History
The main source for lighthouse history at the National Archives of
Scotland (NAS) are the records of the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses.
The Commissioners are a corporate body, operating as the Northern
Lighthouse Board, with responsibility for Scotland and the Isle of
Man.
Although the earliest Scottish lighthouse was constructed soon after
1635 the origins of the Northern Lighthouse Board date to 1782, when
a number of severe storms highlighted the lack of lighthouses around
the Scottish coasts. Following an act of parliament in 1786 the Commissioners
were created and given powers to borrow money, purchase land and levy
dues from ships to finance their work. They were allowed to build
four lighthouses, one of which, Kinnaird Head, Fraserburgh, is now
part of the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses. Further acts of parliament
in 1788 & 1789 gave the Commissioners the power to construct new
lighthouses as they deemed necessary. Jurisdiction was extended to
the Isle of Man in 1845.
The earliest lighthouse in Scotland was built on the Isle of May by
James Maxwell of Innerwick and John Cunninghame of Barnes, under a
patent from Charles I of 1635. In 1814 the Commissioners purchased
the lighthouse from its then owners, and the present lighthouse was
built and illuminated from 1816.
Local lights (which were much smaller than lighthouses) and seamarks
were usually constructed and maintained under local acts of parliament
or burgh charters. The earliest recorded Scottish light was at Buddonness
on the Tay, constructed by an act of the Privy Council in 1687. An
act of 1836 made local lights and seamarks subject to the inspection
and supervision of the Commissioners.
The records
Full catalogue descriptions of the Northern Lighthouse Board's records
(series ref: NLC) can be found on our electronic
catalogue, available on our website or in our search rooms. The
records themselves are consulted in our West Search Room at West Register
House but as they are not stored on-site they must be ordered
in advance of a visit.
The records can be summarised as follows:
Board Records (ref: NLC1-NLC2)
Includes annual reports 1848-1937 (NLC1); minute books 1786-1984 (NLC2/1);
schedules of meetings 1901-1989 (NLC2/2); and meeting papers 1892-1900
(NLC2/3).
Secretary's Department Records (ref: NLC3-NLC6)
The Secretary's Department was responsible for finance and general
administration. It also maintained the records of the Board's personnel,
issued orders and circulars to shore stations and lighthouses, and
'Notices to Mariners' to the seafaring public. There are also shipwreck
returns in the papers of the secretary's department.
Includes correspondence and reports 1901-1987 (NLC3); registers
of lightkeepers 1837-1980 and registers of candidate and expectant
lightkeepers 1885-1895 (NLC4/1); establishment books 1913-1957 (NLC4/2);
general orders 1844-1991 (NLC5); and shipwreck returns 1927-1983
(NLC6). Earlier shipwreck returns can be found amongst records of
individual lighthouses.
Engineer's Department Records (ref: NLC11)
The Engineer's Department had overall responsibility for the construction,
maintenance and inspections of lighthouses, seamarks and buoys,
radio and radar installations.
Includes letterbooks 1896-1956 (NLC11/1); harbour lights letterbooks
1905-1937 (NLC11/2); and files on construction and maintenance of
lighthouses and associated machinery 1838-1946 (NLC11/3-NLC11/4).
Individual Lighthouse Records (ref: NLC 20-NLC111)
The records of individual lighthouses include records originating
in, or providing for, the major manned lighthouses. Records for
each lighthouse might have some of the following: general orders
and correspondence; shipwreck returns; visitors albums; postage
books; receipt books; meteorological returns books; stores books;
order books; return of observation of neighbouring lights; inventory
books. The individual lighthouses represented are listed below:
| Lighthouse |
Dates of surviving records |
NAS reference |
| Ailsa Craig Lighthouse |
1862-1985 |
NLC20 |
| Ardnamurchan Lighthouse |
1972-1987 |
NLC21 |
| Barns Ness Lighthouse |
1982-1986 |
NLC23 |
| Barra Head Lighhouse |
1953-1980 |
NLC24 |
| Buchan Ness Lighthouse |
1915-1971 |
NLC28 |
| Copinsay Lighthouse |
1915-1900 |
NLC36 |
| Corsewall Lighthouse |
1883-1992 |
NLC38 |
| Cromarty Lighthouse |
1868-1985 |
NLC40 |
| Davaar Lighthouse |
1868-1980 |
NLC42 |
| Dubh Lighthouse |
1929-1971 |
NLC44 |
| Eilean Glas Lighthouse |
1853-1925 |
NLC47 |
| Esha Ness Lighthouse |
1955-1966 |
NLC48 |
| Fidra Lighthouse |
1951-1970 |
NLC51 |
| Flannan Isles Lighthouse |
1899-1971 |
NLC53 |
| Holy Island (Inner) Lighthouse |
1900-1978 |
NLC57 |
| Holy Island (Outer) Lighthouse |
