Monument record MHG42332 - Cape Wrath

Summary

No summary available.

Location

Grid reference Centred NC 2596 7473 (20m by 20m) (Buffered by site type)
Map sheet NC27SE
Geographical Area SUTHERLAND
Old County SUTHERLAND
Civil Parish DURNESS

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

The Industrial Archaeology of Sutherland (A Scottish Highland Economy 1700-1900, pp. 61, 106-107) - Sinclair B Calder, 1974

J Aitken : 19/2/2004
------

(Location cited as NC 259 747). Built 1827-8, engineer Robert Stevenson. A short tower of local granite on a semi-circular base, with a corbelled parapet.
J R Hume 1977.

The Cape Wrath lighthouse was built at a cost of ?14,000 with a reflector system which alternated a light of natural appearance with one tinged red. It was often obscured by fog of low cloud so that the construction of a new (low) light was begun; this involved the construction of a vertical shaft in the cliff to accommodate a lift, a covered way over the rocks with two connecting bridges, and a tower and foghorn house on the extreme end of the reef. Blasting and quarrying had begun and the shaft sunk to a depth of 50ft (15.2m) in June 1914 when work stopped 'for the duration' in the face of a disagreement with the contractor; it was never restarted.
R W Munro 1979.

Sources/Archives (5)

  • --- Text/Publication/Volume: Admiralty list of lights. 1980. Admiralty list of lights and fog signals: volume A: British Isles and north coast of France from Dunkerque to entrance to Goulet de Brest including North Sea oil and gas production installations. 252, no. 3880.
  • --- Text/Publication/Volume: Allardyce and Hood, K and E M. 1986. At Scotland's edge: a celebration of two hundred years of the lighthouse service in Scotland and the Isle of Man. 26, 126-7, 154.
  • --- Text/Publication/Volume: Hume, J R. 1977. The industrial archaeology of Scotland 2: The Highlands and Islands. Paper (Original). 313.
  • --- Text/Publication/Volume: Munro, R W. 1979. Scottish lighthouses. 83, 85, 87, 89, 100, 218-19, 275, 278.
  • --- Text/Publication/Volume: Sinclair B Calder. 1974. The Industrial Archaeology of Sutherland (A Scottish Highland Economy 1700-1900).

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (0)

Record last edited

Aug 31 2009 4:07PM

Comments and Feedback

Do you have any questions or more information about this record? Please feel free to comment below with your name and email address. All comments are submitted to the Heritage Portal maintainers for moderation, and we aim to respond/publish as soon as possible. Comments, questions and answers that may be helpful to other users will be retained and displayed along with the name you supply. The email address you supply will never be displayed or shared.