THE BELL-ROCK LIGHTHOUSE AS A TYPE OF SCOTTISH LIGHTHOUSES.
History of the Inch-Cape or Bell-Rock Lighthouse as a Type
of the Northern Lighthouses--Position and Dangerous
Character of the Bell Rock--Ballad of Sir Ralph the
Rover--Proposal to erect a Lighthouse--Mr. Robert Stevenson
selected as Engineer--Survey of the Rock--Exhibition of a
Floating Light--Preparations for the Lighthouse--First
Season on the Rock--Alarming Situation of the Engineer and
Men--Effects of the Stormy Sea on the Rock--Erection of
Beacon--Winter Employment--The Second Season--A new Tender
employed--Praam-boats and Stone-lighters--Progress of the
Work--Remarkable appearance of the Rock--Foundation Stone
laid--First continuous Course of Masonry--Its Contents--Third
Season--Progress of the Work--Winter Operations--Fourth
Season--The Beacon used as a Dwelling--Its Interior
described--The Engineer's Cabin--The Lighthouse nearly
finished--Mr. Smeaton's Daughter visits the Works--Last
Stone laid--Light advertized--Lighthouse described--Action
of the Sea and of Stormy Weather upon the Lighthouse--Internal
Economy of the Lighthouse--Arrangements on Shore--Signals--Curious
Accident--The Carr Rock Beacon.
'_Pharos loquitur._
'Far in the bosom of the deep
O'er these wild shelves my watch I keep,
A ruddy gem of changeful light,
Bound in the dusky brow of night.
The seaman bids my lustre hail,
And scorns to strike his timorous sail'[5].
The most celebrated lighthouse in Scotland is that situated on the
dangerous reef called the Inch Cape or Bell Rock. This lighthouse may
fairly aspire to the title of the Eddystone of Scotland, whether we
regard its high importance to navigation, the danger and difficulty of
its erection, the beauty of its form, or its interesting history.
The Inch Cape or Bell Rock is situated on the northern side of the
entrance of the Frith of Forth at a distance of eleven miles from the
promontory called the Red Head, in Forfarshire. The dimensions of the
north-eastern or higher compartment of the rock where the lighthouse
is built are about four hundred and twenty-seven feet in length and
two hundred and thirty feet in breadth. Besides these dimensions, the
south-western reef extends about one thousand feet from the main rock.
The greatest length of the rock, which may be said to be dangerous to
shipping, is about one thousand four hundred and twenty-seven feet,
and its greatest breadth about three hundred feet. It is about twelve
feet under water at the ordinary height or perpendicular rise of
spring tides. In point of situation, this rock is one of the most
dangerous on the coast of Great Britain; for while it lies in one of
the most frequented estuaries, it is much lower in the water than any
rock on which lighthouses are usually erected; and hence the mariner
had formerly no warning of his danger when in its vicinity. Indeed, in
fine weather the sea is often so smooth, that the place of the rock
could not be pointed out from the appearance of the surface. The Bell
Rock was therefore considered for ages as the chief obstruction to the
navigation of the Frith of Forth, and the want of some mark to point
out its position was long lamented. Tradition says, that the abbots of
the ancient monastery of Aberbrothock succeeded in fixing a bell upon
it in such a way as to be rung by the agitation of the waves. It is
further stated, that a band of pirates having carried off the bell,
were in a subsequent voyage all lost on the Bell Rock. This legend is
beautifully told by Mr. Southey in the following ballad.
SIR RALPH THE ROVER.
No stir in the air, no stir in the sea,
The ship was still as she could be;
Her sails from heaven received no motion,
Her keel was steady in the ocean.
Without either sign or sound of their shock,
The waves flow'd over the Inchcape Rock;
So little they rose, so little they fell,
They did not move the Inchcape bell.
The abbot of Aberbrothok
Had placed that bell on the Inchcape Rock;
On a buoy in the storm it floated and swung,
And over the waves its warning rung.
When the rock was hid by the surge's swell,
The mariners heard the warning bell;
And then they knew the perilous rock,
And blest the abbot of Aberbrothok.
The sun in heaven was shining gay,
All things were joyful on that day;
The sea-birds scream'd as they wheel'd round,
And there was joyaunce in their sound.
The buoy of the Inchcape bell was seen,
A darker speck on the ocean green;
Sir Ralph the Rover walk'd his deck,
And he fix'd his eye on the darker speck.
He felt the cheering power of spring,
It made him whistle, it made him sing;
His heart was mirthful to excess,
But the Rover's mirth was wickedness.
His eye was on the Inchcape float,
Quoth he, 'My men, put out the boat,
And row me to the Inchcape Rock,
And I'll plague the abbot of Aberbrothok.'
The boat is lower'd, the boatmen row,
And to the Inchcape Rock they go;
Sir Ralph bent over from the boat,
And he cut the bell from the Inchcape float.
Down sunk the bell with a gurgling sound,
The bubbles rose and burst around;
Quoth Sir Ralph, 'The next who comes to the rock
Won't bless the abbot of Aberbrothok.'
Sir Ralph the Rover sail'd away,
He scour'd the seas for many a day;
And now grown rich with plunder'd store,
He steers his course for Scotland's shore.
So thick a haze o'erspreads the sky,
They cannot see the sun on high;
And the wind hath blown a gale all day,
At evening it hath died away.
On the deck the Rover takes his stand,
So dark it is they see no land:
Quoth Sir Ralph, 'It will be lighter soon,
For there is the dawn of the rising moon.'
'Canst hear,' said one, 'the breakers roar?
