View of Arnish Point Lighthouse and keeper's dwelling, Lewis, from SW.

Description View of Arnish Point Lighthouse and keeper's dwelling, Lewis, from SW.

Date 5/6/1997

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number SC 786352

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of D 11462 CN

Scope and Content Lighthouse and keepers' dwelling from south-west, Arnish Point Lighthouse, Lewis, Western Isles This shows the single-storeyed keepers' houses (left) with their tall tapering chimneys with curving tops. On the right can be seen the lighthouse with its small store nearby. The main lighthouse was supplemented by an 'apparent light' on a rock just off Arnish Point. Apparent lights were a type of beacon with glass prisms in front of them, which glowed as if lit when a beam was shone upon them from a neighbouring light. It was reported that 'the deception is so perfect that the fishermen will not believe that there is not a light there'. They were invented by Alan Stevenson's brother Thomas (1818-87). Arnish Point Lighthouse (also called Stornoway Lighthouse) was built from a series of iron plates to designs by engineer Alan Stevenson (1807-65) in 1853, and was the Northern Lighthouse Board's first pre-fabricated lighthouse. The whitewashed tower on a rocky promontory at the entrance to Stornoway Bay, has a domed lantern with latticed glazing and a distinctive Neo-Egyptian doorcase, and stands close to a range of single-storeyed keepers' houses. The lighthouse was automated in 1963, and the cottages developed as self-catering accommodation. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/786352

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap