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General view of the Bell Rock as seen from the Light-house
Yacht in July 1810
At this time the Seventy-first course was laid
and the balance crane raised from the kitchen to the bedroom,
about 42 feet above the bridge. On the 8th, another winch
was fitted up in the bedroom. Stevenson remarked on just
how “complete” the machinery was at the Bell Rock.
Blocks of stone would be lifted from the praams by the
landing cranes at both the eastern and western sides of
the Rock onto the Railways. Then wheeled by the waggons
to the bridge; then lifted by the series of winch cranes,
and finally to the top of the Building by the balance crane.
On the 9th July, the last cargo of building materials was
loaded from Arbroath, consisting of 65 pieces of stone,
4 dovetailed joggles, 18 casks of pozzolano, lime, sand
and cement, with three cart-loads of timber. Due to inclement
weather the "Patriot" could not discharge
her cargo until the 12th; whereupon she took off for Leith
where the Smeaton had already loaded up stones for the upper
house. That day the floor of the library or strangers’ room
(the Seventy-fourth course) was completed.
On the 16th, the Eighty-first course, after which
commenced the dome of the library roof, was laid with stones
from Craigleith Quarry, Edinburgh. Stevenson at this point
compared the proposed method of construction with that of
St Paul’s, London. He also noted that Smeaton used chains
to secure his floor-courses at Eddystone Lighthouse. In
the case of the Bell Rock, to ensure absolute stability
at that part of the house, considering it had to bear the
full weight of the cornice and the projecting stones of
the dome, RS introduced a circular flat-bar of Swedish iron,
3 inches deep by 1 inch wide. This ring bar (weighing some
400 lb avoirdupois) was fitted into a groove, 3 inches wide
by 4 inches deep, which was cut in the upper bed of the
course. The bar was then heated to 150 deg Fahrenheit, and
was sealed into position by lead.
The following day it took the masons from 4am to 8pm (16
hours) to lay only half of the Eighty-second course
(8 stones in all). Due to their extraordinary size, great
care had to be taken in manoeuvring these stones into position
lest they be in any way damaged. At Leith the last stone
was about to be loaded - the centre stone of the light-room
floor. James Craw and his faithful horse Bassey were decorated
with bows and ribbons of various colours, and the Master
of Trinity House of Leith greeted the horse and cart as
it passed by on its way to the harbour.
At this time the Bell Rock was receiving many visitors.
The spectacle of the about-to-be-completed Lighthouse with
beacon-house and connecting bridge, the various cranes and
railways with the ships in attendance, was of great interest
to many who often endured considerable hardship in an open
boat on a passage of 12 to 20 miles from the shore. The
landing of the stones for the Eighty-fifth course
(the balcony floor) presented special difficulties. Each
stone weighed more than a ton and measured 7½ feet in length.
RS calculated that the time taken for each stone to get
from the landing wharf on the Rock to the top of the house,
via the railways and various winches, took almost 2 hours.
The following day the balcony floor was completed with
great care and difficulty, with the exception of the centre
stone which had to wait until the balance crane which rested
on the floor below was removed. Nevertheless, the masons
and seamen were much more relaxed now that the difficulties
and worries of the last few days were over. The final courses
of the parapet were quickly put in place.
With due ceremonial the last stone of the Ninetieth
course was landed on the Rock by the Hedderwick praam-boat
on the 30th. This brought the height of the masonry up to
102 feet 6 inches. The finishing stone, the lintel of the
lightroom door, was laid by Stevenson with due formality:
“May the Great Architect of the Universe, under whose
blessing this perilous work has prospered, preserve it as
a guide to the Mariner.”
With the completion of the building, the winch cranes from
the storeroom and kitchen floors were taken down, and the
balance crane was dismantled which now allowed the centre
stone of the lightroom to be placed into position. The task
of the day was to clear the lighthouse of implements, apparatus
and lumber no longer required at the Rock. The "Patriot"
was sent to the quarries at Mylnefield for more material
for the Signal Tower, the building which would eventually
house the Lightkeepers’ and the Master of the Tender's families.
