Publication Account
Date 1987
Event ID 1016837
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1016837
The old lighthouse on the Isle of May was erected in 1636 as a direct response to a request by mariners on the understanding that they would have to pay a toll according to their tonnage. A Thomas Bikkertoun instigated the development in 1635, asking that the dues be similar to those charged by the English lights. The patent was granted to John Cunningham and Charles Geddes on the understanding that they would be allowed a reasonable and constant duty. This was set at four shillings Scots per ton for foreign vessels, including English, and two shillings per ton for Scottish ships. All ships entering Scottish waters between Dunnottar and St Abb's Head were subject to this tax.
This provided a substantial income in the 1630s. In 1790 the collections rose from £280 to £980. The fire was then burning 400 tons of coal per year and on a long windy night could use up to three tons. Mariners were no longer satisfied with the brightness of the light and discussions began as to its possible replacement.
This was the principal Scottish lighthouse in the 17th century and is today the most notable survival of this class of building anywhere in Britain. The original building took the form of a three-storey tower with a square plan. The ground floor and second floor were vaulted, the upper vault carrying a plinth on which the brazier stood. Coal was hoisted up the face of the building using a simple derrick.
Robert Stevenson built the replacement light in 1816 using the Bell Rock Yard at Arbroath as a base for his masons. The old lighthouse obscured the new light and Stevenson truncated the building, adding a pitched roof over the ground-floor vault. This was done on the intervention of Sir Walter Scott who persuaded Stevenson to 'ruin it a la picturesque' rather than demolish it completely.
Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: Fife and Tayside’, (1987).
