Tiumpan Head Lighthouse : History Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tiumpan Head Lighthouse

Lighthouse

58°15′39.33″N 6°8′20.09″W / 58.2609250°N 6.1389139°W / 58.2609250; -6.1389139TowerConstructed1900Built byDavid Alan Stevenson, Charles Alexander Stevenson

Constructionmasonry towerAutomated1985Height21 metres (69 ft)Shapecylindrical tower with balcony and lanternMarkingswhite tower, black lantern, ochre trimPower sourcemains electricity

OperatorTiumpan Head Kennels & Cattery^[1] ^[2]Heritagecategory C listed building

Fog signaldiscontinuedLightFirst lit1 December 1900

Focal height55 metres (180 ft)Range25 nautical miles (46 km; 29 mi)CharacteristicFl (2) W 15s.

The Tiumpan Head Lighthouse is an active lighthouse located in Tiumpan Head, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland.

History

The idea for the Tiumpan Head Lighthouse in the village of Portvoller in Point, Isle of Lewis was long promoted, but refused for many years by the Board of Trade. After a recommendation by the Western Highlands and Islands Commission to additionally keep a watch on illegal trawlers, it was approved in May 1879.^[3]

The lighthouse and building were designed by David and Charles Stevenson and built by John Aitken, at an estimated cost of £9000. William Frew was appointed as inspector of works. Chance Brothers made the optics and Dove and Co. the revolving machine. The light was first exhibited on 1 December 1900.

Six lightkeepers were attached to the station, three lightkeepers and their families at the station, with a local assistant and two occasional lightkeepers coming in from Portnaguran village nearby.

Elizabeth II visited the lighthouse in 1956, with the young Duke of Cornwall and the Princess Anne. The seven-year-old heir to the throne sounded the first blast on a new fog siren. The fog signal was operated by compressed air supplied from a compressor, driven by a Kelvin Diesel engine. There were three Kelvin engines and compressors, and when the fog signal was in operation, two of them were in service to maintain the required air pressure with one standby, in rotation. In 1984, the fog signal was discontinued and the fog horn building was demolished.^{[citation needed]}

The lighthouse was automated in 1985 and is monitored from Edinburgh. The former keepers' accommodation is no longer needed and is now home to kennels and a cattery.^[4]

References

^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Scotland: Western Isles". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
^ Tiumpan Head Northern Lighthouse Board. Retrieved 21 May 2016
^ "Tiumpan Head". Northern Lighthouse Board. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
^ "Tiumpan Head". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 15 January 2011.