On the 4th, the artificers, consisting of 18 masons, 2
joiners, 1 millwright, 1 smith and 1 mortar-maker, as well
as Messrs Peter Logan and Francis Watt, in all 25 men, prepared
to leave the Rock for Arbroath. The "Sir Joseph
Banks" Tender and its crew had by this time been
six months on station without a break, and were now much
in need of necessities of all description (particularly
clothes).
Once all the personal belongings of the men had been loaded
and the vessel about to sail for Arbroath, RS “took occasion
to compliment the great zeal, attention and abilities of
Mr Peter Logan and Mr Francis Watt, foremen,
Captain James Wilson, landing-master, and Captain
David Taylor, commander of the Tender, who, in their
various departments, had so faithfully discharged the duties
assigned to them, often under circumstances most difficult
and trying. The health of these gentlemen was drunk with
much warmth of feeling by the artificers and seamen, who
severally expressed the satisfaction they had experienced
in acting under them.”
That evening Stevenson invited his foremen and captains
of the Service, the clerk of works, Mr David Logan, and
Mr Lachlan Kennedy, engineer’s clerk, and several of their
friends, to one of the local inns, where they spent a congenial
evening together, at the end of which a toast was given:
“To the Stability to the Bell Rock Light-house”
The arrangements were now put in hand for the construction
of the Signal Tower, which would eventually house the lightkeepers
and their families; also the seamen of the Tender whose
duty it would be to supply the lighthouse with supplies
and provisions in the future. The workyard was run-down
and the stones from the great circular platform, on which
the courses were laid and marked, would eventually be used
for building the shore station.
On the 14th the Smeaton took off for Leith to collect the
cast-iron sash-frames for the light-room. On her return
she loaded up 23 stone steps for the staircase in the lower
part of the lighthouse, and that day she set sail for the
Rock with 16 artificers. By 7pm they had once again taken
possession of their old quarters in the Beacon-house. The
following day they were hit by another violent storm and
the Smeaton was forced to make for the Forth to await better
weather. The artificers once more were cooped up in the
Beacon-house with no chance of rescue should an emergency
occur. The lighthouse was still without its roof, nor were
the windows as yet shuttered in. The building may have provided
more security, but certain no more comfort.
The following day the gales continued unabated and huge
waves lashed the Rock. This time, not only was the smith’s
gallery wrecked and washed away, but the waves also threatened
the floor above, the cookhouse. The men on the Floating
Light, on seeing that the smith’s gallery had gone, were
fearful for the safety of the artificers. Down on the Rock
itself the railways, sheer and moveable beam cranes had
all been seriously damaged.
Friday, the 24th, saw a return to better weather and work
continued on fitting the staircase, as well as repairing
the Beacon-house. The sash-frames (8 in number) had been
landed and were now raised successful to the top of the
building. Now that the heavier articles were in place, the
balance crane could be dismantled. The following week a
party of important dignitaries from Edinburgh visited the
progress of the Works, and expressed great satisfaction
now that they were approaching completion of the Lighthouse.
Stevenson was now looking to bringing the work to its conclusion.
The wooden bridge connecting the Beacon-house to the Lighthouse
was taken down. It was noted that, when heavy waves struck,
it had a “powerful” effect on the Beacon, and it was felt
that it would not survive the coming winter. The rope ladder
was re-installed for the remainder of the Works. The
last stone of the Building was laid - the upper stone
of the staircase. Most of the artificers now returned to
Arbroath, but a few stayed on to fit temporary windows in
the house. The "Sir Joseph Banks" had also
finished her task and was now on her way to Leith to be
dismantled and sold. Stevenson watched the vessel leave
with regret. He described it as “this beautifully moulded
ship”.
The Lightroom and Balcony with
reflectors, winding mechanism,
and fog bells |
Work now continued apace with fitting up the
Light-room. First on the agenda was to put up a temporary
rail round the balcony for the safety of the men, and two
sheer cranes were installed for lifting the sash-frames
from the balcony to the top of the parapet wall. On 14th
October, having returned from his voyage to the Northern
Lights, RS was pleased to see the excellent progress that
had been made on fitting up the Lightroom. From the 14th
to the 22nd Sept. they were occupied in fitting the sole-plate
and the trimming-path which formed the base of the window-sash-frames.
