BELL ROCK LIGHTHOUSE.
1798-1811.
Resolves to practise as a Civil Engineer--Journals--Reports--Design
for the Bell Rock Lighthouse--Improvements on Smeaton’s
design--Application to Parliament for Act in 1802--Act of
Parliament passed in 1806--Works begun in 1807--Tender breaks
adrift--Life in the floating light--Boating between the
lightship and the rock--Anxiety for workmen--Sunday work--Life
in the Barrack or Beacon--Visits the Eddystone in 1813 and
1818--Sir Walter Scott’s visit to the Bell Rock.
From what has been said in the preceding chapter, it will be seen that
Mr. Stevenson, from an early period, evinced a decided liking for
general Engineering, and I find that almost simultaneously with his
appointment under the Lighthouse Board, for whose peculiar duties he
had qualified himself by a pretty large and hard-earned experience, he
resolved to prosecute the practice of Civil Engineering, in all its
branches.
I find also that coincident with this start in life, he commenced a
systematic “Journal,” beginning in 1801, of the various travels made in
the prosecution of his profession, which occupies nineteen octavo and
quarto manuscript books.
His Reports, many of them on subjects of great interest, occupy
fourteen folio manuscript volumes, and his printed reports occupy four
thick quarto volumes.
These books, together with relative plans, the number of which I fear
to mention, are the documents I had to consult in obtaining the records
of my father’s professional life. The Journals, Reports, and Plans
extend over a period of nearly fifty years, and the selection of topics
from such a mass of matter has been no easy task. But as the duty I
have undertaken is to convey to the reader a sketch of my father as
a Civil Engineer, I have been content, passing over many interesting
subjects, to select from the documents before me only so much as should
be useful in carrying out that object; and even in this I encountered
the difficulty of determining the best order in which the selections
I have made should be given. To do so according to any chronological
arrangement I find to be impossible, and having resolved to give them
not as a consecutive narrative, but in the form of detached notices, I
think it will be most appropriate that I should commence the story of
Mr. Stevenson’s professional life with his great work--the Bell Rock
Lighthouse,--which extended over a period of twelve years, commencing
with his early conception of its structure in 1799, and terminating
with its completion in 1811.
* * * * *
The Inchcape or Bell Rock lies off the east coast of Scotland, nearly
abreast of the entrance to the Firth of Tay, at a distance of eleven
miles from Arbroath, the nearest point of the mainland. The name of
“Bell” has its origin in the legend respecting the good intention of a
pious Abbot of Aberbrothock being frustrated by the notorious pirate,
Sir Ralph the Rover, as related in Southey’s well-known lines, which I
have given in an Appendix.
Of the origin, progress, and completion of the lighthouse Mr. Stevenson
has left a lasting memorial and most interesting narrative in his
quarto volume of upwards of 500 pages, a great part of which was
written to his dictation by his only daughter, and was published in
1824.[2]
But there are some circumstances connected with the early history
of the Bell Rock, which, while they could not properly have found
a place in his narrative, have been noticed in his Memoranda, from
which I shall transcribe a few paragraphs detailing his early efforts
and disappointments while engaged in designing and arranging for the
prosecution of that great work:--
“All knew the difficulties of the erection of the Eddystone
Lighthouse, and the casualties to which that edifice had been
liable; and in comparing the two situations, it was generally
remarked that the Eddystone was barely covered by the tide at _high
water_, while the Bell Rock was barely uncovered at _low water_.
“I had much to contend with in the then limited state of my
experience; and I had in various ways to bear up against public
opinion as well as against interested parties. I was in this state
of things, however, greatly supported, and I would even say often
comforted, by Mr. Clerk of Eldin, author of the System of Breaking
the Line in Naval Tactics. Mr. Clerk took great interest in my
models, and spoke much of them in scientific circles. He carried
men of science and eminent strangers to the model-room which I had
provided in Merchants Hall, of which he sometimes carried the key,
both when I was at home and while I was abroad. He introduced me
to Lord Webb Seymour, to Admiral Lord Duncan, and to Professors
Robison and Playfair, and others. Mr. Clerk had been personally
known to Smeaton, and used occasionally to speak of him to me.”
It is impossible to read this little narrative without feeling
a respect for Mr. Clerk’s hearty enthusiasm, and perceiving the
beneficial influence which a kindly disposition may produce on the
pursuits of a young man, by stimulating an honourable emulation and
discouraging a desponding spirit.
“But at length,” the memorandum continues, “all difficulties with
the public, as well as with the better informed few, were dispelled
by the fatal effects of a dreadful storm from the N.E., which
occurred in December 1799, when it was ascertained that no fewer
than seventy sail of vessels were stranded or lost, with many of
their crews, upon the coast of Scotland alone! Many of them, it
was not doubted, might have found a safe asylum in the Firth of
Forth, had there been a lighthouse upon the Bell Rock, on which,
indeed, it was generally believed the ‘York,’ of 74 guns, with all
hands, perished, none being left to tell the tale! The coast for
many miles exhibited portions of that fine ship. There was now,
therefore, but one voice,--‘There must be a lighthouse erected on
the Bell Rock.’
“Previous to this dreadful storm I had prepared my pillar-formed
model, a section of which is shown in Plate VII. of the ‘Account of
the Bell Rock Lighthouse.’ Early in the year 1800, I, for the first
time, landed on the rock to see the application of my pillar-formed
model to the situation for which it was designed and made.
“On this occasion I was accompanied by my friend Mr. James Haldane,
architect, whose pupil I had been for architectural drawing. Our
landing was at low water of a spring-tide, when a good _space_ of
rock was above water, and then the realities of its danger were
amply exemplified by the numerous relics which were found in its
crevices, such as a ship’s marking-iron, a piece of a kedge-anchor,
and a cabin stove, a bayonet, cannon-ball, silver shoe-buckle,
crowbars, pieces of money, and other evidences of recent shipwreck.
“I had no sooner set foot upon the rock than I laid aside all idea
of a pillar-formed structure, fully convinced that a building on
similar principles with the Eddystone would be found practicable.
“On my return from this visit to the rock, I immediately set to
work in good earnest, with a design of a stone lighthouse, and
modelled it. I accompanied this design with a report or memorial to
the Lighthouse Board. The abandoned pillar-formed plan I estimated
at £15,000, and the stone building at £42,685, 8s. But still I
found that I had not made much impression on the Board on the score
of expense, for they feared it would cost much more than forty or
fifty thousand pounds.”