For methinks we should be near the shore;'
'Now where we are I cannot tell,
But I wish we could hear the Inchcape bell!'
They hear no sound, the swell is strong,
Though the wind hath fallen they drift along,
Till the vessel strikes with a shivering shock,
'Oh Christ! it is the Inchcape Rock.'
Sir Ralph the Rover tore his hair,
He curst himself in his despair;
The waves rush in on every side,
The ship is sinking beneath the tide.
But even in his dying fear
One dreadful sound could the Rover hear,
A sound as if with the Inchcape bell,
The devil below was ringing his knell.
But whatever may be the truth of these traditions, it is certain that
for a long period, perhaps centuries, no permanent distinguishing mark
was attached to the rock until the building of the present lighthouse,
whose history we have now briefly to state.
On the appointment of a board for the erection of lighthouses in
Scotland, the public anxiously expected that some means would be taken
to guard the mariner from this fatal rock; but the difficulties of the
undertaking, the great expense, and the inadequate funds of the board,
all contributed to promote delay. In the winter of 1799 the northern
coast of Great Britain was visited with a dreadful storm, and no less
than seventy vessels were wrecked upon the coast of Scotland. This
calamity excited so strong a sensation that the attention of the board
was at once directed to this object; and in 1802 application was made
to Parliament to enable the commissioners of the northern lighthouses
to levy certain additional duties, and empower them to borrow a sum of
money for this work. The Act was not obtained until 1806; but when
obtained, this highly important work was immediately undertaken.
A variety of plans were submitted to the consideration of the
lighthouse board. The beacons of spars which had been erected on the
rock had been washed away, and many persons feared that a more solid
structure would share the same fate. Considering that the rock was
frequently under water to the depth of twelve feet, some proposed to
erect a building which should stand on pillars of cast-iron or of
stone. The commissioners, however, wisely referred the matter to Mr.
Robert Stevenson the engineer, who was to survey the rock, and report
upon the practicability of erecting a lighthouse upon it. The survey
was accordingly made; and during its progress, many instances were
discovered of the extent of loss which this reef had occasioned, and
many articles of ships' furnishings were found, as well as various
coins, a bayonet, a silver shoe-buckle, and many other small objects.
The result of this survey was a report from Mr. Stevenson to the
effect, that a work of stone similar to that of the Eddystone
lighthouse was practicable; and having sent in his plans, the
commissioners submitted them to Mr. Rennie, who gave them his cordial
concurrence; and the work was accordingly proceeded with.
The time that remained after the passing of the Act in 1806 was
employed in making the necessary preparations for the summer of the
next year; and the commissioners being authorized to collect duties on
the exhibition of a floating light, a vessel was employed to serve the
double purpose of a floating light, and a tender for the workmen
employed in the building. Accordingly in July a Dutch fishing vessel
was moored off the Bell Rock, at the distance of about two miles, in a
depth of about twenty fathoms water; her crew consisting of a master,
eight able seamen, and a boy. This strong crew was necessary, in case
the vessel should accidentally drift from her station, and to enable
them to light or lift their moorings after every gale of wind. The
vessel was rigged with three masts, on each of which a lantern was so
placed that the light could be seen in all directions.
The stones and machinery were prepared in a work-yard provided for the
purpose at Arbroath, the nearest harbour on the adjacent coast. In
this place barracks were erected for the workmen, that they might at
all times be ready night or day to go off to the Bell Rock. A sloop,
named the 'Smeaton,' (in honour of the great engineer who had left so
splendid a pattern for the present structure,) had been built
expressly for the Bell-Rock service, to be employed as a tender for
the floating light, and as a stone-lighter for the use of the work: it
served also to convey the workmen to and from the rock.
On the 17th August 1807 the work on the rock was begun. The first
employment was to bore a sufficient number of holes for receiving the
ends of beams, for the support of a wooden beacon or workshop and
temporary residence for the workmen. But this was no easy task. The
hard compact nature of the sand-stone of which the rock is composed
soon blunted the tools, and rendered necessary the constant employment
of a smith with his forge. But the operations of this useful artificer
were even more difficult than those of the stone-cutters. It often
happened that after the flood-tide had obliged the pickmen to strike
work, a sea would come rolling over the rocks, while the smith was in
the middle of a 'favourite heat,' dashing out the fire, and
endangering his indispensable instrument, the bellows; or if the sea
was smooth, the smith had often to stand at work knee deep in water,
and the tide would rise imperceptibly, first cooling the exterior of
the fire-place or hearth, and then quickly blackening and
extinguishing the fire from below. Mr. Stevenson describes it as
amusing to witness the perplexing anxiety of the smith when coaxing
his fire, and endeavouring to avert the effects of the rising tide.
Sometimes, while his feet were immersed in water, his face was not
only scorched but continually exposed to volumes of smoke and sparks
of fire. A great object therefore, of the beacon was to remove the
smith above the reach of the highest tide.
One effect of visiting the rock at every tide, and carrying on this
noise and traffic, was to banish the herd of seals which had hitherto
frequented it as a resting-place during low water. As many as fifty
or sixty of these animals had been seen at one time on the rock, but
now not more than one or two occasionally appeared, and these confined
their visits to the detached outlayers of the rock, from whence they
would gaze on the workmen with that look of curiosity so remarkable in
this animal. Mr. Stevenson was desirous of protecting them, in hopes
of taming them, so as to gain that facility of studying their habits
which was afforded at Small's Lighthouse, off the coast of
Pembrokeshire, a favourite resort of seals, where, by gentle
treatment, they had become so tame and familiar as to eat bread out of
the hands of the light-keepers.
