South Uist, Ushenish Lighthouse

Usinish Lighthouse, D. and T. Stevenson, 1857, Tower, built unusually all of brick, with surviving perimeter wall and latrines (although the cottages have been reduced to footings); automated 1970. It is accessible only by boat, or by foot through the isolated glens that descend east from Beinn Mhor, Corodale and Hecla. These now empty glens are scattered with souterrains, abandoned dwellings and shieling huts.

Taken from "Western Seaboard: An Illustrated Architectural Guide", by Mary Miers, 2008. Published by the Rutland Press http://www.rias.org.uk

NF83NE 7 87338 35034

Lighthouse [NAT]

OS 1:10,000 map, 1970.

Location formerly entered as NF 8734 3503.

(Name cited as Usinish or Ushenish).

Admiralty List of Lights, 1980.

This island lighthouse defines the W shore of the Sea of the Hebrides from an isolated situation on the E coast of South Uist. Buildings and a helipad have benn constructed to the W of the lighthouse itself.

The lighthouse was first lit on 10 November 1857, having been constructed built as one of the major scheme (involving the construction of no fewer than 29 lights) carried ot by David and Thomas Stevenson between 1854 and 1878. It incorporated the new 'condensing' apparatus developed by Thomas Stevenson as an improvement to the dioptric system.

This lighthouse was automated in 1970, being one of the first group of major automatic lights. The gas-operated Dalen beacon was monitored from Neist Head lighthouse (NG14NW 5.00), on Skye.

Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 14 August 2008.

R W Munro 1979; K Allardyce and E M Hood 1986; S Krauskopf 2001.