The Inchcape or Bell Rock was given its name after the Abbot of Arbroath tried to set up a warning bell on the reef, hence ‘Bell Rock’. Attempts had also been made to fix a permanent beacon on the rock, but nothing survived the stormy seas which submerged it at high tide. This fearsome obstacle was a danger to all shipping navigating the east coast.
The Inchcape Rock, 1908 by Peter Graham. Copyright Leicester Museums & Galleries / Bridgeman Images
Act of Parliament for erecting a Lighthouse on the Bell or Cape Rock, 1806. NRS, NLC5/5/1
To build a permanent beacon that would warn ships to keep away from this rock was an obsession for Robert Stevenson. Brought up in a strong religious household, moral improvement and technological progress went hand-in-hand. Stevenson was convinced he could improve on the early lights installed by his step-father. It took a year to find anyone brave enough to risk taking him to the Bell Rock, but when he finally surveyed the reef in the summer of 1800, he devised a plan for a substantial stone tower.
Sketch of the Bell Rock Lighthouse, 1844. NRS, GD41/612. Courtesy of the Dick-Lauder family
In July 1806, the contract to build the Bell Rock Lighthouse was given to John Rennie who was also appointed Chief Engineer. The design of the structure was based on the Eddystone Lighthouse, off the coast of Cornwall, which Stevenson had previously visited. Eddystone Lighthouse (built 1755-59), like the Bell Rock Lighthouse was constructed on an offshore reef. Rennie appointed Robert Stevenson as assistant engineer to ‘execute the work under his superintendence’. Stevenson oversaw daily work on the reef and lived alongside the workers in a wooden structure built on site.
This sketch forms part of the Ordnance Survey Name Book (OSNB) for the Bell Rock which is located off the east coast of Scotland, 11 miles from Arbroath. At low tide the exposed rock is 13m in length and 70m in width. The 1869 plan notes the names of points on the rock, including one ‘prominent rock’ called George the Third, the monarch who passed the bill to build the said lighthouse. In the centre of the plan is Macurich’s Track, named after one of the men involved in the lighthouse’s construction. NRS, OS1/14/49/1
This written entry accompanies the sketched plan of the Bell or Inchcape Rock in the OSNB. There are six pages which name and describe characteristics of the rock landscape, including the lighthouse. It also mentions how the rock got its name, as “former mariners were warned of their proximity to this perilous reef by the booming of a Bell which one of the Abbots of Arbroath had Caused to be attached to the Rock in such a way as to be tolled by the waves when the rock itself was Covered”. Inchcape or Bell Rock OSNB entry, 1869. NRS, OS1/14/49 page 1
Inchcape or Bell Rock OSNB entry, 1869. NRS, OS1/14/49 page 2
The Bell Rock, like the Eddystone Lighthouse which was designed by John Smeaton (1724-1795), was based on the shape of an oak tree – wider at the base and tapering towards the top. This gave the structure greater stability as, at high tide, the base was submerged to a depth of 16 feet (4.87m). The first 30 feet of the solid stone base was constructed of interlocking blocks of granite. Carved dovetail joints securely slotted the blocks together and gave the lighthouse the strength and flexibility it needed to prevent violent waves from causing damage. Stevenson sourced granite from Rubislaw quarry, Aberdeen, used for the lower section or ‘first apartment’ of the Bell Rock Lighthouse. Granite from Mylnefield, Dundee was used for the upper sections.
Elevation of the Bell Rock Lighthouse, 19th century. Reproduced with permission by the National Library of Scotland
The construction of the lighthouse was difficult due to its location. Work commenced in August 1807 and only took place during fair weather conditions. It was completed in 1810, and the light first exhibited in February 1811. It stands 115 feet tall (35m) and the diameter of the base is 42 feet (12.8m) which narrows to 15 feet (4.6m) at the top. There are five chambers (or rooms) and the lightroom. The NLC minute book notes that the parlour and light room were to be decorated with painted murals depicting scenes from the poem ‘The Inchcape Rock’ by Robert Southey, although it is unknown if this was achieved.
Three stationed lightkeepers outside the Bell Rock Lighthouse on a wooden jetty at the start of the 20th century. One of the men is believed to have been John Brown Henderson (1864-1939), who was Assistant Lightkeeper between 1900 and 1906, and later the Principal Keeper between 1912 and 1916. Photograph courtesy of the Morrison family, c.1900-1919