Between the 28th Sept. and the 2nd Oct. the sash-frames
were raised to their places and screwed together. And from
the 2nd to the 15th Oct. the copper-smiths were employed
in erecting the cupola or roof of the Light-room. The 48
glass plates for the windows, each one measuring 32½ by
26¾ inches, had also been landed. This was a great relief
to RS as a replacement, at this time, would not have been
easily come by.
Friday, the 16th, was marred by the loss of Charles Henderson,
one of the young smiths. It appears he must have slipped
on the rope ladder on his way from the Lighthouse to the
Beacon, and was subsequently drowned. The occasion cast
a deep gloom on the men, and it was no easy task to induce
them to remain at their work. “As the weather now become
more boisterous, and the nights long, they found their habitation
extremely cheerless, while the winds were howling about
their ears, and the waves lashing with fury again the beams
of their insulated habitation.”
RS was now having difficulties in procuring the red glass
plates which would “shade” the reflectors on the minor quadrants
of the revolving light mechanism, thereby producing the
alternate white and red beam required for the Bell Rock’s
unique flash. These were to be manufactured by a Mr Okey,
of London. Each plate measured 25 inches in diameter, about
5 inches more than anything that had been made before. It
was so important that RS despatched his superintendent of
lightkeepers’ duties, Mr John Forrest, to London, to virtually
stand over the glazier until the job was finished, and had
the glass in his possession.
By the 27th the glazing of the sash-windows was complete,
which effectively finished the Building externally. Towards
the end of the month Stevenson was anxious to pay another
visit to the Lighthouse before the end of the season. It
was with the greatest of difficulty they managed to land.
Stevenson found the Railways again much damaged by the seas,
but having served their purpose, all was well for the moment.
The Beacon-house was in good repair, but the lower sections
of the great beams now showed the ravages of a tiny marine
crustaceous insect called Limnoria terebrans. He
passed next to the House which, surprisingly, he found to
be in a reasonably habitable condition, and, although the
lower windows were still temporary, they were nevertheless
fitted with proper storm shutters. The artificers had already
commandeered the upper part of the House for new sleeping
quarters, away from the relative insecurity of the Beacon-house.
He was particularly pleased with the light-room which, even
without the light apparatus, looked clean and complete.
Mr John Reid, formerly of the Floating Light, was now
put in charge of the lighthouse as Principal Keeper; Mr
James Slight had charge of the artificers; and Mr James
Dove and the smiths, having finished the frame of the light-room,
left the Rock for the present. With these arrangements,
RS bade adieu to the works for the season.
During November and December much of the narrative is taken
up with the effects of the storms and seas on the Rock.
During one early November storm it was calculated that the
spray from particularly heavy seas reached up to the second
tier of glass panes of the light-room, a height of 104 feet
from the Rock! Work, during this time, continued on the
interior finishings of the Lighthouse under the able direction
of Mr James Slight.
In December the red-coloured glass arrived at Leith from
London, much to the relief of everyone. The reflecting apparatus
was also ready for shipment, so the "Smeaton"
made off for Leith to collect the last articles necessary
for exhibiting the Light. On the 14th Dec. the materials
were landed safely at the Rock. Everything would be in readiness
in about four weeks, and a specification of the appearance
of the Light was prepared for public advertisement:
The “advertisement” announcing the specifications of the
Bell Rock Lighthouse
On the 27th Dec. the "Smeaton", having
managed a landing at the Rock, found everything in a very
prosperous state. Mr Dove and Mr Clark had finished their
work; Mr Slight had completed all that was proposed to be
done to the interior finishing of the apartments this winter;
so that Mr Forrest, with Messrs Reid, Bonnyman, Leask and
Fortune, the keepers, were now left in possession of the
Light-house.
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