It was as to some of the details of this stone design that my father
asked Professor Playfair to give his opinion, and received the
following reply, which was not a little encouraging to the young
engineer attempting to improve on the design of the great Smeaton:--
“Mr. Playfair is very sorry that he has scarce had any time to look
more particularly over the plans which Mr. Stevenson has been so good
as to send him. Mr. Playfair is too little acquainted with practical
mechanics to make his opinion of much weight on such a subject as the
construction of a lighthouse. But so far as he can presume to judge,
the method of connecting the stones proposed by Mr. Stevenson is likely
to prove perfectly secure, and has the advantage of being more easily
constructed than Mr. Smeaton’s.”
“_9th August 1802._”
* * * * *
The Lord Advocate Hope, one of the Commissioners of Northern
Lighthouses, and Member of Parliament for the city of Edinburgh, who
had interested himself much in the Bell Rock question, and often
conferred with Mr. Stevenson on his design for the work, determined
that the matter should not be allowed to rest, and introduced a Bill
into Parliament in 1802-1803 to empower the Board to carry it out.
This Bill passed the House of Commons. The Committee to which it was
referred report--“That it appears that a sufficient foundation might
be prepared on the north end of the rock, where the surface is highest
and of greatest dimensions: That artificers could work five hours at
the times of each low-water in the day-time of the summer months, and
that if the building should be made of masonry the stones to form it
might be prepared on shore, marked and numbered, and carried off to the
rock and properly placed: That as the present duties may not for a long
time enable the Commissioners to defray the expense of erecting and
maintaining a lighthouse on the Bell or Cape Rock, it will be expedient
to authorise the Commissioners to levy and take further duties for
that purpose, with power to borrow a further sum on the credit of said
duties.”
At that early date there was no “standing order” of the House requiring
the promoters of a Bill to lodge plans of their proposed works, and my
father in his Memoranda says:--“The only plans in Mr. Hope’s hands were
those which, in 1800, I submitted to the Lighthouse Board.”
In the House of Lords the Bill met with opposition from the Corporation
of the City of London, as including too great a range of coast in
the collection of duties, and such alterations and amendments were
introduced in the Upper House as rendered it necessary for the Lord
Advocate to withdraw the Bill.
* * * * *
In order to fortify Mr. Stevenson’s views as to the practicability of
building a stone tower in such a situation, which was apparently the
chief difficulty in all the early negotiations, the Board resolved
to take the advice of Mr. Telford, then employed by Government in
reporting on the Highland Roads and Bridges and the Caledonian Canal,
who, however, was unable to overtake the duty, and thereafter, on
Mr. Stevenson’s suggestion, they applied to Mr. John Rennie, Mr.
Stevenson’s senior by eleven years, who had, like himself, at the early
age of twenty-one, commenced the practice of his profession, and was
then settled in London as a civil engineer. Rennie having concurred
with Stevenson as to the practicability and expediency of adopting a
stone tower, the Lighthouse Board resolved to make another application
to Parliament.
The second application was made in 1806, in a Bill introduced by Lord
Advocate Erskine, and proceeded on the same design and estimate of
£42,685, 8s., prepared by Mr. Stevenson, in 1800; and the following is
an extract from the Report of the Committee of the House of Commons to
whom was referred the petition of the Commissioners of the Northern
Lighthouses:--
“Proceeded to examine Mr. Robert Stevenson, Civil Engineer, who, in
his capacity of Engineer for the Northern Lighthouses, has erected six
lighthouses in the northern parts of the kingdom, and has made the
erection of a lighthouse on the Cape or Bell Rock more particularly his
study,--especially since the loss of about seventy sail of vessels in a
storm which happened upon the coast in the month of December 1799, by
which numerous ships were driven from their course along the shore, and
from their moorings in Yarmouth Roads, and other places of anchorage,
southward of the Firth of Forth, and wrecked upon the eastern coast of
Scotland, as referred to in the report made to this House in the month
of July 1803; the particulars of which he also confirms: That the Bell
Rock is most dangerously situated, lying in a track which is annually
navigated by no less than about 700,000 tons of shipping, besides his
Majesty’s ships of war and revenue cutters: That its place is not
easily ascertained, even by persons well acquainted with the coast,
being covered by the sea about half-flood, and the landmarks, by which
its position is ascertained, being from twelve to twenty miles distant
from the site of danger.
“That from the inquiries he made at the time the ‘York’ man-of-war was
lost, and pieces of her wreck having drifted ashore upon the opposite
and neighbouring coast, and from an attentive consideration of the
circumstances which attend the wreck of ships of such dimensions, he
thinks it probable that the ‘York’ must have struck upon the Bell
Rock, drifted off, and afterwards sunk in deep water: That he is well
acquainted with the situation of the Bell Rock, the yacht belonging
to the Lighthouse service having, on one occasion, been anchored near
it for five days, when he had an opportunity of landing upon it every
tide: That he has visited most of the lighthouses on the coast of
England, Wales, and Ireland, particularly those of the Eddystone, the
Smalls, and the Kilwarlin, or South Rock, which are built in situations
somewhat similar to the Bell Rock: That at high water there is a
greater depth on the Bell Rock than on any of these, by several feet;
and he is therefore fully of opinion, that a building of stone, upon
the principles of the Eddystone Lighthouse, is alone suitable to the
peculiar circumstances which attend this rock, and has reported his
opinion accordingly to the Commissioners of the Northern Lighthouses
as far back as the year 1800; and having given the subject all the
attention in his power, he has estimated the expense of erecting a
building of stone upon it at the sum of £42,685, 8s.
“Your Committee likewise examined Mr. John Rennie, Civil Engineer, who,
since the report made to this House in 1803, has visited the Bell Rock,
who confirms the particulars in said report, and entertains no doubt of
the practicability of erecting a lighthouse on that rock, is decidedly
of opinion that a stone lighthouse will be the most durable and
effectual, and indeed the only kind of building that is suited to this
situation: That he has computed the expense of such a building, and
after making every allowance for contingencies, from his own experience
of works in the sea, it appears to him that the estimate or expense
will amount to £41,843, 15s.”
This application was fortunately successful, the Act having obtained
the royal assent in July 1806, when the Commissioners at once
determined to commence the work.
