Detail of forghorn and foghorn house, with scaffolding supporting temporary light (in use during modification of main light). Digital image of C 4265.

Description Detail of forghorn and foghorn house, with scaffolding supporting temporary light (in use during modification of main light). Digital image of C 4265.

Date 1993

Catalogue Number SC 787272

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 4265

Scope and Content Foghorn and foghorn house, St Abb's Head Lighthouse, Scottish Borders This shows the foghorn house with its curved outer wall, sheltering steps which allow access to the horn for maintenance. The metal horn points out to sea, and can be turned to face away from fog banks which can disperse the siren. A triangular warning sign warns of the noise hazard of the apparatus during use. The scaffolding supports a temporary light used during the process of automation. The path down to the horn has a metal rails to protect the keepers in heavy weather. A siren fog signal (driven by hot air) was built on St Abb's Head in 1876, the first of its kind in Scotland. This was replaced by an oil-driven signal in 1911, and by a diesel-powered one in December 1955. The fog warning was finally discontinued in 1987. St Abb's Head Lighthouse was built in 1862 to designs by engineers David (1815-86) and Thomas Stevenson (1818-87). The squat tower on its single-storeyed base is surmounted by a triangular-paned lantern with domed top, and stands in a dramatic cliff-top position overlooking the North Sea near Coldingham. The complex also includes a foghorn on a single-storeyed base, and a two-storeyed, M-gabled, four-bayed cottage which was used for keepers' accommodation. The light was automated in 1993, and the keepers' houses were adapted for use as holiday homes in 1999. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/787272

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap