Tiumpan Head
Encyclopedia
Tiumpan Head is the end of the Eye peninsula
on Lewis
. A lighthouse has marked the western limit of The Minch
since 1900.
in the village of Portvoller
in Point
, Isle of Lewis
was long promoted, but refused for a long period by the Board of Trade. After a recommendation by the Western Highlands and Islands Commission to additionally keep a watch on illegal trawlers, it was approved in May 1879.
The lighthouse and building were designed by David
and Charles Stevenson
and built by John Aitken, at an estimated cost of £9000. William Frew was appointed as inspector of works. Chance Brothers
made the optics and Dove and Co. the revolving machine. The light was first exhibited on 1 December 1900.
Six lightkeepers were attached to the station, three lightkeepers and their families at the station, with a local assistant and two occasional lightkeepers coming in from Portnaguran
village nearby.
Elizabeth II visited the lighthouse in 1956, with the young Duke of Cornwall
and the Princess Anne
. The seven-year-old heir to the throne sounded the first blast on a new fog siren. The fog signal was operated by compressed air supplied from a compressor, driven by a Kelvin Diesel Engine. There were three Kelvin engines and compressors, and when the fog signal was in operation, two of them were in service to maintain the required air pressure with one standby, in rotation. In 1984, the fog signal was discontinued and the fog horn building was demolished.
The lighthouse was automated in 1985 and is monitored from Edinburgh. The former keepers' accommodation is no longer needed and is now home to kennels and a cattery.
Point, Outer Hebrides
Point , also known as the Eye Peninsula, is a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, connected to the rest of the Isle of Lewis by a narrow isthmus, one mile in length and barely 100 metres wide...
on Lewis
Lewis
Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is ....
. A lighthouse has marked the western limit of The Minch
The Minch
The Minch , also called The North Minch, is a strait in north-west Scotland, separating the north-west Highlands, and the northern Inner Hebrides, from Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides...
since 1900.
Lighthouse
The idea for a lighthouseLighthouse
A 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....
in the village of Portvoller
Portvoller
Portvoller is a small village on the north tip of the Eye Peninsula , on the Isle of Lewis in northwestern Scotland...
in Point
Point, Outer Hebrides
Point , also known as the Eye Peninsula, is a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, connected to the rest of the Isle of Lewis by a narrow isthmus, one mile in length and barely 100 metres wide...
, Isle of Lewis
Lewis
Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is ....
was long promoted, but refused for a long period by the Board of Trade. After a recommendation by the Western Highlands and Islands Commission to additionally keep a watch on illegal trawlers, it was approved in May 1879.
The lighthouse and building were designed by David
David Alan Stevenson
David Alan Stevenson was a lighthouse engineer who built twenty six lighthouses in and around Scotland.Born into the famous Stevenson family of lighthouse engineers, son of David Stevenson, brother of Charles Stevenson, and nephew of Thomas Stevenson, he was educated at Edinburgh University...
and Charles Stevenson
Charles Alexander Stevenson
Charles Alexander Stevenson was a Scottish lighthouse engineer who built twenty three lighthouses in and around Scotland....
and built by John Aitken, at an estimated cost of £9000. William Frew was appointed as inspector of works. Chance Brothers
Chance Brothers
Chance Brothers and Company was a glassworks originally based in Spon Lane, Smethwick, West Midlands , in England. It was a leading glass manufacturer and a pioneer of British glassmaking technology....
made the optics and Dove and Co. the revolving machine. The light was first exhibited on 1 December 1900.
Six lightkeepers were attached to the station, three lightkeepers and their families at the station, with a local assistant and two occasional lightkeepers coming in from Portnaguran
Portnaguran
Portnaguran in Point, Isle of Lewis is the township at the north-easternmost point of the peninsula. It lies one mile southwest of Tiumpan Head and just south of the headland called Geòdha 'ic Sheòrais or sometimes Small Head amongst locals.There is a small pier in the harbour, and the...
village nearby.
Elizabeth II visited the lighthouse in 1956, with the young Duke of Cornwall
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
and the Princess Anne
Anne, Princess Royal
Princess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
. The seven-year-old heir to the throne sounded the first blast on a new fog siren. The fog signal was operated by compressed air supplied from a compressor, driven by a Kelvin Diesel Engine. There were three Kelvin engines and compressors, and when the fog signal was in operation, two of them were in service to maintain the required air pressure with one standby, in rotation. In 1984, the fog signal was discontinued and the fog horn building was demolished.
The lighthouse was automated in 1985 and is monitored from Edinburgh. The former keepers' accommodation is no longer needed and is now home to kennels and a cattery.