Introduction
Account of the Institution of the Board of Commissioners and of the Progress Made in the Erection of the Northern Light-Houses
Institution of Board of Northern Light-houses.
Among the Nations of Europe, the Scots have always been allowed to possess a considerable share of maritime enterprise. The local situation and circumstances of Scotland necessarily directed the genius of its people to the pursuit of nautical affairs. Their voyages to the Hanseatic Towns, and to all the commercial countries of Europe, were naturally longer than those of their more southern neighbours of England, who were separated from the Continent only by a narrow channel, which must have rendered their communication in the rude periods of maritime discovery comparatively easy. The voyages of the Scots even to the most contiguous parts of France and the Low Countries were upwards of 140 leagues, along a coast intersected by innumerable shoals; and, in the time of war, lay so open to the attacks of English ships, that, in prosecuting them, the navigators were obliged to abandon the usual track, and hold a course far from the shelter of the land, exposed to all the dangers of the seas and the vicissitudes of the weather.
In those early periods of our national history, when Britain was divided into two separate and independent states, jealous of each other, it became necessary for Scotland to form alliances with foreign powers, when distant voyages, and much intercourse by sea was indispensable. The frequent struggles with the marauding powers of the North, obliged her to keep a more considerable navy than would otherwise have been required for the protection of her commerce. The connection likewise, with Denmark and Norway, through the marriage of James III. with Margaret daughter of Christian I., in 1469, was attended with the final annexation of the Orkney and Shetland Islands to the Crown of Scotland;—circumstances which naturally extended her foreign traffic, and completely united the dominion and the navigation of the whole line of her coast.
It was reserved, however, for the influence and happy effects of the Union of the Crowns and Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, to draw forth the full energies of these countries. During the long and glorious reign of his late Majesty, the name and character of the United Kingdom have been highly advanced in arms, while her works of industry, have not only flourished at home, but been extended to the remotest parts of the world.
Improvement of the Highlands.
About the middle of the last or eighteenth century, the true value of the Highlands of Scotland, and the best interests of these extensive districts, may be said for the first time to have been understood. Since that period, the object of the Government has been more especially directed to the industry of the inhabitants, in giving every encouragement and facility to the establishment of fisheries, towns and harbours, along the shores of the north and west of Scotland; and in opening interior communications, by the introduction of a system of roads, the formation of an extensive inland navigation, and the execution of other national works.
Extension of Trade.
Soon after the internal disturbances which marked the year 1745, the trade on the coast of Scotland with sloops or vessels of small tonnage, became considerable, in consequence of the bounties and encouragement given to the extension of the British fisheries. About this time also, the important manufacture of kelp or marine alkali, from certain species of fuci abundant on the northern and western shores of Scotland, was introduced. Besides carrying the kelp to market, a considerable number of small vessels was employed in conveying salt and other articles required for the fisheries,—in the Irish coasting trade,—in carrying slates from Argyleshire,—and in transporting the rich iron-ore of Cumberland to the foundries on the eastern shores of the kingdom. A trade was likewise carried on from the Firth of Clyde, Liverpool, and the west of England in general, and north of Ireland, with Norway, the Baltic, and the other States in the north of Europe, in timber, iron, tar and other commodities; and in exchange for these were received coal, salt, and the various exports of Britain. These all became sources of commerce, which created a demand for shipping, and promoted numerous voyages along the northern and western coasts of Scotland, which now became more known and frequented. But such was the length and peril of a voyage round the coast of Scotland, by the Orkneys and Western Islands, without the aid of light-houses, or even of correct charts, that the traffic along these shores was still comparatively small.
Inland Navigation.
It was to remove these difficulties in some measure, that the formation of a navigable canal between the Friths of Forth and Clyde, had long been in agitation; and in the year 1767, the measure was brought forward in the House of Commons. This canal, upon a voyage from the Forth to the Clyde, is calculated to save no less than about 628 miles; the distance, by the inland navigation being reduced to about 35 miles. This work having been carried into execution, was opened from sea to sea in 1790, forming an important step in the progressive intercourse by water-carriage, a system which has since been so remarkably extended to all parts of the united kingdom. But the usefulness of the Forth and Clyde Canal was greatly marred by an unfortunate error in its construction, its depth having been limited to 9 feet, and its consequent incapacity for carrying sea-borne ships of large burden; so that the inconveniences of a circuitous voyage round Scotland still remains for all the larger classes of shipping. In the formation of the Caledonian Canal, the error of the Forth and Clyde navigation has been avoided; this noble work being capable of receiving ships which draw 21 feet of water.
Voyage of James V. in 1540.
Notwithstanding these great improvements, it was still found necessary, from the increasing state of trade, to give further facilities to the navigation of the northern shores, by the Orkney and Western Islands. The first step taken towards this object, was to procure accurate surveys of the coast; for it is a curious fact, deserving of notice, that the little journal and chart of the enterprising voyage of James V., with many of the Scottish Nobles, from the Firth of Forth to the Solway Firth, by the Orkneys, was long consulted as the only guide for these seas. This voyage, so honourable to the naval annals of Scotland, was undertaken by James with twelve ships in the year 1540, under the direction of Alexander Lindsay, the most skilful pilot of his time.
Original Charts.