1926-1964 |
NLC58 |
| Inchkeith Lighthouse |
1845-1869 |
NLC62 |
| Isle of May Lighthouse |
1836-1989 |
NLC63 |
| Loch Indaal Lighthouse |
1869-1948 |
NLC70 |
| Maughold Head Lighthouse
(Isle of Man) |
1914-1993 |
NLC72 |
| McArthur's Head Lighthuse |
1861-1969 |
NLC73 |
| Muckle Flugga Lighthouse |
1936-1995 |
NLC75 |
| Neist Point Lighthouse |
1898-1988 |
NLC78 |
| Noss Head Lighthouse |
1892-1967 |
NLC80 |
| Out Skerries Lighthouse |
1854-1935 |
NLC83 |
| Pentland Skerries Lighthouse |
1871-1994 |
NLC85 |
| Pladda Lighthouse |
1970-1990 |
NLC86 |
| Point of Ayre Lighthouse
(Isle of Man) |
1957-1993 |
NLC87 |
| Rona Lighthouse |
1857-1975 |
NLC91 |
| Rubh' Re Lighhouse |
1944-1985 |
NLC92 |
| Ruvaal Lighthouse |
1858-1983 |
NLC94 |
| Sanda Lighthouse |
1863-1991 |
NLC95 |
| Scurdie Ness Lighthouse |
1975-1983 |
NLC96 |
| Skerryvore Lighthouse |
1968-1991 |
NLC97 |
| St Abb's Lighthouse |
1844-1993 |
NLC99 |
| Tarbat Ness Lighthouse |
1868-1976 |
NLC107 |
| Tiumpan Head Lighthouse |
1920-1984 |
NLC108 |
| Turnberry Lighthouse |
1873-1985 |
NLC110 |
| Ushenish Lighthouse |
1857-1971 |
NLC111 |
Records in NLC1-19 are closed to public inspection for 30 years
from the date of the last entry in each file or volume.
Items in NLC20-111 are open to inspection unless otherwise indicated.
Family history in lighthouse records
The main sources for family history are the Registers and Lists of Lightkeepers, 1837-1980 (NLC4/1) and the Establishment Books, 1913-1957 (NLC4/2). The Registers of Lightkeepers give career histories for each keeper, noting full name, date of birth, lighthouses worked at, promotions, demotions and date of retiral. The Registers are kept alphabetically according to surname and by lighthouse, and digital images may be viewed in our search rooms on the ‘Virtual Volumes’ system. (Microfilms are also available for consultation in the search rooms.) The Establishment Books give details of salaried, mostly headquarters, staff.
In addition, the Board Minutes, 1786-1984 (NLC2/1) often note the employment, dismissal, retirements of, and accidents to, individual employees, especially in the 19th century. The General Orders, 1844-1991 (NLC5/1) detail disciplinary offences of individual keepers, and the Secretary's Correspondence and Reports, 1901-1987 (NLC3/1) also contain material on individual employees.
Local history in lighthouse records
Information partly depends on the type of record that has survived
for each individual lighthouse. For some lighthouses, for example,
only the visitors' book survives, while for others the records are
more detailed. In all cases it is also worth looking in the Board's
minutes (NLC2/1), the Secretary's Correspondence (NLC3/1-2) and the
Engineering Department's bound files (NLC11/3-NLC11/4), as these often
contain material relating to major events at individual lighthouses,
such as the Flannan Isles accident.
Plans of lighthouses
The Northern Lighthouse Board's plans are held by the Royal Commission
on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS). There
are however a small number of lighthouse drawings in our Register
House Plans (RHP) series. These can be identified by searching on
our electronic catalogue, and are consulted in our West Search Room.
Most plans are out-stored, and must be ordered in advance of a visit.
Other sources at the National Archives of Scotland
The following records come from various collections and are stored
in different buildings. Consequently we may not be able to make them
immediately available in our Search Rooms. Please check in advance
of your visit.
| NAS Reference |
Description |
| AD56/325 |
Lord Advocate's Department
(North Unst, status of the Board's Engineer) |
| CS96/1788-CS96/1796 |
Port Authority
at Leith, cash books and register (Isle of May) |
| E73/82/8 |
Customs Records (Isle of
May dues) |
| GD1/36/9/2-4, 7 |
Ivory papers (Northern Lighthouses) |
| GD3/103 |
Eglinton muniments (Little
Cumbrae) |
| GD9/410 |
British Fisheries Society
(Pittenweem Harbour light) |
| GD18/3260 |
Clerk of Penicuik (Parliamentary
select committee on lighthouses) |
| GD46/1/530, 539; GD46/13/89;
GD46/1/17/48, 76 |
Seaforth Muniments
(Lewis lighthouses and beacons) |
| GD45/16/1432 |
Dalhousie Muniments (Buddonness) |
| GD84/2/78 |
Reay Papers (Cape Wrath) |
| GD226/1, 18 |
Trinity House of Leith (Isle
of May) |
| GD271/1, 16 |
Mackenzie of Muirton (Tarbat
Ness) |
| PA11/10 f.84 |
Register of the Committee
of Estates (Isle of May) |
| PC2/23 |
Register of the Privy Council
of Scotland (Isle of May) |
Records held by other institutions
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of
Scotland (RCAHMS) holds the Northern Lighthouse Board's Drawings Collection,
which was deposited in 1986 and 1996.
