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190 Years of Light
It was in February 1811, some 190 years ago, that Bell Rock lighthouse was lit for the first time, marking the notorious Inchcape Rock, a long and treacherous reef lying in the North Sea, some 12 miles East of Dundee.
The Bell Rock, engineered by Robert Stevenson, Grandfather to Robert Louis, is the oldest existing pillar rock lighthouse in the United Kingdom.
The Bell Rock Lighthouse has, over the years, inspired some of the more famous. In 1814 Sir Walter Scott visited the light whilst on a voyage with the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses and wrote in the visitors' album: -
"Far in the bosom of the deep
O'er these wild shelves my watch I keep
A ruddy gem changeful light
Bound in the dusky brow of night
The seaman bids my lustre hail
And scrons to strike his tim'rous sail"J W M Turner was also commissioned by Robert Stevenson to complete a painting of the lighthouse to illustrate his account of the building of the Bell Rock, the result was a wonderful watercolour depicting the lighthouse in a storm. This painting is on display in The National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh every January as part of The Vaughan Bequest of Turner Watercolours.
Today the light still flashes white every 5 seconds, although it was converted to automatic status in 1988 and is now monitored from the Northern Lighthouse Board's headquarters in Edinburgh. The Board is now in the process of converting the light from an acetylene gas hybrid light with electric control to solar electric and wind generator hybrid operation backed up by diesel engines. A small computer will monitor its operation, determining when darkness has fallen and the light, which has a range of 18 miles, will be automatically turned on. The new system gives the consistent performance from metal halide lamps and reduces the annual maintenance requirement for a fresh supply of acetylene gas.
Notes to the Editor
Attached
Brief History on Bell Rock
Background note on NLB
Interesting Website - Bellrock.org.uk1. The Northern Lighthouse Board operates under statute - the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 - and is the General Lighthouse Authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man.
2. The Board currently operates: 200 Lighthouses, 118 Buoys, 42 Beacons, 3 Differential Global Positioning System Stations, 22 Radar Beacons and 16 Fog Signals.
3. The Northern Lighthouse Board is funded entirely from the General Lighthouse Fund, sourced by "Light Dues", a levy paid by shipping. The Board receives no direct funding from the Exchequer or taxpayer.
4. The other General Lighthouse Authorities are the Commissioners of Irish Lights (Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) and Trinity House Lighthouse Service (England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar).
For further information, please contact:
Lorna Hunter, Information Officer
Tel 0131 473 3100
Fax 0131 220 2093