell installed on it, which was stolen a year later by a Dutch pirate.Before the construction of the lighthouse, the rock had caused many shipwrecks because, except for a few hours a day at low tide, it lies just below the surface of the sea. By the turn of the 19th century, it was estimated that, in a typical winter, as many as six ships were wrecked on the rock.
Planning
In 1799, the Masters of Trinity House in Leith determined to build a light on the Bell Rock, due to the high numbers of losses. They commissioned Scottish engineer Robert Stevenson to devise a design for a lighthouse on the Bell Rock, but the proposal was shelved due to concerns about cost, the relatively radical nature of the proposed design and Stevenson's relative youth. The cost would be borne by the east coast towns.However, after the warship was wrecked on the rock in 1804 —causing a furore in Parliament—Stevenson sent his design to the renowned engineer John Rennie. Rennie approved the design and cost estimate, which led to the passage of legislation in 1806 approving the proposal and enabling construction to begin.
The Northern Lighthouse Board awarded Rennie the contract to design and build the lighthouse and appointed Stevenson as chief assistant. The design was based on the earlier Eddystone Lighthouse, which had been designed by John Smeaton, and which Stevenson had visited and studied in detail in 1801—it too was built on an offshore reef using interlocking stones. The Bell Rock lighthouse contained several newer features, such as the rotating lights alternating between red and white that were designed by the carpenter Francis Watt. Stevenson's written account of the work gave little or no credit to Rennie, and questions about "he apportionment of responsibility for this work led to prolonged disputes between their respective descendants, but it is now certain that while Stevenson designed the lighthouse in the main, Rennie's role too was significant."
Construction
In 1807, Stevenson hired 60 men. Stevenson did not want to use black powder as it might have damaged the rock on which the lighthouse was to stand. The workers set sail for the rock on 17 August 1807, and would be away for two months. While initially some workers had been reluctant to agree to work even on the Sabbath in order to complete the lighthouse on time and on budget, in the end, all but four of the workers agreed to do it, and even those four eventually also worked on Sundays.Because the rock was covered by water for 20 hours each day, the men lived at first on a ship moored off the rock, requiring the workers to row out to the rock and back in boats each day, which was time-consuming, and at one point, one of the boats went adrift and was lost. So the workers’ first task was to build a beacon house on tall wooden struts on the reef surrounding the rock, with places for up to 15 men, so that workers would have a place to stay on site. The foundations and beacon legs were raised during the first season. Then, in the winter, work at the rock was paused as stonemasons cut rocks for the lighthouse out of Cairngall granite.
In early 1808, work at the rock resumed. The beacon house barracks was completed and the first three courses of stone for the lighthouse were laid. In the whole of this second season only 80 hours of building work took place on the rock. During this time, while the beacon house barracks were still under construction, a young worker was knocked unconscious by a buoy ring and drowned. As he had been the primary breadwinner for his family, Stevenson offered the now-vacant position to his younger brother, Alexander Scott, who accepted.
File:Joseph Mallord William Turner - Bell Rock Lighthouse - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|280px|Watercolour of the lighthouse by J. M. W. Turner, Scottish National Gallery
In September 1808, John Bonnyman, a stonemason, had to have a finger amputated following an accident with the beam crane on the Rock; as recompense for this mishap he was later appointed one of the first lighthouse keepers.
Stevenson was frustrated by a visit from Rennie, in 1809, whom he saw as interfering with his work. As a strategy to ward off further visits, he wrote Rennie a total of 82 letters, asking detailed questions about a large range of construction issues. Rennie replied in detail to every letter, but Stevenson largely ignored the replies.
In June 1809, one of the principal builders, Michael Wishart, was caught beneath a crane when it collapsed, and his feet were severely injured, preventing him from working further on the project. He asked Stevenson if he could be appointed lighthouse keeper and he ultimately took up a position as assistant keeper in 1811.
Work stopped on 22 August 1809, by which time a large part of the tower had been completed.
In January 1810, Stevenson's twins died of whooping cough, and a fortnight later his youngest daughter Janet also died of this disease. Rennie wrote Stevenson a consoling letter. During this final period of construction the lighthouse became something of a tourist attraction. Many people were anxious to see the completion of the tallest off-shore lighthouse in the world. In this final season, while the men were staying in the beacon house, a 7-hour storm struck. Worker Charles Henderson was lost, and his body was never found. Work was finally completed after having consumed about 2500 granite stones, all drawn by one horse, Bassey.
Ultimately, the project came in 50 percent above the original estimate of £42,000 budget. Since the construction of the lighthouse the only recorded shipwrecks have been that of HMS Argyll during wartime blackouts in 1915 and the Banff-registered cargo vessel Rosecraig that ran aground in fog on the evening of 21 September 1908, and sank. Her seven crew members were saved.