Skerryvore

Skerryvore
Scottish Gaelic nameAn Sgeir Mhòr
Meaning of nameThe Great Skerry
Location
Skerryvore is located in Argyll and Bute
Skerryvore
Skerryvore
Skerryvore shown within Scotland
OS grid referenceNL841265
Coordinates56°19′30″N 7°06′40″W / 56.325°N 7.111°W / 56.325; -7.111
Physical geography
Island groupInner Hebrides
Area26 m2 (280 sq ft)
Highest elevation3 m (10 ft)
Administration
Council areaArgyll and Bute
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Demographics
Population0
Lymphad
References[1][2][3]

Skerryvore (from the Gaelic An Sgeir Mhòr meaning "The Great Skerry") is a remote island that lies off the west coast of Scotland, 11 nautical miles (20 kilometres) southwest of Tiree. Skerryvore Lighthouse is located on these rocks, built with some difficulty between 1838 and 1844 by Alan Stevenson.[4]

At a height of 156 feet (48 metres) it is the tallest lighthouse in Scotland.[5] The shore station was at Hynish on Tiree (which now houses the Skerryvore Lighthouse Museum); operations were later transferred to Erraid, west of Mull. The remoteness of the location led to the keepers receiving additional payments in kind.[6] The light shone without a break from 1844 until a fire in 1954 shut down operations for five years. The lighthouse was automated in 1994.[7][8]

  1. ^ Haswell-Smith (2004) pp 114–5.
  2. ^ Nicholson (1995) p. 99.
  3. ^ "Get-a-map". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 25 January 2008.
  4. ^ ""Skerryvore Lighthouse"". Northern Lighthouse Board. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  5. ^ "Historical Information" Northern Lighthouse Board. Retrieved 17 January 2008.
  6. ^ Munro (1979) pp. 181–2.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference nicholson109 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference nicholson112 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).