Over 70 members and visitors attended the February meeting of Kirkcudbright History Society when well known local historian, David Collin, gave an excellent presentation on his current research, Little Ross Island Lighthouse.
Specifically he dealt with how that Lighthouse came to be built.
Lighthouses are familiar features of the landscape. However the public perception that Lighthouses are there to warn of treacherous conditions or dangerous rocks is misleading. The main purpose of most Lighthouses is to assist mariners in knowing exactly where they are, by night or day. They do this by the strength of the light they emit and its unique characteristics. Lighthouses are sited round the coast in such a way as to enable mariners to take bearings on more than one light and thereby pinpoint their exact position.
David Collin traced the long campaign to get a Lighthouse built on Little Ross between 1813 when the “Topographical Dictionary of Scotland: and of the British Seas” by Nicholas Carlisle was first published, making a clear and concise case for the construction of a Lighthouse there, to early 1840 when approval of the Northern Lighthouse Board and Trinity House was finally obtained.
It is a fascinating tale of petitions, politics, personalities, action and inaction, conflict and cooperation between Lighthouse Boards, misinformation and lobbying. All unfolding against a background of a growing number of shipwrecks in the vicinity; local community resentment at loss of life and vessels; the growth of trade in prosperous 19th century Britain; the beginning of the age of steam; and growth in the fleet of merchant ships which were neither well maintained nor well regulated.
Threading together his thoroughly researched presentation, which drew on a wide variety of sources, David Collin revealed how many local and national figures were involved in the campaign to get a Lighthouse built on Little Ross like James Skelly, (who built unlit beacons on Little Ross and organised a widely supported petition); Lady Selkirk; her brother the Solicitor General for Scotland; John. C. Mackenzie a nephew of Skelly and a solicitor, who stirred things up in the press; he also obtained the key support of Robert Cutler Fergusson, of Orroland, the MP for the Stewartry. In 1835 to the delight of local petitioners the London Press reported Fergusson’s speech in favour of a lighthouse on Little Ross.
In the background were the famous “Lighthouse Stevenson” family. Ten lighthouses were designed and built by Stevenson’s between 1821 and 1833 in addition to a vast range of other public works and consultancies.
It was explained that even the great Robert Stevenson was lukewarm in his support for a Lighthouse on Little Ross and mistakenly was of the view that Little Ross dried out completely at low tide. It was only through the roles played by Captain Robinson RN, who produced the first Admiralty Chart in 1838 of Little Ross (still in use in 1960), the Lord Advocate and Trinity House that his resistance was overcome.
The long struggle to obtain approval for the building of a Lighthouse was finally won in early 1840. Regrettably there is no record of any triumphal celebrations in Kirkcudbright.
In October 1840 Robert Stevenson and his son Thomas (father of Robert Louis Stevenson) arrived in Kirkcudbright to commence a detailed survey of Little Ross Island and select suitable sites for various buildings that would constitute the new Lighthouse station. Detailed work on drawings and contracts was done in Edinburgh. Ultimately Little Ross was one of the last of Robert Stevenson’s projects as he retired in 1842, Alan Stevenson designed the Lighthouse and Thomas was the construction engineer on site.
Seven tenders were received from contractors for the work and an offer from Robert Hume of Gatehouse of Fleet was accepted. It is likely that during the construction of the Lighthouse materials would have been shipped to the island from Kirkcudbright and Port Macadam in Gatehouse. Certainly there is evidence that brickwork on the lighthouse matches bricks produced by Hume in Gatehouse.
Illustrating his presentation with newspaper reports of the time; correspondence between Thomas Stevenson and his family; and a selection of images illustrating the quality of the Lighthouse and buildings erected on Little Ross, including some of the fine detail of the construction work, David Collin gave a valuable insight into the relationships between the Stevenson family, the practical difficulties the builders faced and had to overcome, and the sheer quality of the work.
Completed on schedule, the first two Keepers were appointed in November 1842 and the light went into operation on 1 January 1843. The light has shone continuously since 1843 apart from one brief gap in 1960. The station was made automatic in 1960 and in 2003 it was converted to solar power.
The quality of the design, construction and maintenance of all the buildings comprising the Lighthouse station has been so high that very few changes have been made in their entire history. The Lighthouse continues to serve appreciative mariners navigating the North Irish seas.
The next meeting of the Society is on March 9 when the A.G.M. will be held followed by speaker Stuart Ingram who will be showing images from his unique collection of Postcards.
The images selected illustrate various aspects of David’s talk.
The track is the route they took to bring up the building materials from the sea.
The remains of the cottages, one of which was the forge,and the walled garden which was used by the principal keeper
The lighthouse shows details of the builder’s skill using hand dressed stones.