Northern Lighthouse Board
Encyclopedia
General Lighthouse Authority
A General Lighthouse Authority is a dedicated Government Agency of a Country or Nation tasked with and responsible for the provision and maintenance of lighthouses, lightvessels, navigational aids and any other equipment or facilities which ensure the safety of mariners and sailors navigating the...
for Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
. It is a non-departmental public body
Non-departmental public body
In the United Kingdom, a non-departmental public body —often referred to as a quango—is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to certain types of public bodies...
responsible for marine
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
navigation
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
aids around coastal areas.
History
The NLB was formed in 1786 as the Commissioners of Northern Light Houses by Act of ParliamentAct of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
, to oversee the construction and operation of four Scottish lighthouses; Kinnaird Head
Kinnaird Head
Kinnaird Head is a headland projecting into the North Sea, within the town of Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire on the east coast of Scotland. It is the site of the first lighthouse in Scotland to be lit by the Commissioners of Northern Lights...
, North Ronaldsay
North Ronaldsay
North Ronaldsay is the northernmost of the Orkney Islands, Scotland and with an area of is the fourteenth largest.-Geography:North Ronaldsay lies around north of its nearest neighbour, Sanday at . The island is around long along its length and is defined by two large sandy bays; Linklet Bay on...
, Scalpay
Scalpay, Outer Hebrides
Scalpay to distinguish it from the other Scalpay) is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.-Geography:Scalpay is around 2.5 miles long and rises to a height of 341 ft at Beinn Scorabhaig. Scalpay's nearest neighbour, Harris is just 330 yds away over narrow Caolas...
and Mull of Kintyre. The Commissioners' most famous engineer was Robert Stevenson
Robert Stevenson (civil engineer)
Robert Stevenson FRSE MInstCE FSAS MWS FGS FRAS FSA was a Scottish civil engineer and famed designer and builder of lighthouses.One of his finest achievements was the construction of the Bell Rock Lighthouse.-Early life:...
, whose sons David
David Stevenson (engineer)
David Stevenson FRSE FRSSA was a Scottish lighthouse designer, who designed over thirty lighthouses in and around Scotland, and helped found a great dynasty of lighthouse engineering.-Background:...
, Alan
Alan Stevenson
Alan Stevenson FRSE MInstCE was a Scottish lighthouse engineer who was Engineer to the Board of Northern Lighthouses...
, and Thomas
Thomas Stevenson
Thomas Stevenson PRSE MInstCE FRSSA FSAScot was a pioneering Scottish lighthouse designer and meteorologist, who designed over thirty lighthouses in and around Scotland, as well as the Stevenson screen used in meteorology...
followed their father into the profession. The Stevenson dynasty built the majority of the Northern lights, in some exceptionally challenging locations. Their lights were some of the engineering masterpieces of their time, notably those at Bell Rock
Inchcape
Inchcape or the Bell Rock is a notorious reef off the east coast of Angus, Scotland, near Dundee and Fife . Bell Rock Lighthouse, an automatic lighthouse, occupies the reef...
, Skerryvore
Skerryvore
Skerryvore is a remote reef that lies off the west coast of Scotland, 12 miles south west of the island of Tiree...
and Muckle Flugga
Muckle Flugga
Muckle Flugga is a small rocky island north of Unst in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is often described as the northernmost point of the British Isles, but the smaller islet of Out Stack is actually farther north...
.
Between 1876 and 2005 the NLB also maintained foghorn
Foghorn
A foghorn or fog signal or fog bell is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of hazards or boats of the presence of other vehicles in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport...
s at a number of locations. The last (at Skerryvore) was sounded for the last time on 4 October 2005.
Operations
The board is based at its GeorgianGeorgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
headquarters in George Street
George Street, Edinburgh
Situated to the north of Princes Street, George Street is a major street in the centre of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Laid out from 1767 as part of James Craig's plan for the New Town, George Street was named in honour of King George III.-Geography:...
in the centre of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
from where it remotely monitors its network. Technical operations are carried out from a base in Oban
Oban
Oban Oban Oban ( is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,120. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can be crowded by up to 25,000 people. Oban...
, Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute is both one of 32 unitary council areas; and a Lieutenancy area in Scotland. The administrative centre for the council area is located in Lochgilphead.Argyll and Bute covers the second largest administrative area of any Scottish council...
, where there are maintenance workshops and facilities for the construction of buoys and beacons. The NLBs vessels are also based here. The Oban depot has been recently modernised.
Under the terms of the Scotland Act 1998
Scotland Act 1998
The Scotland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is the Act which established the devolved Scottish Parliament.The Act will be amended by the Scotland Bill 2011, if and when it receives royal assent.-History:...
, the NLB is not a devolved body and thus remains directly accountable to the UK Secretary of State for Transport
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
. In practice, close co-operation is made with both the Scottish Government and the Isle of Man Government
Isle of Man Government
The Isle of Man Government is the government of the Isle of Man. The formal head of the Isle of Man Government is the Lieutenant Governor, representing HM Queen Elizabeth II, Lord of Mann...
. The NLB is funded by pooled light dues
Light dues
Light dues are the charges levied on ships for the maintenance of lighthouses and other aids to navigation.-British Isles:Light dues are levied on commercial vessels calling at ports in the British Isles and paid in to the General Lighthouse Fund , which is under the stewardship of the UK's...
administered by the UK's Department of Transport and distributed to the NLB, Trinity House
Trinity House
The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond is the official General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales and other British territorial waters...
and Commissioners of Irish Lights
Commissioners of Irish Lights
The Commissioners of Irish Lights is the body that serves as the lighthouse authority for Ireland plus its adjacent seas and islands...