Mr. Stevenson now began to feel the full stress of his responsibility.
He accordingly says in his notes:--
“The erection of a lighthouse on a rock about twelve miles from
land, and so low in the water that the foundation-course must be
at least on a level with the lowest tide, was an enterprise so
full of uncertainty and hazard that it could not fail to press on
my mind. I felt regret that I had not had the opportunity of a
greater range of practice to fit me for such an undertaking. But
I was fortified by an expression of my friend Mr. Clerk, in one
of our conversations upon its difficulties. ‘This work,’ said he,
‘is unique, and can be little forwarded by experience of ordinary
masonic operations. In this case Smeaton’s Narrative must be the
text-book, and energy and perseverance _the pratique_.’”
Mr. Rennie also, who had supported the Bill of 1806 in Parliament, and
afterwards was appointed by the Commissioners as an advising Engineer
to whom Mr. Stevenson could refer in case of emergency, and who had
suggested some alterations on Mr. Stevenson’s design of the lighthouse
in which he did not see his way to acquiesce, nevertheless continued
to take a kind interest in the work, and they continued to correspond
frequently during its progress. “Poor old fellow,” Rennie says in one
letter, alluding to the name of Smeaton, “I hope he will now and then
take a peep of us, and inspire you with fortitude and courage to brave
all difficulties and all dangers, to accomplish a work which will, if
successful, immortalise you in the annals of fame.”[3]
How well Mr. Stevenson met the demands which, in the course of his
great enterprise, were made on his perseverance, fortitude, and
self-denial, the history of the operations, and their successful
completion, abundantly show. The work was indeed, in all respects,
peculiarly suited to his tastes and habits; and Mr. Clerk
truly--although perhaps unconsciously--characterised the man, in
his terse statement of what would be required of him: “The work is
unique--ordinary experience can do little for it--all must depend on
energy and perseverance.” No one can read Mr. Stevenson’s “Account
of the Bell Rock Lighthouse” without perceiving the justness of this
estimate of the difficulties that lay before him, and his ability to
overcome them.
Though ever maintaining the highest respect for Smeaton and his noble
work, Mr. Stevenson was led, in his original design of 1800, as we
have already seen, and further in his actual execution of the Bell
Rock tower, to deviate to a considerable extent from the design of the
Eddystone. Mr. Stevenson adopted a height of one hundred feet instead
of sixty-eight for the height of the masonry, and he carried the level
of the solid part of the tower to the height of twenty-one feet above
high water, instead of eleven feet as at the Eddystone. In addition to
these deviations in the general dimensions of the tower, he increased
the thickness of the walls, and he also introduced some changes of
importance in its interior structure, whereby he secured a greater
continuity, and therefore greater strength of the masonry of the walls
and floors, which he describes in his book as follows:--
“Each floor stone forms part of the outward walls, extending
inwards to a centre stone, independently of which they are
connected by means of copper bats, with a view to preserve their
square form at the extremity, instead of dovetailing. These stones
are also modelled with joggles, sidewise, upon the principles of
the common floor, termed feathering in carpentry, and also with
dovetailed joggles across the joints, where they form part of the
outward wall.... The floors of the Eddystone Lighthouse, on the
contrary, were constructed of an arch form, and the haunches of the
arches bound with chains to prevent their pressing outward, to the
injury of the walls. In this, Mr. Smeaton followed the construction
of the Dome of St Paul’s; and this mode might also be found
necessary at the Eddystone, from the want of stones in one length,
to form the outward wall and floor, in the then state of the
granite quarries of Cornwall. At Mylnefield Quarry, however, there
was no difficulty in procuring stones of the requisite dimensions;
and the writer foresaw many advantages that would arise from having
the stones of the floors to form part of the outward walls, without
introducing the system of arching.”
Smeaton in fact adopted an arched form for the floors of his building,
which rendered it necessary, in order to counteract the outward thrust,
to insert chains, embedded in grooves, cut in the masonry; but Mr.
Stevenson, in designing the Bell Rock Lighthouse, improved on Smeaton’s
plan, not only by a better general arrangement of the masonry, but
by converting the floors into effective bonds, so that, instead of
exerting an outward thrust, they actually tie or bind the walls
together. This is at once apparent from Figs. 1 and 2, which show the
floor-courses of the Eddystone and Bell Rock in section.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Eddystone.]
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Bell Rock.]
The engineer of the Bell Rock had all the advantage of Smeaton’s
earlier experience, which he ever thankfully acknowledged; but there
can be no doubt whatever that the Bell Rock presented peculiar
engineering difficulties. The Eddystone Rock is barely _covered_ by
the tide at high water, while the Bell Rock is barely _uncovered at_
LOW WATER, rendering the time of working on it, as we shall afterwards
find, extremely limited; and the proposal to erect a stone tower on
this low-lying isolated reef, at a distance of twelve miles from land,
was no less remarkable for its novelty than for its boldness.
[Illustration:
_PLATE I._
_BELL ROCK LIGHT HOUSE._
_W. & A. K. Johnston, Edinburgh._
]
[Illustration:
_PLATE II._
_SECTION OF THE BELL ROCK LIGHT HOUSE._
_W. & A. K. Johnston, Edinburgh._
]
Plate I. is an elevation of the Bell Rock Lighthouse, and Plate II. is
a section showing the manner in which the interior is laid out, and,
so far as the size of scale admits, the peculiar arrangements of the
masonry, to which reference has been made.
The following is a brief statement of the progress of the work:--
The spring of 1807 was occupied in preparing a floating lightship to be
moored off the rock, erecting the timber framework which was to support
the barrack to be occupied as a temporary dwelling by the workmen,
and in carrying out other preliminary arrangements. During this first
season the aggregate time of low-water work, caught by snatches of an
hour or two at a tide, amounted to no more than thirteen and a half
days’ work of ten hours each.
In 1808 the foundation-pit was excavated in the solid rock, and the
building was brought up to the level of the surrounding surface, the
aggregate time of low-water work amounting to twenty-two days of ten
hours, so that little more than a month’s work was obtained during the
first two years.
In 1809 the barrack for the workmen was completed, and the building of
the tower brought to the height of seventeen feet above high water of
spring-tides.
In 1810 the masonry of the tower was finished and the lantern erected
in its place, and the light was exhibited on 1st February 1811. The
light is of the description known as revolving _red_ and _white_, and
hence Sir Walter Scott’s “gem of changeful light” (see page 47).
