Extension of the Northern Lights to the Irish Sea.
By the extension of the works of the Scotch Light-house Board to the Isle of Man, the system of the Northern Light-houses may now be said, in a general way, to extend over the whole of the coast of Scotland, while the lights of Man are of immediate importance to the extensive shipping of the coasts of England and Ireland, which bound the Irish Sea. The trade of Dublin and Newry, &c. on the one side, and of Liverpool, Lancaster, Whitehaven, and Workington, &c. on the other, find the traffic with those ports much more safe since the erection of these lights. Instead of shunning the Isle of Man, as formerly, owing to the projecting points, sunken rocks, and sand-banks connected with it, the mariner now steers boldly for this island, and takes shelter under it in stormy weather.
Sumburgh Head.
Shetland Islands.
According to the existing acts of Parliament relative to the Northern Lights, no additional duty is exigible for any new erections of the Board, as the only part of the coast not liable, prior to the extension of the Scots Light-house Acts to the Isle of Man, was that of the Solway Firth , now also subject to the duty. These acts, however, empower the Commissioners to erect additional light-houses; and when a sufficient number shall have been exhibited on the coast, and a surplus fund provided for their maintenance, the duty on shipping is ultimately to cease, and be no longer payable. Presuming, therefore, upon the prosperity of the commerce of the country, for an increase of funds, the Commissioners, though there were large sums to pay, both in the form of interest for Government loans, and instalments for borrowed money, taking into consideration the unprotected state of the Shetland Islands, a part of their district still without the immediate benefit of light-houses, had in view to erect an additional Light-house, as soon as their funds would admit, on some of the most prominent points of that group of Islands. The winters of 1817 and 1818 having been very unfortunate to the shipping of the North Seas, and some very distressing shipwrecks having occurred at Shetland, Mr William Erskine, now Lord Kineddar, then Sheriff of the County of Orkney and Shetland, and ex officio one of the Commissioners, brought the subject again under the notice of the Board; and, in the month of January 1819, it was finally resolved that a Light-house should be erected on Sumburgh Head in Shetland, the position of which will be seen by inspecting [Plate III.] This work having been accordingly contracted for by Mr John Reid, builder, of Peterhead, the first stone of the building was laid on the 10th day of May 1820, and the light exhibited on the night of the 15th day of January 1821, agreeably to the following specification of the position of the house, and appearance of the light:
Description of Sumburgh Head Light-house.
“Sumburgh Head Lighthouse is situate on the southern promontory of the Mainland of the Shetland Islands, in north latitude 59° 52´, and longitude 1° 15´ west of London. The Lighthouse, by compass, bears from Hangcliff-head in Noss Island SW. by W. ¼ West, distant 21 miles. From Fair Island NE. by E. ½ East, 26 miles. And from the Island of Foula, SE. by S. ¼ South, distant 28 miles. In reference to these bearings, the light is visible to the mariner from the southward, between Noss and Foula Islands. This light is known to mariners as a “Stationary light from oil with reflectors;” and being elevated 300 feet above the medium level of the sea, it is seen, like a star of the first magnitude, at the distance of seven or eight leagues, and at intermediate distances, according to the state of the atmosphere.”
Built with double walls.
From the very exposed situation of the promontory of Sumburgh Head, and the great difficulty experienced in preserving the walls of light-houses in a water-tight state, the writer followed a new plan with the buildings at this station, in having made the whole of the external walls double; the masonry of the outward wall being lined with brick instead of lath-work, with a space of three inches left between the double walls. This method was of course, more expensive in the first instance, but will ultimately be much more economical, as repairs, in these remote situations, are unavoidably very expensive. This house is free of dampness, and has not admitted a single drop of water through any part of the walls during the storms of two successive winters, although the force of the wind is such, that the light-keepers, when out of doors, are frequently obliged to move upon their hands and knees, to prevent their being blown off the high land. In such states of the weather, accompanied by rain, it is hardly possible to prevent a single wall from admitting water.