.
Assets
Navigational devices
- 212 lighthouseLighthouseA lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
s - 154 buoyBuoyA buoy is a floating device that can have many different purposes. It can be anchored or allowed to drift. The word, of Old French or Middle Dutch origin, is now most commonly in UK English, although some orthoepists have traditionally prescribed the pronunciation...
s - 47 beaconsElectric beaconElectric beacons are a kind of beacon used with direction finding equipment to find ones relative bearing to a known location .The term electric beacon includes radio, infrared and sonar beacons.- Radio beacons :...
- 4 DGPSDifferential GPSDifferential Global Positioning System is an enhancement to Global Positioning System that provides improved location accuracy, from the 15-meter nominal GPS accuracy to about 10 cm in case of the best implementations....
stations - 25 RACONRaconA racon is a radar transponder commonly used to mark maritime navigational hazards. The word is a portmanteau of RAdar and beaCON.When a racon receives a radar pulse, it responds with a signal on the same frequency which puts an image on the radar display...
stations - 1 GLA LORAN-C station (on trial 2005)
Vessels
The NLB operates two lighthouse tenderLighthouse tender
A lighthouse tender is a ship specifically designed to maintain, support, or tend to lighthouses, or lightvessels, providing supplies, fuel, mail and transportation....
s, known by the prefix Northern Lighthouse Vessel, or NLV. has been in service since 2000 and was delivered on 31 March 2007 to the Oban depot. This will be the tenth Pharos, replacing the ninth Pharos which was sold in September 2006 for use as a support vessel for the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
.
The Commissioners
Most of the Commissioners have always been ex officio appointments. The original Commissioners appointed in 1786 were the Scottish law agents of the Crown, the Sheriffs of Scotland's coastal counties, and the Lord Provosts and Provosts of Scottish cities and towns with strong mercantile interests. Reform of local government and sherriffdoms have since resulted in changes.The current Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses are the Lord Advocate
Lord Advocate
Her Majesty's Advocate , known as the Lord Advocate , is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved powers of the Scottish Parliament...
and the Solicitor General for Scotland
Solicitor General for Scotland
Her Majesty's Solicitor General for Scotland is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Lord Advocate, whose duty is to advise the Crown and the Scottish Government on Scots Law...
; the Lords Provost
Lord Provost
A Lord Provost is the figurative and ceremonial head of one of the principal cities of Scotland. Four cities, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, have the right to appoint a Lord Provost instead of a provost...
of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, the conveners of Highland Council and Argyll and Bute Council; the Sheriffs Principal
Sheriff Principal
The office of sheriff principal is unique within the judicial structure of Scotland, and it cannot therefore readily be compared with any other judicial office. It is one of great antiquity, having existed continuously since around the 11th century...
of all the sheriffdoms in Scotland; a Manx representative nominated by the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man
Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man
The Lieutenant Governor is the representative on the Isle of Man of the Lord of Mann . He/she has the power to grant Royal Assent and is styled His Excellency. In recent times the Governor has either been a retired diplomat or senior military officer...
and appointed by the Secretary of State; and up to five co-opted Commissioners.
Flags
The NLB uses two flags, an ensignEnsign
An ensign is a national flag when used at sea, in vexillology, or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office in heraldry...
and a Commissioners' Flag. The ensign is a Blue Ensign
Blue Ensign
The Blue Ensign is a flag, one of several British ensigns, used by certain organisations or territories associated with the United Kingdom. It is used either plain, or defaced with a badge or other emblem....
defaced with a white lighthouse in the fly, and is for general use. The Commissioners' flag, a plain White Ensign
White Ensign
The White Ensign or St George's Ensign is an ensign flown on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross on a white field with the Union Flag in the upper canton....
with a pre-1801 Union Flag in the canton
Flag terminology
Flag terminology is a jargon used in vexillology, the study of flags, to describe precisely the parts, patterns, and other attributes of flags and their display.-Description of standard flag parts and terms:...
, defaced with a blue lighthouse in the fly, is the only British flag to still use the pre-1801 Union Flag. This flag is only flown from vessels with Commissioners aboard.
The Board HQ flies the Commissioner's flag, alongside the Saltire and the Isle of Man flag.
See also
- List of lighthouses in Scotland
- Commissioners of Irish LightsCommissioners of Irish LightsThe Commissioners of Irish Lights is the body that serves as the lighthouse authority for Ireland plus its adjacent seas and islands...
- Trinity HouseTrinity HouseThe Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond is the official General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales and other British territorial waters...
who are responsible for lighthouses in England, Wales and the Channel Islands - Richard Henry BruntonRichard Henry BruntonRichard Henry Brunton FRGS MICE was the so-called "Father of Japanese lighthouses". Brunton was born in Muchalls, Kincardineshire, Scotland...
, the Scottish "Father of Japanese lighthouses"
External links
- Northern Lighthouse Board
- Lighthouse Library
- Pharos 1958 1963 Pharos (archive films about the Northern Lighthouse Board ship ‘Pharos VIII’ - from the National Library of Scotland: Scottish Screen Archive)