Esha Ness Lighthouse is situated on the Northmavine peninsula in the north-west of the Shetland Islands. It was the last Northern Lighthouse Board manned facility designed by a member of the Stevenson family, David A. Stevenson being the principal engineer.
The lighthouse has a tapering, 12-metre-high square tower, and is situated on a cliff, giving it an elevation of 200ft. The beacon flashes white every 12 seconds and has a nominal range of 25 nautical miles (46km). The small house was home to only one keeper, which was unusual in that most manned facilities had three keepers.
History
1915: A temporary light powerful enough to give warning of the Ve Skerries 8.5 miles offshore was erected on the Eshaness peninsula, Shetland. The iron tower was constructed within a period of two months, and contained a lantern, machinery, and an acetylene generating plant. Once the building materials for the beacon arrived on the Shetland Islands, they were transported to the remote location by pony and cart. The temporary light was torn down in the period following the Second World War.
1927: A stone cross was erected at Stenness by the Commissioners for Northern Lighthouses to mark the site where materials for the construction of the new lighthouse were to be landed.
1929: The current Esha Ness Lighthouse was constructed. The primary material used was concrete, as the local stone was deemed unsuitable.
1930: The beacon at Esha Ness did not prove to be fully effective in keeping ships away from the Ve Skerries. On 29 March, the Aberdeen steam trawler, Ben Doran was wrecked in the area and all lives were lost.
1974: The light was automated and the candlepower was increased to 46,500 candelas to increase the range to a distance of 25 nautical miles.
1979: An additional lighthouse was constructed on Ve Skerries, due to heavy oil-tanker traffic bound to and from Sullom Voe. Eshaness was used as the construction site for the Ve Skerries light.