These weary years of toil and peril were also years of great
professional responsibility for the Engineer, and of constant
anxiety for the safety of his devoted band of associates, including
shipmasters, landing-masters, foremen, and workmen, in all of whom
Mr. Stevenson took a cordial and ever friendly interest, and in whom
he invariably placed implicit confidence when he found that their
several duties were faithfully discharged. To form strong attachments
to trustworthy fellow-workmen was ever a marked feature in my father’s
character, and after a lapse of nearly half a century many who joined
in his labours at the Bell Rock were still associated with him in the
business of his office, or as Inspectors of works.
His daily cheerful participation in all the toils and hazards which
were, for two seasons, endured in the floating lightship, and
afterwards in the timber house or barrack, over which the waves broke
with very great force, and caused a most alarming _twisting_ movement
of its main supports, were proofs not merely of calm and enduring
courage, but of great self-denial and enthusiastic devotion to his
calling. On some occasions his fortitude and presence of mind were most
severely tried, and well they stood the test.
The record of this great work is, as I have already said, fully given
in the “Account of the Bell Rock Lighthouse,” to which I must refer
professional readers; but as this volume is out of print, and is not
easily accessible, I shall give a few extracts from it, which I feel
sure will be read with deep interest, and convey to the reader at
least some idea of the difficulties with which this undertaking was
beset:--
“Soon after the artificers landed on the rock they commenced work;
but the wind coming to blow hard, the Smeaton’s[4] boat and crew,
who had brought their complement of eight men to the rock, went
off to examine her riding-ropes, and see that they were in proper
order. The boat had no sooner reached the vessel than she went
adrift, carrying the boat along with her; and both had even got
to a considerable distance before this situation of things was
observed, every one being so intent upon his own particular duty
that the boat had not been seen leaving the rock. As it blew hard,
the crew, with much difficulty, set the mainsail upon the Smeaton,
with a view to work her up to the buoy, and again lay hold of the
moorings. By the time that she was got round to make a tack towards
the rock, she had drifted at least three miles to leeward, with the
praam boat astern; and having both the wind and tide against her,
the writer perceived, with no little anxiety, that she could not
possibly return to the rock till long after its being overflowed;
for, owing to the anomaly of the tides, formerly noticed, the Bell
Rock is completely under water before the ebb abates to the offing.
“In this perilous predicament, indeed, he found himself placed
between hope and despair; but certainly the latter was by much
the most predominant feeling of his mind,--situate upon a sunken
rock, in the middle of 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. There were this morning in
all thirty-two persons on the rock, with only two boats, whose
complement, even in good weather, did not exceed twenty-four
sitters; but to row to the floating light with so much wind,
and in so heavy a sea, a complement of eight men for each boat
was as much as could with propriety be attempted, so that in
this way about one-half of our number was unprovided for. Under
these circumstances, had the writer 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
our assistance, 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. Of course, a scuffle might have ensued, and it
is hard to say, in the ardour of men contending for life, where
it might have ended. It has even been hinted to the writer that a
party of the _pickmen_ were determined to keep exclusively to their
own boat against all hazards.
“The unfortunate circumstance of the Smeaton and her boat having
drifted was, for a considerable time, only known to the writer,
and to the landing-master, who removed to the further point of
the rock, where he kept his eye steadily upon the progress of the
vessel. While the artificers were at work, chiefly in sitting or
kneeling postures, excavating the rock, or boring with the jumpers,
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
sea upon the rock, the forge-fire was also sooner extinguished
this morning 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 began,
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 in their countenances.
The landing-master, conceiving that blame might be attached to him
for allowing the boat to leave the rock, still kept at a distance.
At this critical moment the author was standing upon an elevated
part of Smith’s Ledge, where he endeavoured to mark the progress of
the Smeaton, not a little surprised that the crew did not cut the
praam adrift, which greatly retarded her way, and amazed that some
effort was not making to bring at least the boat, and attempt our
relief. The workmen looked steadfastly upon the writer, and turned
occasionally towards the vessel, still far to leeward. All this
passed in the most perfect silence, and the melancholy solemnity of
the group made an impression never to be effaced from his mind.
“The writer had all along been considering various
schemes--providing the men could be kept under command--which
might be put in practice for the general safety, 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
circumstances, and to propose that all hands 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; that 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 to 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 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 lapped a little water, which produced an immediate relief.
But what was his happiness when, on rising from this unpleasant
beverage, some one called out ‘A boat! a boat!’ and on looking
around, at no great distance, a large boat was seen through the
haze making towards the rock. This at once enlivened and rejoiced
every heart. The timeous visitor proved to be James Spink, the Bell
Rock pilot, who had come express from Arbroath with letters. Spink
had for some time seen the Smeaton, and had even supposed, from the
state of the weather, that all hands were on board of her, till
he approached more nearly and observed people upon the rock. Upon
this fortunate change of circumstances sixteen of the artificers
were sent at two trips in one of the boats, with instructions for
Spink to proceed with them to the floating light.[5] This being
accomplished, the remaining sixteen followed in the two boats
belonging to the service of the rock. Every one felt the most
perfect happiness at leaving the Bell Rock this morning, though a
very hard and even dangerous passage to the floating light still
awaited us, as the wind by this time had increased to a pretty
hard gale, accompanied with a considerable swell of sea. The boats
left the rock about nine, but did not reach the vessel till twelve
o’clock noon, after a most disagreeable and fatiguing passage of
three hours. Every one was as completely drenched in water as if he
had been dragged astern of the boats.”
After this accident difficulty was experienced in getting the men to
turn out next morning, as related in the following extract:--
“The bell rung this morning at five o’clock, but the writer must
acknowledge, from the circumstances of yesterday, that its sound
was extremely unwelcome. This appears also to have been the feeling
of the artificers, for when they came to be mustered, out of
twenty-six, only eight, besides the foreman and seamen, appeared
upon deck, to accompany the writer to the rock. Such are the
baneful effects of anything like misfortune or accident connected
with a work of this description. 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,
notwithstanding the thinness of our ranks, left the vessel at
half-past five. The rough weather of yesterday having proved but
a summer’s gale, the wind came to-day in gentle breezes, yet the
atmosphere being cloudy, it had not a very favourable appearance.