The operations of this season were difficult and hazardous, the men
having to row in boats at every tide from the rock to the
floating-light; and the wind often shifting suddenly, the exertion of
rowing was very great, although the distance was but two miles. When
at the rock, the men had presently to work knee-deep in water; and the
roughness of the sea was often such as to suspend the work for days
together, during which time the floating-light would roll so
unmercifully, that to put out a boat would have probably ensured its
instant destruction.
During this early stage of the work there was a moment of appalling
danger, which must be noticed in detail. On the 2nd of Sept. 1807,
there were thirty-two persons upon the rock; and while all the
artificers were busily occupied, a gale arose, during which the
'Smeaton' broke adrift from her moorings. In this perilous
predicament, placed upon an insulated rock far out in the ocean,
which, in the progress of the flood-tide, was to be laid under water
to the depth of at least twelve feet, in a stormy sea, the feelings of
the engineer may be better conceived than described. There were, at
this period, only two boats attached to the rock, whose complement,
even in fair weather, did not exceed twenty-four sitters; but to row
to the floating-light, with so much wind, and so heavy a sea, a
complement of eight men for each boat was as much as could possibly
be attempted, so that, in this way, about one half of those employed
on the rock must be left unprovided for. Under these circumstances,
had Mr. Stevenson ventured to despatch one of the boats, in
expectation of either working the 'Smeaton' sooner up towards the
rock, or in hopes of getting her boat brought to the assistance of the
rest, this must have given an immediate alarm to the artificers, each
of whom would have insisted upon taking to his own boat, and leaving
the eight artificers belonging to the 'Smeaton' to their chance.
The unfortunate circumstance of the 'Smeaton' and her boat having
drifted, was for a considerable time, known only to Mr. Stevenson and
to the landing-master, who removed to the further part of the rock,
where he kept his eye steadily upon the progress of the vessel. While
the artificers were at work, chiefly in sitting and kneeling postures,
excavating the rock, or boring with the tools, and while their
numerous hammers, and the sound of the smith's anvil continued, the
situation of things did not appear so awful. In this state of
suspense, with almost certain destruction at hand, the water began to
rise upon those who were at work on the lower parts of the sites of
the beacon and lighthouse. From the run of the sea upon the rock, the
forge-fire was sooner extinguished than usual; and the volumes of
smoke having ceased, objects in every direction became visible from
all parts of the rock. After having had about three hours' work, the
men begun, pretty generally, to make towards their respective boats
for their jackets and stockings, when, to their astonishment, instead
of three, they found only two boats, the third being adrift with the
'Smeaton.' Not a word was uttered by any one, but all appeared to be
silently calculating their numbers, and looking to each other with
evident marks of perplexity depicted on their countenances. The
landing-master, conceiving blame might be attached to him for allowing
the boat to leave the rock, still kept at a distance. At this critical
moment Mr. Stevenson was standing upon an elevated part of the rock,
where he endeavoured to mark the progress of the 'Smeaton,' not a
little surprised that her crew did not cut the praam adrift which
greatly retarded her way. The workmen looked steadfastly at their
leader, and turned occasionally towards the vessel still far to
leeward. All this passed with the most perfect silence, and the
melancholy solemnity of the group was such that, Mr. Stevenson states,
it left an impression never to be effaced from his mind.
In the meantime Mr. Stevenson was considering various schemes which
might be adopted for the general safety of the party, in hopes that
the 'Smeaton' might be able to pick up the boats to leeward when they
were obliged to leave the rock. He was, accordingly, about to address
the artificers on the perilous nature of their situation, and to
propose that all should unstrip their upper clothing, when the higher
parts of the rock were laid under water,--that the seamen should
remove every unnecessary weight and encumbrance from the boats, and a
specified number of men should go into each boat, and that the
remainder should hang by the gunwales, while the boats were to be
rowed gently towards the 'Smeaton,' as the course of the 'Pharos' or
floating-light lay rather to windward of the rock. But, when he
attempted to speak, his mouth was so parched that his tongue refused
utterance, and he says, 'I now learned by experience that the saliva
is as necessary as the tongue itself for speech.' He then turned to
one of the pools on the rock, and drank a little salt-water, which
produced immediate relief; and his delight was in no small degree
increased when, on rising from this nauseous beverage, some one called
out, 'A boat!' 'A boat!' and on looking round, at no great distance, a
large boat was seen through the haze making towards the rock.
The effect of this accident was, that when the bell rung next morning,
and the workmen were mustered, out of twenty-six, only eight, besides
the foreman and seamen, appeared on deck to accompany the engineer to
the rock. 'The use of argument to persuade the men to embark in cases
of this kind would have been out of place, as it is not only
discomfort, or even the risk of the loss of a limb, but life itself,
that becomes the question.' The boats proceeded with the eight willing
workmen: four hours were passed upon the rock, and, on returning to
the 'Pharos,' the eighteen men who remained on board seemed quite
ashamed of their cowardice; and on again proceeding to the rock, they
were the first to embark. This was the only instance of refusal to go
to the rock.
Shortly after this occurrence, the whole party on board the Pharos was
exposed to a fearful gale, which kept them from the rock during ten
days and exposed them to imminent danger. The floating-light broke
adrift, but, providentially, no damage was sustained. This
circumstance, however, imparted a character of extreme hazard to life
on board the floating-light, that it was difficult to provide sailors
to man her. On landing upon the rock the effects of the gale were at
once apparent. Six large blocks of granite, which had been landed by
way of experiment, had been removed from their places, and by the
force of the sea thrown over a rising ledge into a hole at the
distance of twelve or fifteen paces; a sufficient evidence of the
violence of the storm and the agitation of the sea on the rock. The
smith's forge was also shifted from its place--the ash-pan of the
hearth with its ponderous cast-iron back had been washed from their
places of supposed security, the chains of attachment broken, and
these weighty articles found at a very considerable distance in a hole
of the rock.