At the request of the Philosophical Society (now the Royal Society) of Edinburgh, the Rev. Alex. Bryce of Kirknewton, about the year 1740, made a geometrical survey of the North-west coast of Scotland, including the shores of Caithness and Sutherland. This paved the way for the more extensive labours of Mr Murdoch Mackenzie, who, after finishing his excellent charts of the Orkney Islands in the year 1750, was employed by Government in a survey of the whole of the Western Highlands and Islands, from Cape Wrath in Sutherlandshire to the Mull of Kintyre. But long after the publication of these valuable charts, the navigation of the sounds and sheltered seas of this district was seldom ventured upon by the larger class of shipping employed in foreign trade. The danger of falling in prematurely with the land during the night, and the rapidity of the tides on these shores, induced the mariner to keep along the extreme points and headlands of the coast, holding his course even to the northward of Orkney and Shetland, and to the westward of the Lewis Isles by St Kilda, exposed to the heavy seas of the Atlantic Ocean. In this way, much hazard to shipping, and loss of time, were incurred; and when overtaken with gales of wind, such vessels were unable to avail themselves of the numerous bays and anchorages of the Highlands;—considerations of much importance to heavy laden ships, but especially to the smaller classes of coasting and fishing vessels. It therefore appeared, that nothing but the erection of Lighthouses, by which the mariner might identify the land under night, would render this navigation at all a safe one.
Proposition of a Light-house Board.
Representations had often been made by shipmasters to their owners, of the difficulties and dangers encountered in sailing along the coast of Scotland. The establishment of a Light-house Board, and the erection of Light-houses on our Northern Shores, became the topic of conversation among mercantile men; and the subject was at length brought forward at the meeting of the Convention of the Royal Boroughs of Scotland, in the year 1784, by the late Mr Dempster of Dunnichen, then Provost of Forfar, and Member of Parliament, as worthy of the notice of the Legislature.
Passing of the Original Act, 1786.
A bill was accordingly framed by the late Mr John Gray, writer to the Signet, agent for the Royal Boroughs, which was brought into Parliament by Mr Dempster, in the session of 1786. By this act, the 26th Geo. III. chap. 101., a Board was appointed, for the erection of Light-houses on the coast of Scotland; the preamble stating that “it would conduce greatly to the security of navigation and the fisheries, if four lighthouses were erected in the northern parts of Great Britain,” viz. one on Kinnaird Head, in Aberdeenshire; one on the Orkney Islands; one on the Harris Isles, and one at the Mull of Kintyre, in Argyleshire; for which a duty of one penny per register ton, for British, and twopence per ton upon foreign ships, should be paid by every ship or decked vessel which should pass one or all of these lights.
Commissioners ex Officio .
The Commissioners appointed for putting this act in execution, are, “His Majesty’s Advocate and Solicitor-General for Scotland; the Lord Provost and First Bailie of Edinburgh; the Lord Provost and First Bailie of Glasgow; the Provosts of Aberdeen, Inverness and Campbeltown; the Sheriffs of the Counties of Edinburgh, Lanark, Renfrew, Bute, Argyle, Inverness, Ross, Orkney, Caithness, and Aberdeen;” and to these have since been added, the Sheriffs of the Counties of Ayr, Fife, Forfar, and Wigton, agreeably to a clause which authorises the Commissioners to add to their number.
First Meeting of the Board.
The first meeting of the Commissioners was held at Edinburgh on the 1st day of August 1786; and consisted of the following members:
His Majesty’s Solicitor-General, Robert Dundas of Arniston.
The Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Sir James Hunter-Blair, Bart.
The First Bailie of Edinburgh, James Dickson, Esq.
The Sheriff of the County of Bute, Bannatyne Macleod, Esq.
The Sheriff of the County of Aberdeen, Alexander Elphinston, Esq.
The Sheriff of the County of Lanark, Sir William Honyman, Bart.
Mode of raising Funds.
The meeting having elected Sir James Hunter-Blair to be their Preses, and appointed Mr Gray to be their Secretary, deliberated upon the measures to be taken for giving effect to the statute. The first object of the Board was to borrow the sum of L. 1200, which they were authorised to raise. As all the Commissioners were acting ex officio, it was suggested, that the most convenient method of arranging the security for the funds to be borrowed, would be for the Magistrates of the five boroughs mentioned in the act to become security, upon assignment of the duties leviable for the lights,—a mode which was accordingly adopted.
Progress of Northern Light-houses.
Information about Light-houses.
The preses informed the meeting, that he had corresponded with persons the most likely to afford information relative to the best construction of Light-houses, and had received answers from Liverpool to a variety of queries regarding Light-houses, where the use of coal-fires had been laid aside, and where oil lights, with reflectors, had been introduced: That he had also got various plans and estimates for Light-houses lighted with oil: That the Chamber of Commerce of Edinburgh had furnished a plan of the Light-house on the Island of May, in the Firth of Forth, and also a description of the light on the Island of Cumbraes, in the Firth of Clyde, both of which were then open coal-fires: In particular, that he had received from the late Mr Thomas Smith of Edinburgh, plans and observations on the construction of Light-houses with Lamps and Reflectors; which having been ultimately approved of, Mr Smith was nominated Engineer to the Board. After appointing a Committee for preparing matters for a general meeting, they adjourned till the 23d of January 1787.
Transactions of 1787.
In pursuance of the act of Parliament, the Commissioners gave directions that a correspondence should be opened with the several proprietors of the land where the four original Light-houses were specified to be erected. An answer was immediately received from Mr Traill of Westness in Orkney, requesting the Board’s free acceptance of the ground necessary for erecting the Light-house proposed for the Northern Isles of Orkney, on any part of his property. Application was made to the Duke of Argyle, as to the ground for the erection of a Light-house on the Mull of Kintyre; to Lord Saltoun, relative to the station of Kinnaird-Head, in Aberdeenshire; and to Mr Macleod of Harris, as to the site of a Light-house on Island Glass. Measures were also taken for obtaining fit persons to contract for erecting the necessary buildings, and for conducting the operations at the different stations.