The boats reached the rock at six A.M., and the eight artificers
who landed were employed in clearing out the bat-holes for the
beacon-house, and had a prosperous tide of four hours’ work, being
the longest yet experienced by half an hour.
“The boats left the rock again at ten o’clock, and the weather
having cleared up, as we drew near the vessel, the eighteen
artificers who remained on board were observed upon deck, but as
the boats approached they sought their way below, being quite
ashamed of their conduct. This was the only instance of refusal
to go to the rock which occurred during the whole progress of the
work.”
The state of suffering and discomfort, as well as danger, on board the
floating light, which lay moored off the rock during the first two
seasons of the work, before the timber beacon was used as a habitation,
is described, in the following passage, which presents a striking
illustration of the continual anxiety that must have existed in the
minds of those engaged in the work, and of the frequent calls for
energetic and courageous exertion:--
“Although the weather would have admitted of a landing this
evening, yet the swell of the sea, observable in the morning, still
continued to increase. It was so far fortunate that a landing was
not attempted, for at eight o’clock the wind shifted to E.S.E.,
and at ten it had become a hard gale, when fifty fathoms of the
floating-light’s hempen cable were veered out. The gale still
increasing, the ship rolled and laboured excessively, and at
midnight eighty fathoms of cable were veered out; while the sea
continued to strike the vessel with a degree of force which had not
before been experienced.
“During the last night there was little rest on board of the
Pharos, and daylight, though anxiously wished for, brought no
relief, as the gale continued with unabated violence. The sea
struck so hard upon the vessel’s bows that it rose in great
quantities, or in ‘green seas’ as the sailors termed it, which
were carried by the wind as far aft as the quarter-deck, and
not unfrequently over the stern of the ship altogether. It fell
occasionally so heavily on the skylight of the writer’s cabin,
though so far aft as to be within five feet of the helm, that the
glass was broken to pieces before the dead-light could be got into
its place, so that the water poured down in great quantities. In
shutting out the water, the admission of light was prevented, and
in the morning all continued in the most comfortless state of
darkness. About ten o’clock A.M. the wind shifted to N.E., and
blew, if possible, harder than before, and it was accompanied by a
much heavier swell of sea; when it was judged advisable to give the
ship more cable. In the course of the gale the part of the cable
in the hause-hole had been so often shifted that nearly the whole
length of one of her hempen cables, of 120 fathoms, had been veered
out besides the chain-moorings. The cable, for its preservation,
was also carefully “served” or wattled with pieces of canvas round
the windlass, and with leather well greased in the hause-hole.
In this state things remained during the whole day,--every sea
which struck the vessel--and the seas followed each other in close
succession--causing her to shake, and all on board occasionally
to tremble. At each of these strokes of the sea the rolling and
pitching of the vessel ceased for a time, and her motion was felt
as if she had either broke adrift before the wind, or were in the
act of sinking; but when another sea came, she ranged up against
it with great force, and this became the regular intimation of our
being still riding at anchor.
“About eleven o’clock, the writer, with some difficulty, got out
of bed, but, in attempting to dress, he was thrown twice upon the
floor, at the opposite side of the cabin. In an undressed state
he made shift to get about half-way up the companion-stairs, with
an intention to observe the state of the sea and of the ship upon
deck, but he no sooner looked over the companion than a heavy sea
struck the vessel, which fell on the quarter-deck, and rushed
down-stairs into the officer’s cabin, in so considerable a quantity
that it was found necessary to lift one of the scuttles in the
floor to let the water into the limbers of the ship, as it dashed
from side to side in such a manner as to run into the lower tier
of beds. Having been foiled in this attempt, and being completely
wetted, he again got below and went to bed. In this state of the
weather the seamen had to move about the necessary or indispensable
duties of the ship, with the most cautious use both of hands
and feet, while it required all the art of the landsman to keep
within the precincts of his bed. The writer even found himself so
much tossed about that it became necessary, in some measure, to
shut himself in bed, in order to avoid being thrown to the floor.
Indeed, such was the motion of the ship, that it seemed wholly
impracticable to remain in any other than a lying posture. On deck
the most stormy aspect presented itself, while below all was wet
and comfortless.
“About two o’clock P.M. a great alarm was given throughout the
ship, from the effects of a very heavy sea which struck her, and
almost filled the waist, pouring down into the berths below,
through every chink and crevice of the hatches and skylights. From
the motion of the vessel being thus suddenly deadened or checked,
and from the flowing in of the water above, it is believed there
was not an individual on board who did not think, at the moment,
that the vessel had foundered and was in the act of sinking. The
writer could withstand this no longer, and as soon as she again
began to range to the sea, he determined to make another effort to
get upon deck.
“It being impossible to open any of the hatches in the fore part
of the ship in communicating with the deck, the watch was changed
by passing through the several berths to the companion-stair
leading to the quarter-deck. The writer, therefore, made the best
of his way aft, and on a second attempt to look out, he succeeded,
and saw indeed an astonishing sight. The seas or waves appeared
to be ten or fifteen feet in height of unbroken water, and every
approaching billow seemed as if it would overwhelm our vessel,
but she continued to rise upon the waves, and to fall between the
seas in a very wonderful manner. It seemed to be only those seas
which caught her in the act of rising which struck her with so much
violence, and threw such quantities of water aft. On deck there was
only one solitary individual looking out, to give the alarm in the
event of the ship breaking from her moorings. The seaman on watch
continued only two hours; he had no greatcoat nor overall of any
kind, but was simply dressed in his ordinary jacket and trousers;
his hat was tied under his chin with a napkin, and he stood aft the
foremast, to which he had lashed himself with a gasket or small
rope round his waist, to prevent his falling upon deck or being
washed overboard. Upon deck everything that was moveable was out
of sight, having either been stowed below previous to the gale, or
been washed overboard. Some trifling parts of the quarter-boards
were damaged by the breach of the sea, and one of the boats upon
deck was about one-third full of water, the oyle-hole or drain
having been accidentally stopped up, and part of the gunwale had
received considerable injury. Although the previous night had been
a very restless one, it had not the effect of inducing sleep in
the writer’s berth on the succeeding one; for having been so much
tossed about in bed during the last thirty hours, he found no easy
spot to turn to, and his body was all sore to the touch, which ill
accorded with the unyielding materials with which his bed-place was
surrounded.