Although the sea often had a most frightful appearance, yet the beacon
divested the Bell Rock of many of its terrors: its beams afforded an
excellent guide to shipping, and old sailors frequently expressed
their admiration at the change of circumstances which led to their
cruising with so much confidence both by day and night in the
immediate vicinity of this dangerous rock. It also had a beneficial
influence on all who were actively engaged about the lighthouse by
inducing a greater confidence of safety, so that at all times when a
boat could be put to sea or approach this sunken reef, there was not
that actual danger in landing which formerly presented itself, because
in the event of the tender going adrift or a boat happening to be
wrecked upon the rock, the beacon could be looked to as a refuge till
assistance arrived.
On the 6th October, 1807, the works were relinquished for the season.
The time which had been spent in the rock amounted only to one hundred
and eighty hours, of which one hundred and thirty-three, or about
thirteen and a half days of ten hours each, could be said to have been
actively employed, and yet during this period, besides the erection of
the principal beams of the beacon-house, some considerable progress
had been made in preparing the site of the lighthouse. 'This reason's
work,' says the engineer, 'affords a good example of what may be
executed under similar circumstances, when every heart and hand is
anxiously and zealously engaged, for the artificers wrought at the
erection of the beacon as for life; or somewhat like men stopping a
breach in a wall to keep out an overwhelming flood.'
During winter the men were busy in the work-yard preparing the stones
and laying them course by course upon a stone basement, equal to the
foundation course of the lighthouse. Here the stones were fitted into
their places, and carefully numbered and marked as they were to lie in
the building; a necessary operation, the several courses being
dove-tailed and connected together, so as to form one mass from the
centre to the circumference of the building. The stones were also
bored or fixed with trenails of oak and joggles of stone, after the
manner of the Eddystone lighthouse, and in this state they were laid
aside, and in readiness for being shipped in lighters for the rock.
Considering the importance of a light on the Bell Rock, it was at
first determined that the whole outward casing of the lighthouse
should be of granite, and that sand-stone should be used only for the
interior work; but from the difficulty of procuring a sufficient
supply of granite, it was afterwards found necessary to restrict the
use of it to the lower courses of the building. The granite was from
the Rubislaw quarry, and was so compact, that it contained only about
thirteen and a half cubic feet to the ton. The sand-stone was from the
Mylnefield quarry, and contained fifteen feet to the ton.
As soon as the weather would permit, the operations of the second
season commenced at the rock. The arrangements for carrying on the
works were made on an improved scale. A new vessel (named the Sir
Joseph Banks) was provided as a tender for lodging the workmen off the
rock, instead of the floating-light. The new tender was well supplied
with cooking apparatus, provisions, water, fuel, &c.; the space not
used as birthage, &c. was occupied with casks of lime, cement, and
other articles required for the work. The advantage of this new
arrangement was, the ease with which the tender could be brought to
the lee side of the rock, to take the people on board at any
emergency; whereas, the floating-light, being moored as a guide to
shipping, could not be moved about so easily, to serve the purposes of
the workmen. Every precaution was also taken to render the praam-boats
or stone-lighters buoyant, for such was the presentiment of danger
attached to the landing department, that, in addition to a water-tight
lining, each praam was provided with twelve strong empty casks, which
were stored in the hold, and were sufficient to float and render her
buoyant in case of accident. The praams therefore became so many
life-boats, moored in the neighbourhood of the rock. The Sir Joseph
Banks was also furnished with large landing boats and a life-boat.
The beacon had resisted the wintry storms tolerably well. Indeed, the
force of the waves upon the rock was not so great as might have been
expected, from an interesting and unlooked-for cause, namely, the
extensive beds of marine plants which grow upon it. 'It often
happened,' says Mr. Stevenson, 'when heavy seas were rolling along the
Bell Rock, which at a distance threatened to overrun the whole, that,
upon reaching these beds of fuci, with which the flat and level parts
of the rock were thickly coated, the velocity and force of the waves
were immediately checked, and in a great measure destroyed.'
On the 25th of May 1808, the operations of the second season were
commenced with very different feelings, to those experienced during
the previous year, when every step was attended with a great degree of
doubt, uncertainty, and danger; but the preparations and precautions,
which had been so wisely adopted, gave a security and promptness to
the work, which relieved all concerned in it of much anxiety. Landing
upon the rock was at all times difficult, but, so long as the boats
were kept from striking upon it, the spray which came on board was but
little heeded.
During the early part of this season the work proceeded as follows:
The workmen landed on the rock at low water, and immediately began to
bale out the water from the foundation pit, while the pumps were also
kept in action. The work was proceeded with on the higher parts of the
foundation as the water left them. The pumps being placed diagonally,
about twenty men were employed to work each pump; and thus this great
body of water, extending over a circular area of forty-two feet
diameter, and of the average depth of two feet, could be drawn off in
half an hour. The men then proceeded, for about two hours and a half,
to level the foundation with their picks, some of the sailors being
employed in clearing away the chips, and conveying the iron tools to
and from the smiths on the beacon, where they were sharpened. When the
sea broke in and overflowed the pit, the party returned in boats to
the tender.
