General view of steading from SW. Digital image of C 78292

Description General view of steading from SW. Digital image of C 78292

Date 8/8/1996

Collection Scottish Farm Buildings Survey

Catalogue Number SC 738818

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 78292

Scope and Content Start Point Lighthouse Farm, Sanday, Orkney Islands, from south-west Start Point Lighthouse on the island of Sanday is the most easterly lighthouse on the Orkney Islands. Sanday is low-lying and almost treeless with only a few low hills to protect it from the wind. Difficult to distinguish in poor visibility, Sanday posed a hazard for sailors. This shows the lighthouse-keeper's barn on the left with a single-storeyed workshop attached and a shed on the right. The lighthouse-keeper was not the only crofter, or small farmer, on Orkney to have two jobs. Others supplemented their incomes from farming as fishermen, stonemasons, tailors or blacksmiths. Start Point's first lighthouse in 1802 was an unlit beacon. Considered inadequate as a navigational aid to sailors, it was fitted with Scotland's first revolving light in 1806. In 1870 a new brick tower was built which was automated in 1962. The present light is gas-fired. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/738818

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap