 Bell Rock Lighthouse with reef just visible | |
 | |
| Location | Inchcape, Angus, Arbroath and St Vigeans, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| OS grid | NO7616526808 |
| Coordinates | 56°25′58″N 2°23′17″W / 56.43286°N 2.388089°W |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1810  |
| Built by | Robert Stevenson |
| Construction | Cairngall granite |
| Automated | 1988 |
| Height | 36 m (118 ft) |
| Shape | tapered cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern including keeper's quarter[1][2][3] |
| Markings | white (tower), black (lantern) , stripe (brown, foundation) |
| Operator | Northern Lighthouse Board |
| Heritage | category A listed building |
| Racon | M |
| Light | |
| First lit | 1 February 1811 |
| Focal height | 28 m (92 ft) |
| Lens | hyperradiant Fresnel lens |
| Intensity | 1,900,000 candela |
| Range | 18 nmi (33 km; 21 mi) |
| Characteristic |  Fl W 5s |
The Bell Rock Lighthouse, off the coast of Angus, Scotland, is the world's oldest surviving sea-washed lighthouse.[4] It was built between 1807 and 1810 by Robert Stevenson on the Bell Rock (also known as Inchcape) in the North Sea, 11 miles (18 km) east of the Firth of Tay. Standing 35 metres (115 ft) tall, its light is visible from 35 statute miles (56 km) inland.[1]
The masonry work on which the lighthouse rests was constructed to such a high standard that it has not been replaced or adapted in 200 years.[5] The lamps and reflectors were replaced in 1843; the original ones are now in the lighthouse at Cape Bonavista, Newfoundland, where they are currently on display.[6] The working of the lighthouse has been automated since 24 October 1988.[1] The Northern Lighthouse Board, which has had its headquarters at 84 George Street in Edinburgh since 1832, remotely monitors the light.
The lighthouse previously operated in tandem with a shore station, the Bell Rock Signal Tower, built in 1813 at the mouth of Arbroath harbour. Today this building houses the Signal Tower Museum, a visitor centre that offers a detailed history of the lighthouse.
Because of the engineering challenges that were overcome to build the lighthouse, it has been described as one of the Seven Wonders of the Industrial World.[7]
- ^ a b c "Bell Rock Lighthouse", Northern Lighthouse Board, archived from the original on 14 April 2012, retrieved 20 October 2009
- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Eastern Scotland". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
- ^ "Northern Lighthouse Board - Bell Rock". Northern Lighthouse Board. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
- ^ "Bell Rock Lighthouse", David Taylor, retrieved 20 October 2009
- ^ Coast Revisted 19 August 2007 – BBC 2
- ^ "Cape Bonavista lighthouse", Foghorn Publishing, retrieved 2 September 2012
- ^ Cadbury (2003), pp. 65–106