Searches can use "phrases" and Boolean operators and expressions


The Bicentennial of the BELL ROCK LIGHTHOUSE -
2007/2011
.

WHAT'S ON can be found here

Updated 16/07/10

++++++++++++++++

A ROUGH GUIDE

The website contains over 60 "pages" of information

LIGHTHOUSE
Every conceivable aspect of the the Lighthouse's construction, the Rock itself, and technical advancements, mishaps and problems throughout the last 200 years

STEVENSONS
Biographical accounts of all the Engineers, including "Who Built the Bell Rock Lighthouse"

CAPT. TAYLOR
THE LIFE of one of the sea captains who worked on its construction and was Stevenson's "Man in Arbroathl" during the first 10 years' of its existence

PEOPLE
LIST OF THE MEN who built the Lighthouse, and the Keepers since 1811 until the 1950s; plus the ships and their crews

ARBROATH
MANY aspects of the history of Old Arbroath, plus Sir Walter Scott and the Smokie

MISCELLANEOUS
SIXTEEN PAGES of related information ranging from a lightkeer's stories, to Captain Cook and volcanos - to name but a few!

Plus a SITE MAP, LINKS PAGE and a GUESTBOOK.





DecorationDecorationDecoration

NB- The Bell Rock Lighthouse website
is now contactable on

balmirmer AT gmail DOT com

or

dtaylor AT bellrock DOT org DOT uk

The Bell Rock Lighthouse

now an Historic Civil Engineering Landmark built on a semi-submerged reef 11½ miles off the east coast of Scotland
(1807-1811)

AN INTEREST FOR EVERYONE

Lighthouses :: Georgian Architecture :: Civil and Marine Engineering :: Naval and Social History :: Genealogy :: Marine and Natural History :: Geology :: Geography :: Construction Techniques:: Early Railways :: Communications (including the Signal Ball).


This site commemorates probably Scotland’s greatest single engineering feat of the early 19th century. It also celebrates the men who built it . . . to JOHN RENNIE, who was appointed Chief Engineer, responsible overall for the project; and to ROBERT STEVENSON, assistant and resident engineer, who shared the hardships with his team, and who in practical terms built the lighthouse.

It also remembers my great-great-great-grandfather, Capt. David Taylor (1768-1843), who was Master of the Sir Joseph Banks tender during progress of these Works; who later commanded the supply vessel (the Smeaton) on completion of the lighthouse and eventually the new Pharos of 1816; finally taking up the post of Lighthouse Storekeeper in Leith when ill health forced him ashore.

As the site develops, it is hoped to include hitherto unpublished material, with a view to giving fresh insight into the life and times of the men who worked with Stevenson on his undoubted masterpiece and greatest achievement.

Anyone who has an interest in the subject, or whose ancestors may have been connected in any way with the Lighthouse (past and present), are welcome to make contact:

*****************

NEW and MUST READ

A Further Appreciation on Who Designed and Built the
BELL ROCK LIGHTHOUSE
by Prof. Roland Paxton, MBE, FICE, FRSE

See - MISC - BICENTENNIAL - 2011


Links to associated websites may be found here

Acknowledgements


"Leaving the Bell" - an original
oil painting by Nessie Taylor

I should also like to acknowledge the following, who have helped in their various ways to make this website possible, in particular Mrs Margaret King for information on the improvements and modernisation to the Lighthouse since 1811; Mrs Lorna Hunter (Information Officer of the NLB); Charlie Riding for his two real-life experiences about living on the Bell; Bill Daysh (RN Retd) for his interesting account of the demise of the HMS Argyll, the only ship to be "lost" on the Bell Rock since the Lighthouse was built in 1811; Jim Anderson of the West Lothian Sub Aqua Club for providing the photographs for "Underwater Life at the Bell Rock"; Alan Provan (Chief Officer of the "Polestar") for his selection of scans for the section "Preparing for Automation"; Dr Alison Morrison-Low for her excellent Paper on early lighthouse optics and the part the Stevenson engineers played in its development, and to Peter Mackay (ex-Chairman of the Commissioners of Northern LIghts) for his contributions to this website.

and To the Memory of
JANET RUSSELL (
1953-2016)
Secretary to the Bell Rock Bicentennial Committee "Year of the Light"(2008-2011) who contributed so much to the success of the Event

Other direct "lifts" used in the website have been acknowledged.

Also:

Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses
National Archives of Scotland

National Library of Scotland
National Galleries of Scotland
Angus Council
Arbroath Herald
Signal Tower Museum, Arbroath

R. Stevenson ("Account of the Bell Rock Lighthouse")
R. L. Stevenson ("Records of a Family of Engineers")
D. Alan Stevenson ("The World's Lighthouses Before 1820")
Craig Mair ("A Star for Seamen")
R. W. Munro ("Scottish Lighthouses")
John Prebble ("Lion in the North")

Mike Bullock (Chief Executive of the Northern Lighthouse Board)
Roger Lockwood (ex-CEO, NLB)
Fiona Holmes (Information Officer, NLB)
Lorna Hunter (ex-Information Officer, NLB)
Ian Cowe (Illustrations)
Alan Taylor (website design)
Agnes M. Taylor
Margaret King
Fiona Guest
Kirsty Couper

New books for lighthouse enthusiasts
can be seen HERE

Disclaimer - Whilst every care is taken to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the information contained within the Bell Rock website, the owner does not accept liability (financial or otherwise) arising from the use of material in these Web pages. It should also be noted that there is no financial gain whatsoever to the owner of this site.

All contents: © 2000-2023 David Taylor
(except photos/artwork - copyright to original owners)
All rights reserved

Last update:January 2023
Research and narrative, David Taylor, FSA.Scot

All material contained within this website is subject to Copyright, and must not be reproduced in any form without prior permission of the Owner

Home Lighthouse The Stevenson Family Captain Taylor People Arbroath Miscellaneous Please Sign the Guestbook Site Map
 
Lighthouse Home The Stevenson Family Captain Taylor People Associated with the Lighthouse Arbroath Miscellaneous Please Sign the Guestbook Site Map