The appearance of the rock about this time is thus described: 'Its
surface was crowded with men, the two forges flaming, the one above
the other, upon the beacon, while the anvils thundered with the
rebounding noise of their wooden supports, and formed a curious
contrast with the clamour of the surges.' Sometimes, when the sea was
smooth, the beacon had the appearance of being afloat upon the water,
with a number of men supporting themselves in every variety of
attitude and position; while from the upper part of this wooden house,
such volumes of smoke ascended from the forges, that strangers at a
distance often mistook it for a ship on fire. When working by such
light at night, the rock presented a remarkable aspect to the distant
shipping, the numerous lights flitting about, apparently below the
surface of the water, having a curious and fanciful appearance. To the
workmen themselves, the effect of extinguishing the torches was
sometimes startling, and made the darkness of the night quite
horrible, while the sea would assume that phosphoric appearance so
familiar to the sailor, and dash upon the rock like so much liquid
fire.
As the work proceeded, the smiths were sometimes left on the beacon
throughout the day, and the noise of their anvils was an excellent
guide to the boats in foggy weather. This circumstance confirmed the
engineer, as to the propriety of erecting in the lighthouse large
bells, to be tolled by machinery day and night, during the continuance
of foggy weather, by which the mariner may be forewarned of too near
an approach to the rock.
The foundation pit having assumed the appearance of a large even
platform, and the tides being favourable, it was determined to lay
down the first course, which consisted of a few irregular and detached
stones for making up certain inequalities in the interior parts of the
site of the building. Having taken the dimensions of the first or
foundation stone, a model of its figure was made, and this was taken
by the engineer in a fast-rowing boat to the work-yard at Arbroath:
two men were immediately set to work upon one of the blocks from the
Mylnefield quarry, and as the stone-cutters relieved each other, and
worked without intermission, the stone was soon prepared, and sent off
next day in one of the stone-lighters. On the 9th July the stone was
placed in a praam-boat, decorated with colours for the occasion. Flags
were also displayed upon the beacon and from the shipping in the
offing. The stone was gently lowered into the water, which occupied
the site of the building, amidst the cheering of all present. The
stone was necessarily landed at high water, for want of a sufficient
length of railway for conveying it along the rock at low water to the
site of the building.
On the 10th July the sailors displayed their flags at all points, and
as many as could be spared from the floating-light and the tenders
landed to witness the long desired ceremony of laying the first stone
of the lighthouse. The importance of the building was such, that but
for the perilous and uncertain nature of any arrangement which could
have been made for this ceremony, instead of its having been performed
only in the presence of those immediately connected with the work, and
a few casual spectators from the neighbouring shore, reckoning in all
about eighty persons, many thousands would have attended upon an
occasion which must have called forth the first dignitaries of the
country in conferring upon it the highest honours of masonry.
At eleven o'clock the foundation stone was laid to hand. It was square
in form, and contained about twenty cubic feet, and had no other
inscription than the date 1808. The engineer, attended by his three
assistants, applied the square, the level, and the mallet, and
pronounced the following benediction: 'May the Great Architect of the
universe complete and bless this building.' Three hearty cheers were
then given, and success to future operations drunk with the greatest
enthusiasm. When the tide began to overflow the site the whole party
returned to the ship; prayers were read, and every heart, doubtless,
felt more than usually thankful.
The first continuous course was now landed on the rock and laid down.
Mr. Stevenson gives an enumeration of the various kinds and quantity
of the work in this single course. Although only one foot in thickness
it contained five hundred and eight cubic feet of granite in outward
casing; eight hundred and seventy-six cubic feet of Mylnefield stone
in the hearting; one hundred and four tons of solid contents; one
hundred and thirty-two superficial feet of hewing in the face-work;
four thousand five hundred and nineteen superficial feet of hewing in
the beds, joints, and joggles; four hundred and twenty lineal feet
boring of trenail holes; three hundred and seventy-eight feet lineal
cutting for wedges; two hundred and forty-six oaken trenails; three
hundred and seventy-eight oak-wedges in pairs.
In the work-yard about sixty men were employed in hewing and preparing
the various courses of the solid part of the building. The second
course, which contained some very weighty stones, was laid down upon
the platform in the middle of the yard, each stone being carefully
fitted and marked as it was to lie in the building.
By the end of this season the building was brought to a level with the
highest part of the margin of the foundation pit, or about five and a
half feet above the lower bed of the foundation-stone. The number of
hours work upon the rock this season at low water amounted to about
two hundred and sixty-five, of which number only eighty were employed
in building.
The third season was commenced early in the spring of 1809. The first
works consisted in laying down mooring-chains with floating-buoys, for
mooring the stone-lighters and praam-boats; the beacon was also fitted
out as a more permanent residence for the workmen, in order to lessen
the amount of sickly motion which is so distressing to landsmen in a
rough sea. By the end of June the men were able to work upon the
masonry while the rock was under water; and on the 8th July, for the
first time, the tide ceased to overflow the building at low water.
With considerable exertion the solid part of the building, which
reached to the height of thirty feet, was completed by September. By
continuing the works a month or two longer a much greater height might
have been attained, but as the engineer foresaw that a diligent
employment of the next season would suffice for the completion of the
work, he deemed it advisable to leave the house in its present solid
defensible posture, on which the sea had much less hold, than if part
of the hollow portion had been built.
The winter months were occupied in preparing the upper courses; but in
consequence of severe frosts, several excellent and valuable stones
from the Mylnefield quarry were destroyed by absorption of moisture
from the air, which moisture expanding in the act of freezing, split
the stones, and rendered them useless. It was therefore determined to
construct the cornice of the building, and the parapet of the
light-room of the Liver Rock, of the Craig-Leith quarry, celebrated
for its durability and beauty, and for its property of not being
liable to be affected by the action of frost. These stones were
prepared at Edinburgh during the winter, and the iron frame-work, and
the several compartments of the light-room got ready.
