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Cloch or Cloch Point ( gd, stone) is a point on the coast of the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. There has been a lighthouse since 1797 to warn ships off The Gantocks.
The light was built by John Clarkson (engineer); Kermack and Gall built the tower, while Smith and Stevenson installed the oil lantern which was first lit on 11 August 1797. The light was replaced in 1829 with an argand lamp and silvered reflector. About 1900, it was lit with
Location
Cloch Point lies on the A770, north of Inverkip, three miles south-west of Gourock, on the east shore of the Firth of Clyde, directly opposite Dunoon.Lighthouse
The Cloch Lighthouse was designed by Thomas Smith and his son-in-lawRobert Stevenson Robert Stevenson may refer to:
* Robert Stevenson (actor and politician) (1915–1975), American actor and politician
* Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) (1772–1850), Scottish lighthouse engineer
* Robert Stevenson (director) (1905–1986), Engli ...
. The building was completed in 1797. There appear to be two generations of keepers' houses, the older now used as stores and the more recent having crow-stepped gables. The short circular-section tower has a corbel
In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...
led walkway and triangular windows. The foghorns were added between 1895 and 1897.
The light was built by John Clarkson (engineer); Kermack and Gall built the tower, while Smith and Stevenson installed the oil lantern which was first lit on 11 August 1797. The light was replaced in 1829 with an argand lamp and silvered reflector. About 1900, it was lit with acetylene
Acetylene (systematic name: ethyne) is the chemical compound with the formula and structure . It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in its pure ...
. A radio beacon was installed about 1931.
The dioptric and catadioptric lenses floated in baths of mercury and were rotated by a clockwork mechanism powered by falling weights. As well as tending the light, the keepers had to wind the mechanism by hand every two to three hours.
Today, the light is fully automated and unmanned. The main light has been replaced by a light on a pole outside the lantern room.
See also
*List of listed buildings in Inverkip, Inverclyde
This is a list of listed buildings in the parish of Inverkip in Inverclyde, Scotland (covering the villages of Inverkip and Wemyss Bay as well as the westernmost parts of Gourock and Greenock
Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig ...
References
Further reading
* {{Authority control , additional=Q17826186 Category B listed lighthouses Category B listed buildings in Inverclyde Firth of Clyde Gourock