MHG12953 - Cape Wrath
Summary
No summary available.
Type and Period (1)
- LIGHTHOUSE (Post Medieval - 1560 AD to 1900 AD)
Protected Status
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
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(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)
- --- SHG1875 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.
- --- SHG1882 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.
- --- SHG2332 Text/Publication/Volume: Hume, J R. 1977. The industrial archaeology of Scotland 2: The Highlands and Islands. Paper (Original). 313.
- --- SHG2557 Text/Publication/Volume: Munro, R W. 1979. Scottish lighthouses. 83, 85, 87, 89, 100, 218-19, 275, 278.
- --- SHG364 Text/Manuscript: Calder, Sinclair B.. 1974. The Industrial Archaeology of Sutherland: A Scottish Highland Economy 1700-1900. The University of Strathclyde.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NC 2597 7474 (80m by 80m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NC27SE |
| Geographical Area | SUTHERLAND |
| Civil Parish | DURNESS |
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (1)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (2)
- http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB488 (Online designation description (Historic Environment Scotland))
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/4722 (View RCAHMS Canmore entry for this site)
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