Having during two seasons landed and built upwards of one thousand
four hundred tons of stone upon the rock, while the work was low down
in the water, and before the beacon was habitable; and finding that it
did not now require more than about seven hundred tons to complete the
masonry, there was every prospect of finishing the lighthouse during
the season. But as the success of the work depended wholly upon the
stability of the beacon, every possible attention was bestowed upon
it, and visits made to the rock during the winter months when the
weather would allow.
On the 10th of May operations for the season were commenced. The
building to the height of fifteen feet above the rock was found to be
thickly covered with fuci: on the east side the growth of sea-weed was
observed to the full height of thirty feet, and even on the top or
upper bed of the last-laid course it had grown so as to render walking
somewhat difficult. The men therefore set to work to scrape off the
sea-weed, in order to apply the moulds of the first course of the
staircase. The engineer had also to fix the position of the
entrance-door, which was regulated chiefly by the appearance of the
growth of the sea-weed on the building, indicating the direction of
the heaviest seas, on the opposite side of which the door was placed.
The artificers now took permanent possession of the beacon, and were
all heartily rejoiced at getting rid of the trouble of boating, and
the sickly motion of the tender. The beacon, which has been so often
named, and which proved a source of so much comfort to the men, and of
benefit and dispatch to the work, stood well during the five years
that its services were required. In its present complete form it
consisted of three floors, one of which was occupied as the cook-house
and provision store; the second, which was much encumbered by the
meeting of the principal beams, formed only two cabins, one for the
engineer, and the other for the foreman. In the third compartment were
three rows or tiers of beds, capable of accommodating about thirty
men. Below these three floors was the temporary floor at the height of
twenty-five feet above the rock, used for preparing mortar and for the
smith's workshop. The beacon was connected with the building by a
gangway, or bridge of timber.
Mr. Stevenson has given an interesting description of his cabin in the
beacon, where he had passed many weeks 'in a kind of active
retirement, making practical experiment of the fewness of the positive
wants of man.' This cabin measured not more than four feet three
inches in breadth on the floor; and though, from the oblique direction
of the beams of the structure, it widened towards the top, yet it did
not admit of the full expansion of his arms when he stood on the
floor, while its length was little more than sufficient for suspending
a cot-bed during the night. This was tied up to the roof during the
day, thus leaving free room for the admission of occasional visitants.
'His folding-table was attached with hinges immediately under the
small window of the apartment, and his books, barometer, thermometer,
portmanteau, and two or three camp-stools, formed the bulk of his
moveables. His diet being plain, the paraphernalia of the table were
proportionably simple, though every thing had the appearance of
comfort, and even of neatness, the walls being covered with green
cloth formed into panels with red tape, and his bed festooned with
curtains of yellow cotton-stuff. If, in speculating upon the absolute
wants of man in such a state of seclusion, one was reduced to a single
book, the Sacred Volume, whether considered for the striking divinity
of its story--the morality of its doctrine--or the important truths of
its Gospel, would have proved by far the greatest treasure.'
As the building rose in height the action of the sea upon it was
regarded with much interest. When the wind was blowing, accompanied
with a heavy surf upon the rock, the appearance towards high water is
described as being very grand and wonderful. Waves of considerable
magnitude rose as high as the solid or level of the entrance-door
which was to the leeward; but on the windward side the sprays flew
like lightning up the sloping sides of the building, occasionally
wetting the artificers, and interrupting their operations on the top
of the walls.
In the early part of July, the works being nearly completed, great
interest was excited by a visit from Mrs. Dickson, the only daughter
and surviving relative of Mr. Smeaton. She was conveyed to the
building on board the 'Smeaton,' which had been thus spontaneously
named by the engineer from the sense of the obligation which a public
work of the description of the Bell Rock owed to the labours and
abilities of Mr. Smeaton. Mrs. Dickson seemed to be quite overcome
with the many concurrent circumstances which tended in a peculiar
manner to revive and enliven the memory of her departed father.
The 29th of July was a day of great rejoicing at the Bell Rock. The
last stone was landed, and that it might lose none of its honours, the
same praam-boat with which the first stone of the building had been
landed was appointed also to carry the last. The weather being
remarkably fine, all the ships and the craft hoisted flags; the praam
which carried the stone was towed by the seamen in gallant style to
the rock, and on its arrival cheers were given as a finale to the
landing department. On the next day, the ninetieth or last course of
the building having been laid, the lintel of the light-door room,
being the finishing stone of the exterior walls, was laid with due
formality by the engineer, who at the same time pronounced the
following benediction, 'May the Great Architect of the Universe, under
whose blessing this perilous work has prospered, preserve it as a
guide to the mariner.'
The remaining details, referring chiefly to the completion of the
interior of the lighthouse, are not of general interest. They were so
far advanced by the end of the year 1810, that the light was
advertised to the public to be exhibited every night from the 1st of
February 1811. The advertisement stated the following particulars:--'The
light will be from oil, with reflectors placed at the height of about
one hundred and eight feet above the medium level of the sea. To
distinguish this light from others on the coast, it is made to revolve
horizontally, and to exhibit a bright light of the natural appearance,
and a red-coloured light alternately, both respectively attaining
their greatest strength, or most luminous effect, in the space of
every four minutes; during that period the bright light will, to a
distant observer, appear like a star of the first magnitude, which
after attaining its full strength is gradually eclipsed to total
darkness, and is succeeded by the red-coloured light, which in like
manner increases to full strength and again diminishes and disappears.