National Library of Scotland holds records deposited by the Stevenson
family (their ref: Acc.10706), engineers to the Northern Lighthouse
Board from 1808 to 1938.
Glasgow City Archives holds the records of the Clyde Lighthouses Trust
(their ref: T- CN).
The mystery of the Flannan Islands Lighthouse
The Flannan Islands Lighthouse was immortalized in Wilfrid Wilson
Gibson's poem 'Flannan Isle', his account of the mysterious disappearance
of the three keepers from the lighthouse there in December 1900. The
lighthouse appears to have been running normally until the 15th of
December, but when members of the crew of the Hesperus, one of the
lighthouse service vessels, made a routine visit to the lighthouse
11 days later, none of the staff were to be found. How or why the
lightkeepers disappeared remains a mystery.
The records of the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses listed below
relate to the Flannan Islands mystery and may be consulted at the
West Search Room. They are outhoused, so please give advance notice
before visiting us to see them. Please remember to quote the reference
number when ordering documents.
Please note that we do not hold the log book for the Flannan Islands
Lighthouse. It was not amongst the records deposited with the NAS
by the Commissioners.
NLC 2/1/88 & NLC2/1/89
Minute book of the Commissioners and index to the minute book (1901-1903).
The following items are minuted in 1901 meetings:
1. Short account of the report on the disaster by the superintendent,
and the distribution of gratuities and pensions to widows, p.2.
2. Fatal accident enquiry: Crown Office Crown Counsel considers
inquiry unnecessary but requests report of Commissioner's Official,
p.20.
3. Salaries of lightkeepers, gratuities and pensions paid to widows
of the Flannan Islands principal and assistant lightkeepers, pp.35,
39.
4. Claim on behalf of Mr. John Marshall father of the late Thomas
Marshall, occasional staff, pp.48, 62.
NLC3/1/1
Secretary's department correspondence and reports, 1 Jan 1901-31
March 1902
The correspondence includes:
1. Copy telegrams and letter from the master of the Hesperus reporting
the disaster and steps taken subsequently. (26-28 Dec 1900, 19 Feb
1901)
2. Letter from Henderson and MacIntosh that Captain Holman of SS
Archtor passed rock on 15 December and saw no light. (28 Dec 1900)
3. Letter from the Board of Trade, expressing sympathy and asking
for further information on the disaster. (28 Dec 1900)
4. Signed statement of Captain Holman, SS Archtor. (29 Dec 1900)
5. Lists of transfers in consequence of disaster. (7 Jan 1901)
6. Report by Superintendent Muirhead on the disaster. (8 Jan 1901)
8. Report of accountant on above due to deceased keepers and memo
as to disposal of proceeds of Ducat's insurance policy. (Feb 1901)
9. Information from W. Ross, assistant lightkeeper, as to the widow
of the occasional staff member. (14 Jan 1901)
11. Letter from Crown Office as to inquiry under Fatal Accident
Inquiry Act 1895. (18 Feb 1901)
12. Letter from John Marshall as to his daughter (22 Feb 1901)
13. Letter from Board of Trade refusing to sanction additional payment.
(22 Jan 1901)
16. Letter from Board of Trade sanctioning pensions and gratuities
to Mrs. Ducat and family. (8 March 1901)
17. Letter from Board of Trade sanctioning gratuities to Mrs. McArthur,
widow, and family. (18 March 1901)
18. Letter from David Brown regarding the claim by John Marshall
on account of loss of his son. (11May 1901)
19. Reply from the secretary that the Northern Lights Commissioners
cannot accede to his claim. (14 Jun 1901)
29. Copy letter from Solicitor General regarding Marshall's claim.
(26 Mar 1902)
NLC53/3/1
Flannan Islands' visitors album, 1899-1971
Further reading
Allardyce, K and Hood, E, ‘At Scotland's Edge’ (London,
1986)
Allardyce, K, ‘Scotland's Edge Revisited’ (London, 1998)
Bathurst, B, ‘The Lighthouse Stevensons’ (London, 1999)
Hume, J, ‘Harbour Lights’ (1997)
Leslie J and Paxton, R, ‘Bright Lights: The Stevenson Engineers
1752-1971’ (1999)
Mair, C, ‘A Star for Seamen: The Stevenson Family of Engineers’
(London, 1978)
Munro, R W, ‘Scottish Lighthouses’ (Stornoway, 1979)
Stevenson, Robert Louis, ‘Records of a Family of Engineers’
(1896 and later editions)
The National Archives of Scotland
Crown Copyright 2007
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