Lighthouses and Lightships: A Descriptive and Historical Account of Their Mode of Construction and OrganizationAdams, W. H. Davenport (William Henry Davenport)
History
Lighthouses and Lightships: A Descriptive and Historical Account of Their Mode of Construction and Organization
Adams, W. H. Davenport (William Henry Davenport)
Lighthouses; Lightships
The manner in which this noble structure braves the assault of waters
has been graphically described by Mr. Stevenson. It is during the
winter’s storms, he says, and when viewed from the Forfarshire coast,
that it appears in one of its most interesting aspects, standing
proudly among the waves, while the sea around it is in the wildest
state of agitation. The light-keepers do not seem to be in motion,
but the scene is by no means still, as the clang and clamour, the
motion and fury of the waves, are incessant. The seas rise in the most
surprising fashion to the height of about seventy feet above the rock,
and after expending their force in a perpendicular direction, fall in
foaming masses round the base of the lighthouse, while considerable
portions of the spray seem to adhere, as it were, to the building, and
gather down its sides in the condition of froth as white as snow. Some
of the great waves burst and are expended upon the rock before they
reach the lighthouse; while others strike the base, and embracing the
walls, meet on the western side, where the violent collision churns
the eddying waters into the wildest foam.
* * * * *
The management of the Bell Rock lighthouse is provided for as
follows:—The nearest town is Arbroath, about eleven miles distant,
where a cutter called the _Pharos_ is stationed as the lighthouse
tender. Once a fortnight, or in the course of each set of spring-tides,
she visits the rock, to relieve the light-keepers and replenish their
store of provisions and fuel. The keepers are four in number, three
of whom are always on duty, while one is ashore. If the weather be
favourable, each light-keeper is six weeks on the rock, and a fortnight
on land with his family. The pay is from £50 to £60 per annum, with a
stated allowance of bread, beef, butter, oatmeal, vegetables, and small
beer, and fourpence a day extra for tea. A suit of uniform is also
provided once in three years.
The watches in the light-room are relieved with as much punctuality
as on board a man-of-war, no keeper being allowed to leave until his
successor presents himself, under the penalty of immediate dismissal.
To ensure the strictest regularity in this respect, a timepiece is
placed in each light-room, and bells are hung in the bed-rooms of the
dwelling-houses, which, being connected by mechanical appliances with
the lighthouse, can be rung as necessity requires.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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