The coloured light, however, being less powerful, may not be seen for
a time after the bright light is first observed. During the
continuance of foggy weather and showers of snow, a bell will be
tolled by machinery, night and day, at intervals of half a minute.' By
this management the light was found to be so powerful as to be seen
and readily distinguished at the distance of six or seven leagues in
a clear atmosphere. On the exhibition of this light the floating light
was discontinued.
Having thus traced the building through some of its principal stages,
a brief view in its complete state may here be desirable. This
lighthouse is a circular building, forty-two feet in diameter at the
base and thirteen feet in diameter at the top. The masonry is one
hundred feet high, and the whole structure, with the light-room,
measures one hundred and fifteen feet. The ascent from the rock to the
entrance-door is by a kind of trap-ladder, which is a difficult mode
for any but the light-keepers, who are accustomed to it. Other persons
are generally hoisted up in a chair by a moveable crane. From the
entrance a circular stair leads to the first apartment, which contains
the water, fuel, &c. The communication with the other apartments is by
means of wooden steps. The three lower apartments have two windows
each, and the upper rooms four windows each. All the windows have
double sash-frames, glazed with plate-glass, besides storm-shutters of
timber. The light-room is octagonal, twelve feet across and fifteen
feet high. It is framed of cast iron and glazed with polished
plate-glass, each plate measuring two feet six inches by two feet
three inches, and being one-fourth of an inch thick. It is covered
with a dome and terminates in a ball. It is also furnished with a
lightning-conductor. In the year 1816, the whole exterior surface
having become much discoloured by the sprays of the sea, was painted
in oil of one uniform tint.
In the course of the first winter some interesting observations were
made upon the action of the weather and the general appearance of the
lighthouse. During rough weather a tremulous vibratory motion was
found to affect the whole house. The tremour was especially felt in
leaning against the walls in the upper apartments when the wind was
blowing fresh, or when the house was struck by a sea or by a boat
coming suddenly against it, and might be compared to that which is
perceptible in a common house upon the slamming of particular doors,
or when a carriage makes a rattling noise in passing along the
streets. But this effect is attended with no real danger. The late
eminent Professor Robison told Mr. Stevenson that when he visited the
Eddystone Lighthouse, something having forcibly struck the building,
he was sensible of a vibratory motion in one of the rooms in which he
was then sitting; but instead of producing any alarm in his mind, he
assured his friends that it was to him the strongest proof of the
unity and connection of the fabric in all its parts.
During the storms of winter, Mr. Stevenson says that from the
Forfarshire coast 'the lighthouse appeared in one of its most
interesting aspects, standing proudly among the waves while the sea
around it was in the wildest state of agitation. The light-keepers did
not seem to be in motion, but the scene was by no means still, as the
noise and dashing of the waves were unceasing. The seas rose in the
most surprising manner to the height of about seventy feet above the
rock, and after expending their force in a perpendicular direction,
fell in great quantities round the base of the lighthouse, while
considerable portions of the spray were seen adhering, as it were, to
the building, and gathering down its sides in the state of froth as
white as snow. Some of the great waves burst and were expended upon
the rock before they reached the building; while others struck the
base, and embracing the walls, met on the western side of the house,
where they dashed together and produced a most surprising quantity of
foam.'
The regulations observed in attending the Bell-Rock may be briefly
stated. The nearest town to the lighthouse is that of Aberbrothock, or
Arbroath, in Forfarshire, about eleven miles distant. A handsome
cutter, called 'The Pharos,' is stationed here as a tender to the
lighthouse. This vessel goes off to the rock every fortnight, or in
the course of each set of spring-tides, to relieve the light-keepers
and to supply the house with fuel, provisions, &c. There are four
lighthouse-keepers, three of whom are always on duty, while one is
ashore. If the weather offers no impediment, the light-keepers are
each six weeks at the rock and a fortnight ashore with their
families. The salaries are from fifty to sixty guineas per annum, with
a stated allowance for each man of bread, beef, butter, oatmeal,
vegetables, and small-beer, with fourpence a day extra for tea, &c.
They have also a suit of uniform clothes every third year. Mr.
Stevenson says that the light-keepers were, upon the whole, pleased
with their situation, and talked in a feeling manner of the hardships
of mariners whom they often saw tossed about during the storms of
winter.
According to the present system of Northern lighthouses, the watches
in the light-room are as regularly relieved as on ship-board. The
keeper is liable to immediate dismissal if he leave the light-room
before being regularly relieved; and for securing order and regularity
in this respect a time-piece is placed in each light-room, and bells
are hung in the bed-rooms of the dwelling-houses. At some of the
stations the light-room and the bed-rooms are connected by a set of
tubes, by blowing gently into which the keepers on watch can sound an
alarum-bell in the room below, and rouse his comrade to change guard.
The man below answers this call by a counterblast through the tubes,
and a small index in the light-room is thereby raised to signify that
the signal has been obeyed.
At Arbroath suitable buildings are erected for the light-keepers'
families, with each a piece of enclosed ground, and a seat in the
parish-church. Connected with these buildings are store-houses, a room
for the master and crew of the attending vessels, and a signal-tower
fifty feet high, at the top of which is a small observatory furnished
with an excellent achromatic telescope, a flag-staff, and a copper
signal-ball measuring eighteen feet in diameter. By means of this and
a corresponding ball at the lighthouse, daily signals are kept up to
signify when _all is well_. Should the ball at the rock be allowed to
remain down, as is the case when anything is particularly wanted, or
in the event of sickness, the tender immediately puts out to sea.
The expense of this great national undertaking, together with the
buildings at Arbroath, the attending vessel, and the first year's
stores, amounted to about sixty-one thousand three hundred and fifty
pounds.
We cannot close this notice of the Bell Rock lighthouse without
recording a curious accident which occurred on the night of the 9th
February, 1832, about 10 o'clock. A large-herring gull struck one of
the south-eastern mullions of the light-room with such force, that two
of the polished plates of glass measuring about two feet square and a
quarter of an inch thick, were shivered to pieces, and scattered over
the floor, to the great alarm of the keeper on watch, and the other
two inmates, who rushed instantly into the light-room. It happened
fortunately, that although one of the red shaded sides of the
reflector-frame was passing in its revolution at the moment, the
pieces of broken glass were so minute, that no injury was done to the
valuable red glass. The gull was found to measure five feet between
the tips of the wings. In its gullet was found a large herring, and in
its throat a piece of plate-glass about an inch in length.
* * * * *
While the Bell-Rock lighthouse was in progress, Mr. Stevenson was
often struck with the frequent and distressing occurrence of
shipwrecks at the Carr Rock. The Carr forms the seaward termination of
a reef of sunken rocks which appear at low water, extending about a
mile and three quarters from the shore of Fifeness, on the northern
side of the entrance of the Frith of Forth. The very dangerous
position of this rock, as a _turning point_ in the navigation of the
northern-bound shipping of the Frith, required that this rock, in
connection with the several lighthouses of the Bell Rock, Isle of May,
and Inchkeith, should be made as easily distinguishable to the mariner
as possible. In the course of nine years no fewer than sixteen vessels
had been either lost or stranded on the Carr Rocks. Therefore, in
1809, moorings were laid down for a floating buoy, 'but owing to the
heavy swell of sea and the rocky sand-stone bottom on this part of the
coast, it was found hardly possible to prevent the buoy from
occasionally drifting, even although it had been attached to part of
the great chain made from bar-iron an inch and a half square, with
which the Bell-Rock floating-light had been moored for upwards of four
years without injury. The moorings of the Carr Rock buoy, from the
continual rubbing upon the sand-stone bottom, were worn through with
the friction in the course of ten months; and during the four years
which it rode here, though regularly examined and replaced in the
proper season of the year, it was no less than five times adrift, to
the great inconvenience and hazard of shipping.'
Such being the case, it was resolved, however difficult and perilous
the undertaking, to erect a beacon of masonry upon the rock. The
length of the Carr Rock, from north to south, measures seventy-five
feet, but its greatest breadth, as seen at low-water of spring-tides,
is only twenty-three feet; hence it was not possible to obtain a base
for a building of greater diameter than eighteen feet. The surface of
the rock was also so rugged that it was necessary to excavate part of
the foundation-pit of the building to the depth of seven feet. The
difficulties were still further increased on account of the foundation
being partly under the level of the lowest tides, so that a coffer-dam
was required. It was further necessary, after each tide's work, to
remove and carry ashore part of this coffer-dam; so that on the return
of the workmen at ebb-tide much time was lost in readjusting the
coffer-dam, and in pumping the water out of the foundation-pit.
Some idea may be formed of the difficulties attending the early stages
of this work, from the fact that during the whole of the first season,
or summer of 1813, the workmen could not command more than forty-one
hours' work upon the rock; during the second season the time was only
fifty-three hours. These two years were entirely occupied in
excavating and preparing the foundation, and in laying ten stones, or
the half course of masonry, which brought the foundation to a uniform
level for the first entire course of the building. Mr. Stevenson
contrasts this slow progress with that made at the Bell Rock during
the first two seasons. Although this building was situated twelve
miles from the shore, three courses were erected, the diameter of the
base being forty-two feet, besides the erection of a beacon-house or
barrack for the workmen. 'The establishment for the works at the Bell
Rock was of course on a much larger scale than that of the Carr Rock;
but still the latter was equally effective, and the same apparatus,
artificers, and seamen, were employed at both.'
During the third year's work, the second course of the masonry was
completed upon the Carr; and nine stones of the third course were laid
by the 3rd of October, when a heavy ground-swell obliged the workmen
precipitately to leave the rock and take to their boats. Before the
cement was fixed, the surge of the sea had washed it out; the oaken
trenails were wrenched off, and the whole of the nine blocks of stone
swept off the rock and lost in deep water, though they had been
completely dove-tailed and fitted on the same principles as the
masonry of the Bell-Rock lighthouse, where not a single stone was lost
during the whole progress of the work.
During the fourth season, the operations were retarded by several
untoward accidents. The wind and the waves sometimes destroyed in a
moment the labour of weeks; but by dint of skill and untiring patience
and industry, they succeeded by the month of November in completing
the sixteenth course, which raised the building to the height of about
twenty feet.
The fifth year was particularly unfortunate. The whole of the masonry
having been completed, the coast was visited in November with a gale
of wind, accompanied with a heavy swell of sea, which washed down the
upper part of the building, and reduced it to the height of the fifth
course, which formed part of the fourth year's work. It was therefore
determined to modify the original design of the work. Instead of
completing this beacon with masonry, and providing the machine and
large bell, which was to have measured five feet across the mouth, to
be tolled by the alternate rise and fall of the tide, it was now
determined to erect six columns of cast iron upon the remaining
courses of masonry, to terminate in a cast iron ball of the diameter
of three feet, formed in ribs, elevated about twenty-five feet above
the medium level of the sea. This beacon was completed in September
1821.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 5: Lines written by Sir Walter Scott in the Album of the
Bell-Rock Lighthouse, when he visited it in 1814.]