“This morning about eight o’clock the writer was agreeably
surprised to see the scuttle of his cabin skylight removed, and the
bright rays of the sun admitted. Although the ship continued to
roll excessively, and the sea was still running very high, yet the
ordinary business on board seemed to be going forward on deck. It
was impossible to steady a telescope so as to look minutely at the
progress of the waves, and trace their breach upon the Bell Rock,
but the height to which the cross-running waves rose in sprays,
when they met each other, was truly grand, and the continued roar
and noise of the sea was very perceptible to the ear. To estimate
the height of the sprays at forty or fifty feet would surely be
within the mark. Those of the workmen who were not much afflicted
with sea-sickness came upon deck, and the wetness below being dried
up, the cabins were again brought into a habitable state. Every
one seemed to meet as if after a long absence, congratulating his
neighbour upon the return of good weather. Little could be said as
to the comfort of the vessel; but after riding out such a gale,
no one felt the least doubt or hesitation as to the safety and
good condition of her moorings. The master and mate were extremely
anxious, however, to heave in the hempen cable, and see the state
of the clinch or iron ring of the chain cable. But the vessel
rolled at such a rate that the seamen could not possibly keep their
feet at the windlass, nor work the handspokes, though it had been
several times attempted since the gale took off.
“About twelve noon, however, the vessel’s motion was observed to
be considerably less, and the sailors were enabled to walk upon
deck with some degree of freedom. But to the astonishment of every
one it was soon discovered that the floating light was adrift!
The windlass was instantly manned, and the men soon gave out that
there was no strain upon the cable. The mizzen-sail, which was bent
for the occasional purpose of making the vessel ride more easily
to the tide, was immediately set, and the other sails were also
hoisted in a short time, when, in no small consternation, we bore
away about one mile to the south-westward of the former station,
and there let go the best bower-anchor and cable, in twenty fathoms
water, to ride until the swell of the sea should fall, when it
might be practicable to grapple for the moorings, and find a better
anchorage for the ship.
“As soon as the deck could be cleared the cable end was hove up,
which had parted at the distance of about fifty fathoms from
the chain moorings. On examining the cable, it was found to be
considerably chafed, but where the separation took place, it
appeared to be worn through, or cut shortly off. How to account for
this would be difficult, as the ground, though rough and gravelly,
did not, after much sounding, appear to contain any irregular
parts. It was therefore conjectured that the cable must have hooked
some piece of wreck, as it did not appear from the state of the
wind and tide that the vessel could have _fouled_ her anchor when
she veered round with the wind, which had shifted in the course of
the night from N.E. to N.N.W.
“Be this as it may, it was a circumstance quite out of the power of
man to prevent, as, until the ship drifted, it was found impossible
to heave up the cable. But what ought to have been the feeling
of thankfulness to that Providence which regulates and appoints
the lot of man, when it is considered that if this accident had
happened during the storm, or in the night after the wind had
shifted, the floating light must inevitably have gone ashore upon
the Bell Rock. In short, it is hardly possible to conceive any case
more awfully distressing than our situation would have been, or
one more disastrous to the important undertaking in which we were
engaged.”
The distance at which the floating light was moored from the rock was
about three miles, and the passage of the men to and from their work,
and boarding the vessel in rough weather, was a source of great anxiety
and danger, and is described in the following paragraphs:--
“When the tide-bell rung on board the floating light, the boats
were hoisted out, and two active seamen were employed to keep them
from receiving damage alongside. The floating light being very
buoyant, was so quick in her motions, that when those who were
about to step from her gunwale into a boat, placed themselves upon
a “cleat” or step on the ship’s side with the man or rail-ropes in
their hands, they had often to wait for some time till a favourable
opportunity occurred for stepping into the boat. While in this
situation, with the vessel rolling from side to side, watching the
proper time for letting go the man-ropes, it required the greatest
dexterity and presence of mind to leap into the boat. One who was
rather awkward would often wait a considerable period in this
position: at one time his side of the ship would be so depressed
that he would touch the boat to which he belonged, while the next
sea would elevate him so much that he would see his comrades in
the boat on the opposite side of the ship, his friends in the one
boat calling to him to ‘jump,’ while those in the boat on the
other side, as he came again and again into their view, would
jocosely say--‘Are you there yet? You seem to enjoy a swing.’ In
this situation it was common to see a person upon each side of the
ship for a length of time, waiting to quit his hold. A stranger to
this sort of motion was both alarmed for the safety, and delighted
with the agility, of persons leaping into the boat under those
perilous circumstances. No sooner had one quitted his station on
the gunwale than another occupied his place, until the whole were
safely shipped.”
On their return trips from the rock to the floating light, the men had
a no less hazardous and trying ordeal to undergo, for Mr. Stevenson
records the following as an example of the risks to which they were
exposed:--
“Just as we were about to leave the rock, the wind shifted to the
S.W., and from a fresh gale it became what seamen term a hard
gale, or such as would have required the fisherman to take in two
or three reefs in his sail. The boats being rather in a crowded
state for this sort of weather, they were pulled with difficulty
towards the floating light. Though the boats were handsomely built,
and presented little obstruction to the wind, as those who were
not pulling sat low, yet having the ebb-tide to contend with the
passage was so very tedious that it required two hours of hard work
before we reached the vessel.
“It is a curious fact, that the respective tides of ebb and flood
are apparent upon the shore about an hour and a half sooner than
at the distance of three or four miles in the offing. But what
seems chiefly interesting here is, that the tides around this small
sunken rock should follow exactly the same laws as on the extensive
shores of the mainland. When the boats left the Bell Rock to-day,
it was overflowed by the flood-tide, but the floating light did not
swing round to the flood-tide for more than an hour afterwards.
Under this disadvantage the boats had to struggle with the
ebb-tide and a hard gale of wind, so that it was with the greatest
difficulty they reached the floating light. Had this gale happened
in spring-tides, when the current was strong, we must have been
driven to sea in a very helpless condition.
“The boat which the writer steered was considerably behind the
other, one of the masons having unluckily broken his oar. Our
prospect of getting on board, of course, became doubtful, and our
situation was rather perilous, as the boat shipped so much sea that
it occupied two of the artificers to bale and clear her of water.
