Eilean Glas Lighthouse is situated on the east coast of the island of
Scalpay in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It was one of the original four lights commissioned by the
Commissioners of the Northern Lights, and the first in the Hebrides
(the others were
Kinnaird Head
Kinnaird Head ( gd, An Ceann Àrd, "high headland") is a headland projecting into the North Sea, within the town of Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, on the east coast of Scotland. The 16th-century Kinnaird Castle was converted in 1787 for use as the ...
,
Mull of Kintyre
The Mull of Kintyre is the southwesternmost tip of the Kintyre Peninsula (formerly ''Cantyre'') in southwest Scotland. From here, the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland is visible on a calm and clear day, and a historic lighthouse, the second ...
and
North Ronaldsay
North Ronaldsay (, also , sco, North Ronalshee) is the northernmost island in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland. With an area of , it is the fourteenth-largest.Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 334 It is mentioned in the '' Orkneyinga saga''; in moder ...
). These lighthouses were built by
Thomas Smith.
Eilean Glas light was first displayed in 1789. The original tower was replaced in 1824 by Smith's stepson
Robert Stevenson. In 1852 the light was changed to a revolving system lens. The lighthouse was an early candidate for automation and this was carried out in 1978. Several of the original buildings have been sold off.
The fog signal was discontinued in the 1980s although the horn remains in place as a decoration.
The tower is painted with two distinctive broad red bands. Light is now from
catoptric
Catoptrics (from grc-gre, κατοπτρικός ''katoptrikós'', "specular", from grc-gre, κάτοπτρον ''katoptron'' "mirror") deals with the phenomena of reflected light and image-forming optical systems using mirrors. A catoptric ...
sealed beam lamps, (similar to car head lights) mounted on a gearless pedestal.
In 2004, the owners of the lighthouse building were convicted of theft and of running a fraudulent charity to pay for the mortgage on the property. Their 3-year sentence was later reduced to 2 years at the Court of Appeal.
The lighthouse is owned and operated by the
Northern Lighthouse Board
The Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) is the general lighthouse authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man. It is a non-departmental public body responsible for marine navigation aids around coastal areas.
History
The NLB was formed by Act of P ...
, and the site's other buildings are owned by North Harris Trust and Eilean Glas Trust. The site is a
Category A listed building
Category, plural categories, may refer to:
Philosophy and general uses
*Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally
*Category of being
* ''Categories'' (Aristotle)
*Category (Kant)
* Categories (Peirce)
* ...
.
See also
*
List of lighthouses in Scotland
This is a list of lighthouses in Scotland. The Northern Lighthouse Board, from which much of the information is derived, are responsible for most lighthouses in Scotland but have handed over responsibility in the major estuaries to the port aut ...
*
List of Northern Lighthouse Board lighthouses
This is a list of the currently operational lighthouses of the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB). The list is divided by geographical location, and then by whether the lighthouses are classed by the NLB as a 'major lighthouse' or a 'minor light'. F ...
*
List of Category A listed buildings in the Western Isles
References
External links
Northern Lighthouse Board
Category A listed buildings in the Outer Hebrides
Lighthouses in Outer Hebrides
Category A listed lighthouses
{{UK-lighthouse-stub