Field Visit
Date 4 June 2015 - 5 June 2015
Event ID 1009606
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1009606
Four cast iron washing poles: three in acorn design, with traces of green paint; one in modern plain design. Arranged roughly in a large square. Nineteenth century.
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.
These remains date 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.