When the oar gave way we were about half-a-mile from the ship, but,
being fortunately to windward, we got into the wake of the floating
light at about 250 fathoms astern, just as the landing-master’s
boat reached the vessel. He immediately _streamed_ or floated a
life-buoy astern, with a line which was in readiness, and by means
of this useful implement, the boat was towed alongside of the
floating light, where, from the rolling motion, it required no
small management to get safely on board, as the men were much worn
out with their exertions in pulling from the rock. On the present
occasion, the crews of both boats were completely drenched with
spray, and those who sat upon the bottom of the boats to bale them
were sometimes pretty deep in the water, before it could be cleared
out. After getting on board, all hands were allowed an extra dram,
and having shifted, and got a warm and comfortable dinner, the
affair, it is believed, was little more thought of.”
An interesting incident, showing the constant anxiety of the chief for
his men, is given in the following passage:--
“The boats left the ship at a quarter before six this morning,
and landed upon the rock at seven. The water had gone off the
rock sooner than was expected, for as yet the seamen were but
imperfectly acquainted with its periodic appearance, and the
landing-master being rather late with his signal this morning,
the artificers were enabled to proceed to work without a moment’s
delay. The boat which the writer steered happened to be the last
which approached the rock at this tide; and, in standing up in the
stern, while at some distance, to see how the leading boat entered
the creek, he was astonished to observe something in the form of a
human figure in a reclining posture upon one of the ledges of the
rock. He immediately steered the boat through a narrow entrance to
the eastern harbour, with a thousand unpleasant sensations in his
mind. He thought a vessel or boat must have been wrecked upon the
rock during the night; and it seemed probable that the rock might
be strewed with dead bodies--a spectacle which could not fail to
deter the artificers from returning so freely to their work. Even
one individual found in this situation would naturally cast a damp
upon their minds, and, at all events, make them much more timid
in their future operations. In the midst of those reveries, the
boat took the ground at an improper landing-place; but, without
waiting to push her off, he leapt upon the rock, and making his way
hastily to the spot which had privately given him alarm, he had the
satisfaction to ascertain that he had only been deceived by the
peculiar situation and aspect of the smith’s anvil and block, which
very completely represented the appearance of a lifeless body upon
the rock. The writer carefully suppressed his feelings, the simple
mention of which might have had a bad effect upon the artificers,
and his haste passed for an anxiety to examine the apparatus of the
smith’s forge, left in an unfinished state at the evening tide.”
In the following words Mr. Stevenson explains his resolution to regard
the operations at the Bell Rock as a work of mercy, and to continue
them, when weather permitted, throughout all the seven days of the
week:--
“To some it may require an apology, or at least call for an
explanation, why the writer took upon himself to step aside from
the established rules of society by carrying on the works of this
undertaking during Sundays. Such practices are not uncommon in
the dockyards and arsenals, when it is conceived that the public
service requires extraordinary exertions. Surely if, under any
circumstances, it is allowable to go about the ordinary labours of
mankind on Sundays, that of the erection of a lighthouse upon the
Bell Rock seems to be one of the most pressing calls which could
in any case occur, and carries along with it the imperious language
of necessity. When we take into consideration that, in its effects,
this work was to operate in a direct manner for the safety of many
valuable lives and much property, the beautiful and simple parables
of the Holy Scriptures, inculcating works of necessity and mercy,
must present themselves to every mind unbiassed by the trammels of
form or the influence of a distorted imagination. In this perilous
work, to give up every seventh day would just have been to protract
the time a seventh part. Now, as it was generally supposed, after
taking all advantages into view, that the work would probably
require seven years for its execution, such an arrangement must
have extended the operation to at least eight years, and have
exposed it to additional risk and danger in all its stages. The
writer, therefore, felt little scruple in continuing the Bell Rock
works in all favourable states of the weather.”
He however conducted a regular Sunday service, as noticed in the
following paragraph:--
“Having, on the previous evening, arranged matters with the
landing-master as to the business of the day, the signal was
rung for all hands at half-past seven this morning. In the early
state of the spring-tides, the artificers went to the rock before
breakfast, but as the tides fell later in the day, it became
necessary to take this meal before leaving the ship. At eight
o’clock all hands were assembled on the quarter-deck for prayers,
a solemnity which was gone through in as orderly a manner as
circumstances would admit. Round the quarter-deck, when the weather
permitted, the flags of the ship were hung up as an awning or
screen, forming the quarter-deck into a distinct compartment with
colours; the pendant was also hoisted at the main-mast, and a large
ensign flag was displayed over the stern; and, lastly, the ship’s
companion, or top of the staircase, was covered with the _flag
proper_ of the Lighthouse Service, on which the Bible was laid. A
particular toll of the bell called all hands to the quarter-deck,
when the writer read a chapter of the Bible, and, the whole
ship’s company being uncovered, he also read the impressive prayer
composed by the Reverend Dr. Brunton, one of the ministers of
Edinburgh.”
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--The Beacon or Barrack.]
So soon as a barrack of timber-work could be erected on the rock as a
substitute for the floating light, it was inhabited by Mr. Stevenson
and twenty-eight men. This barrack was a singular habitation, perched
on a strong framework of timber, carefully designed with a view to
strength, and no less carefully put together in its place, and fixed
to the rock with every appliance necessary to secure stability. The
tide rose sixteen feet on it in calm weather, and in heavy seas it was
exposed to the assault of every wave. Of the perils and discomforts of
such a habitation the following passages give a lively picture:--
“This scene” (the sublime appearance of the waves) “he greatly
enjoyed while sitting at his window. Each wave approached the
Beacon like a vast scroll unfolding, and in passing discharged a
quantity of air which he not only distinctly felt, but was even
sufficient to lift the leaves of a book which lay before him....
“The gale continues with unabated violence to-day, and the sprays
rise to a still greater height, having been carried over the
masonry of the building, or about 90 feet above the level of the
sea. At four o’clock this morning it was breaking into the cook’s
berth (on the Beacon), when he rang the alarm-bell, and all hands
turned out to attend to their personal safety. The floor of the
smith’s or mortar gallery was now completely burst up by the
force of the sea, when the whole of the deals and the remaining
articles upon the floor were swept away, such as the cast-iron
mortar-tubs, the iron hearth of the forge, the smith’s bellows, and
even his anvil, were thrown down upon the rock. The boarding of the
cook-house, or story above the smith’s gallery, was also partly
carried away, and the brick and plaster work of the fireplace
shaken and loosened. It was observed during this gale that the
Beacon-house had a good deal of tremor, but none of that ‘twisting
motion’ occasionally felt and complained of before the additional
wooden struts were set up for the security of the principal beams;
but this effect had more especially disappeared ever since the
attachment of the great horizontal iron bars in connection with
these supports. Before the tide rose to its full height to-day,
some of the artificers passed along the bridge into the lighthouse,
to observe the effects of the sea upon it, and they reported that
they had felt a slight tremulous motion in the building when great
seas struck it in a certain direction about high-water mark. On
this occasion the sprays were again observed to wet the balcony,
and even to come over the parapet wall into the interior of the
light-room. In this state of the weather, Captain Wilson and the
crew of the ‘Floating Light’ were much alarmed for the safety of
the artificers upon the rock, especially when they observed with a
telescope that the floor of the smith’s gallery had been carried
away, and that the triangular cast-iron sheer-crane was broken
down. It was quite impossible, however, to do anything for their
relief until the gale should take off....
“The writer’s cabin measured not more than 4 feet 3 inches in
breadth on the floor; and though, from the oblique direction of the
beams of the Beacon, it widened towards the top, yet it did not
admit of the full extension 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, calculated for being triced up to the
roof during the day, which left 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 proportionally simple; though
everything 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, on speculating on the abstract wants of man, in such a state of
exclusion, one were reduced to a single book, the sacred volume,
whether considered for the striking diversity of its story, the
morality of its doctrine, or the important truths of its Gospel,
would have proved by far the greatest treasure.”
The Barrack was not removed immediately on the completion of the tower,
and on Mr. Stevenson’s first visit to the rock after the light had
been established, it was with feelings of emotion that he viewed his
old quarters. His Journal says--“I went up the trap and entered my own
cabin with mingled thoughts of reflection upon the many anxious hours
I had spent within the narrow precincts of its little walls, and here
offered up thanks to God for the happy termination of this work.”
Mr. Stevenson’s merit as Engineer of the Bell Rock Lighthouse does
not rest in his bold conception of, and confident unshaken belief in,
the possibility of executing a tower of masonry on that submerged reef,
or even in his personal courage and discretion in carrying out so
difficult a work, in the face of so many dangers, when he had neither
“steamboat” nor “steam-crane” to call to his aid. But his mechanical
skill in all the arrangements of the work was pre-eminent in bringing
his labours to a successful issue. Not only did he conceive the plan
of the moveable _jib_ and _balance cranes_, described in a subsequent
chapter--which he applied with much advantage in the erection of the
tower, and the former of which is now in universal use,--but his
inventive skill, ever alive to the possibility of improving on the
conceptions of his great master, Smeaton, led him to introduce all
those advantageous changes in the arrangements of the masonry of the
tower, which have been already described, as distinguishing it from the
Eddystone.
The Commissioners entertained a high sense of Stevenson’s services at
the Bell Rock Lighthouse; and, as many of them took a deep interest in
the execution of that remarkable work, and paid occasional visits to
it during its progress, they were well able to appreciate the ability
and zeal with which he devoted himself to this arduous task, and they
resolved, at a meeting held in the lighthouse itself--“That a bust of
Mr. Robert Stevenson be obtained, and placed in the library of the
Bell Rock Lighthouse, in testimony of the sense entertained by the
Commissioners of his distinguished talent and indefatigable zeal in the
erection of that lighthouse.” A beautiful bust in marble, by Samuel
Joseph, from which the frontispiece has been engraved, was accordingly
placed in what is called the library, being the upper apartment of the
tower.
* * * * *
Mr. Stevenson’s interest in the Eddystone did not cease on the
completion of his own work. We know that he paid at least two visits
to the Eddystone after the completion of the Bell Rock. One of those
visits was made in September 1813, when, by the courtesy of the Trinity
House, he was accommodated with the use of the ‘Eddystone’ tender, and,
though the weather was not very favourable, succeeded in landing on the
rock and making a hasty inspection of the far-famed lighthouse.
Mr. Stevenson’s last visit was made in 1818, on a voyage in the
Northern Lighthouse tender, on which occasion he was favoured with a
smooth sea and a low tide, and enabled to make a thorough inspection
of the rock. It is important and interesting to record that this
examination strongly impressed him with the _ultimate_ insecurity of
the structure, as appears from the following almost prophetic extract
from his Journal:--
“The house seems to be in a very good state of repair, and does
not appear to have sustained any injury by the lapse of time. The
joints are full of cement, and the stone exhibits little appearance
of decay, being granite or syenite. The rock itself upon a narrow
inspection seems to be gneiss. The rock is shaken all through, and
dips at a very considerable angle, perhaps one in three, towards
the south-west; and being undermined on the north-east side for
several feet, it must be confessed that it has rather an alarming
appearance. I am not, however, of opinion that it has altered
its state perhaps since the date of the erection of the tower.
Since my last visit in 1813 I am not sensible of any change
upon it. On the north-east side, however, at what is called the
‘Gut’ landing-place, where the men sheltered themselves from the
fire of Rudyerd’s Lighthouse, but especially at low-water mark of
spring-tides, there is a hollowing of the rock which penetrates
at least to the circumference of the base of the lighthouse. I
therefore conclude that when the sea runs high there is danger of
this house being _upset_, after a lapse of time, when the sea and
shingle have wrought away the rock to a greater extent. Nothing
preserves this highly important building but the hardness of the
rock and the dip of the strata, but for how long a period this may
remain no one can pretend to say.”
[Illustration:
_PLATE III._
BELL ROCK LIGHTHOUSE.]
That period has at length arrived, and the Trinity House, under the
advice of Mr. Douglass, their Engineer, have resolved that Smeaton’s
Eddystone--the engineer’s long cherished object of veneration--must
be renewed, and henceforth Stevenson’s Bell Rock must be held as the
earliest existing type of a class of bold and skilful works--still few
in number--which, by converting a dark sunken danger into a source of
light and safety, have saved many a ship, and cheered the heart of many
a tempest-tossed sailor, as happily expressed in Sir Walter Scott’s
impromptu “Pharos loquitur,” written in the Album of the Lighthouse,
when he landed with a deputation of the Commissioners in 1814.
“Far in the bosom of the deep
O’er these wild shelves my watch I keep,
A ruddy gem of changeful light,
Bound on the dusky brow of night;
The seaman bids my lustre hail,
And scorns to strike his timorous sail.”