Scalpay, Eilean Glas Lighthouse, Keeper's Dwelling
Lighthouse Keepers House (19th Century)
Site Name Scalpay, Eilean Glas Lighthouse, Keeper's Dwelling
Classification Lighthouse Keepers House (19th Century)
Alternative Name(s) Keepers' Accomodation; Scalpaigh; North Minch
Canmore ID 268311
Site Number NG29SW 1.02
NGR NG 24746 94740
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/268311
- Council Western Isles
- Parish Harris
- Former Region Western Isles Islands Area
- Former District Western Isles
- Former County Inverness-shire
NG29SW 1.02 24746 94740
Range to north east now 2 cottages (originally 3?) in Graeco-Egyptian manner. Built of quared whin rubble with granite dressings. Bold ramped doorpieces with cavetto cornices and stepped blocking courses, outer bays similarly detailed but with windows (one later door). Sash and case windows with 8-pane glazing pattern. Main cornice and blocking course. Tall battered stacks with splayed cornices, 4 central stacks grouped, outer 2 paired. Flat roof. Range to north west 8 bays with principal house and old engine room.
This is a classic example of a lighthouse complex which encompasses the lighthouse, accommodation for the keepers and their families, means of transport with the jetty and a means of subsistence with fields and walled garden. It forms a distinctive grouping in a remarkable setting. This site also documents the development of the lighthouse with the earlier tower being one of the first 4 lighthouses commissioned by the Northern Lighthouse Board, which had been formed 3 years earlier. The lamp was first lit on October 16th 1789, a plaque on the original keeper's house mentions Alexander Reid, the first keeper who came in 1789 and stayed for 35 years. The Egyptian style of the keepers' cottage is also of architectural interest and was later used at the Ardnamurchan lighthouse keepers' cottages. (ref: Historic Scotland)
Project (4 June 2015 - 5 June 2015)
A condition survey of the Eilean Glas lighthouse complex, Scalpay, undertaken on behalf of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar on 4 and 5 June 2015.
Field Visit (4 June 2015 - 5 June 2015)
Range of cottages in Graeco-Egyptian style designed by Robert Stevenson, built over barrel-vaulted stores. Constructed 1824; disused on automation in 1978, but used as holiday accommodation briefly in the 1980s . Bathrooms were installed c.1953, fittings appear unaltered . Cottages are accessed from the courtyard; stores are accessed separately, from ground level.
One of the first four lighthouses constructed by the Northern Lighthouse Commissioners, construction began on Eilean Glas lighthouse in 1787 . It was first lit on 10 October 1789, and the site has continued to operate through successive phases of development to the present day. The development of the lighthouse can be summarised in four phases: the construction of the first lighthouse and associated buildings in 1787-9; the construction of the second (current) lighthouse and associated buildings in 1824; the construction of a new keeper’s cottage and foghorn in the early twentieth century; and the development of technological infrastructure during the twentieth century, including aerial masts and the helipad.
This structure dates from the second period of the site’s development. This began in 1824, when the new (current) lighthouse was built (118898). This was accompanied by new keepers’ cottages (268311), which were constructed over barrel-vaulted stores, and accessed via a courtyard to the west, itself built over large water cisterns (350405). The old lighthouse and keeper’s cottage were heavily altered at this point: the height of the tower appears to have been reduced, presumably to avoid interference with the beam of the new light, and the cottage was converted to a store. Access to the complex was moved, now coming up to the courtyard level on a ramped road from the pier (350416). From this period also date the boundary wall and byre with associated water cisterns (350443 and 350445).
The lighthouse was automated in 1978, which resulted in the majority of structures on the site no longer being required by the NLB . In 1982 and 1984 these were sold into private ownership . At this point a modern foghorn and an aerial mast were still operational; these have since been decommissioned.
