Muckle Flugga Lighthouse is the most northerly lighthouse in the UK. It was established in 1854 and engineered by Thomas and David Stevenson.
History
1851: The establishment of a lighthouse at Muckle Flugga, the most northerly rock in the British Isles, was first considered by the Commissioners. However, works were delayed due to difficulties in determining the exact site on which it would be built.
1854: During the Crimean War, the Commissioners were urged by the Government to establish a lighthouse at Muckle Flugga, with a view to protecting Her Majesty’s ships. A temporary light was first lit on 11 October 1854, and is said to have been completed in 26 days.
As the structure itself (50ft in height) was on rock 200ft above sea level, it was thought that it would have to withstand only the wind and the rain. However, when the winter gales began to break over the rock, the sea not only broke heavily on the tower, but ran up the sides and burst open the door of the dwelling room. The Principal Keeper reported that 40ft of stone dyke had been knocked down, six water casks carried away, and they “had not a dry part of sit down in or even a dry bed to rest upon at night”. To prevent this happening again, the lightroom in the permanent tower needed to be raised.
1855: When the Board of Trade asked the Commissioners to prepare plans for a permanent lighthouse, they unanimously reverted to their original preference for Lamba Ness. It was only after several discussions that they agreed finally on Muckle Flugga. Orders to proceed with the work were given in June 1855 and a 64ft-high brick tower was built, with foundations sunk ten feet into the rock.
The Commissioners declined to reduce the thickness of the tower walls below 3½ft, or risk weakening the foundations by using local stone for rubble or reducing the depth of the foundations. However, they agreed to have an iron pedestal in place of stone, and to reduce the size of the cornice. In spite of all possible economies, Muckle Flugga cost £32,000.
That they built well was proven over the succeeding years, when the seas broke over the rocks for 21 hours continuously, sweeping away one gate pillar and dislodging another. Blocks of stone 2ft square were rushed over the court as if they had been wood.
1858: The permanent light was first exhibited on 1 January. Later in the same year, minor alterations were made for the convenience of the lightkeepers. Experience had shown that the high walls built for shelter caused strong whirls of wind in the courtyard and interfered with the lightkeepers lookout.
1869: On 18 June, at the age of 18, Robert Louis Stevenson visited Muckle Flugga with his father, Thomas Stevenson, Engineer to the Board. There is a school of thought which contends that the Island of Unst influenced Treasure Island.
1927/28: The character of the light was changed to group flashing as fixed lights were no longer regarded as suitable.
1939-1945: At some of the more isolated stations, the Second World War added immensely to the lightkeepers work. As naval operations moved north, the old radio beacon at Muckle Flugga was re-opened and the lightkeeper ashore was constantly employed in passing service messages between headquarters and the rock.
1968/69: A new dwelling block was built within the retaining wall in space created by electrification, replacing the primitive conditions where lightkeepers “slept in a crow’s nest and ate in a cell”, as the Principal put it. The tower still stands firm, with four glass-fibre sectional water tanks installed in it; but serious rock erosion threatened the security of the access path, and weaker sections had to be bolted to the more solid parts in order to stabilise the rock.
Towards the end of the period in which it was manned, there were three Lightkeepers on the rock at any one time. Each of the six Lightkeepers manning the station alternately spent one month at the lighthouse and one month ashore. They were relieved by a helicopter that made trips to the lighthouse once every two weeks, and transported provisions including fresh water and other heavy stores. Previously, reliefs were at times long overdue due to heavy seas, which made a landing from the Attending Boat impossible.
1995: Muckle Flugga Lighthouse was automated in March.