The Bell Rock Lighthouse, drawn by Jane Stevenson from Memoir of Robert Stevenson by Alan Stevenson, 1861. NRS, NLC19/42
In the 16th century, beacons were in place to guide ships into hazardous harbours. These were often crude structures consisting of a metal enclosure filled with coal, barely visible in fog and often washed out by heavy rain. Trinity House in Leith maintained coal-fired beacons in the Firth of Forth by collecting ‘light duties’ (from vessels guided by the beacons) from the 17th century. Early lighthouses around the Scottish coast were private enterprises. The earliest lighthouse in Scotland was constructed on the Isle of May by James Maxwell of Innerwick and John and Alexander Cunninghame of Barnes, under a patent from King Charles I of 1635. This light was rather primitive and consisted of a stone structure, with a coal fire serving as the illuminant.
The establishment of the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses (NLC), now known as the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB), dates to the 1780s, when a series of severe storms highlighted the lack of lighthouses around the Scottish coasts. Following the Erection of Lighthouses Act 1786, the NLC were established and given powers to borrow money (up to £1,200, which is worth £166,040 today), and purchase land. They were also able to levy duties (not exceeding 1 penny sterling per ton on every British ship or decked vessel, and 2 pennies per ton for foreign vessels) from ships which passed any of these lights to finance their work. The first four lighthouses built by the NLC were at Kinnaird Head, North Ronaldsay, Scalpay and Mull of Kintyre. Further acts of parliament in 1788 and 1789 gave the NLC the power to construct new lighthouses as they deemed necessary. Jurisdiction was extended to the Isle of Man in 1845.
The first page of the first minute book of the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses (NLC). NRS, NLC2/1/1
The first appointed engineer of the NLC was Edinburgh tinsmith Thomas Smith (1752-1815). Smith had great success experimenting with oil fuelled lamps and had won the contract to improve the street lights of the city’s New Town. He transferred these skills to using whale oil fuelled lamps in the first lighthouses. Smith made the illumination stronger by placing concave mirror-tiled (or parabolic) reflectors behind the flame. Kinnaird Head was first lit on 1 December 1787. It was the most powerful light of its time.
Thomas Smith inspected the lighthouses regularly, often taking his step-son along to learn the trade. His step-son, Robert Stevenson, took up the position of NLC engineer jointly with Smith in 1797 and became sole engineer upon Smith’s retirement in 1808.
Letter written by Robert Dundas to his father, Lord Melville, in support of erecting a lighthouse on the Bell Rock, 1801-1811. NRS, GD51/1/195
Letter written by Robert Dundas to his father, Lord Melville, in support of erecting a lighthouse on the Bell Rock, 1801-1811. NRS, GD51/1/195, page 2
Letter written by Robert Dundas to his father, Lord Melville, in support of erecting a lighthouse on the Bell Rock, 1801-1811. NRS, GD51/1/195, page 3
Letter written by Robert Dundas to his father, Lord Melville, in support of erecting a lighthouse on the Bell Rock, 1801-1811. NRS, GD51/1/195, page 4
To ensure these new lighthouses were kept burning, a new occupation was created: the lightkeeper. Lightkeepers were recruited and trained to attend to the lightroom, clean and maintain the glass.
Application by Robert Louis Stevenson to consult historical records of the NLC, 1893. Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), had a great interest and pride in his engineering heritage and applied to view historical records of the NLC stored at General Register House. It was at this time that he had started to write a book about his ancestors titled “Records of a Family of Engineers”. NRS, SRO16/2
