Smeaton and Lighthouses Part 4

'_Pharos loquitur._

'Far in the bosom of the deep O'er these wild shelves my watch I keep, A ruddy gem of changeful light, Bound in the dusky brow of night.

The seaman bids my l.u.s.tre hail, And scorns to strike his timorous sail'[5].

The most celebrated lighthouse in Scotland is that situated on the dangerous reef called the Inch Cape or Bell Rock. This lighthouse may fairly aspire to the t.i.tle of the Eddystone of Scotland, whether we regard its high importance to navigation, the danger and difficulty of its erection, the beauty of its form, or its interesting history.

The Inch Cape or Bell Rock is situated on the northern side of the entrance of the Frith of Forth at a distance of eleven miles from the promontory called the Red Head, in Forfarshire. The dimensions of the north-eastern or higher compartment of the rock where the lighthouse is built are about four hundred and twenty-seven feet in length and two hundred and thirty feet in breadth. Besides these dimensions, the south-western reef extends about one thousand feet from the main rock.

The greatest length of the rock, which may be said to be dangerous to shipping, is about one thousand four hundred and twenty-seven feet, and its greatest breadth about three hundred feet. It is about twelve feet under water at the ordinary height or perpendicular rise of spring tides. In point of situation, this rock is one of the most dangerous on the coast of Great Britain; for while it lies in one of the most frequented estuaries, it is much lower in the water than any rock on which lighthouses are usually erected; and hence the mariner had formerly no warning of his danger when in its vicinity. Indeed, in fine weather the sea is often so smooth, that the place of the rock could not be pointed out from the appearance of the surface. The Bell Rock was therefore considered for ages as the chief obstruction to the navigation of the Frith of Forth, and the want of some mark to point out its position was long lamented. Tradition says, that the abbots of the ancient monastery of Aberbrothock succeeded in fixing a bell upon it in such a way as to be rung by the agitation of the waves. It is further stated, that a band of pirates having carried off the bell, were in a subsequent voyage all lost on the Bell Rock. This legend is beautifully told by Mr. Southey in the following ballad.

SIR RALPH THE ROVER.

No stir in the air, no stir in the sea, The ship was still as she could be; Her sails from heaven received no motion, Her keel was steady in the ocean.

Without either sign or sound of their shock, The waves flow'd over the Inchcape Rock; So little they rose, so little they fell, They did not move the Inchcape bell.

The abbot of Aberbrothok Had placed that bell on the Inchcape Rock; On a buoy in the storm it floated and swung, And over the waves its warning rung.

When the rock was hid by the surge's swell, The mariners heard the warning bell; And then they knew the perilous rock, And blest the abbot of Aberbrothok.

The sun in heaven was shining gay, All things were joyful on that day; The sea-birds scream'd as they wheel'd round, And there was joyaunce in their sound.

The buoy of the Inchcape bell was seen, A darker speck on the ocean green; Sir Ralph the Rover walk'd his deck, And he fix'd his eye on the darker speck.

He felt the cheering power of spring, It made him whistle, it made him sing; His heart was mirthful to excess, But the Rover's mirth was wickedness.

His eye was on the Inchcape float, Quoth he, 'My men, put out the boat, And row me to the Inchcape Rock, And I'll plague the abbot of Aberbrothok.'

The boat is lower'd, the boatmen row, And to the Inchcape Rock they go; Sir Ralph bent over from the boat, And he cut the bell from the Inchcape float.

Down sunk the bell with a gurgling sound, The bubbles rose and burst around; Quoth Sir Ralph, 'The next who comes to the rock Won't bless the abbot of Aberbrothok.'

Sir Ralph the Rover sail'd away, He scour'd the seas for many a day; And now grown rich with plunder'd store, He steers his course for Scotland's sh.o.r.e.

So thick a haze o'erspreads the sky, They cannot see the sun on high; And the wind hath blown a gale all day, At evening it hath died away.

On the deck the Rover takes his stand, So dark it is they see no land: Quoth Sir Ralph, 'It will be lighter soon, For there is the dawn of the rising moon.'

'Canst hear,' said one, 'the breakers roar?

For methinks we should be near the sh.o.r.e;'

'Now where we are I cannot tell, But I wish we could hear the Inchcape bell!'

They hear no sound, the swell is strong, Though the wind hath fallen they drift along, Till the vessel strikes with a shivering shock, 'Oh Christ! it is the Inchcape Rock.'

Sir Ralph the Rover tore his hair, He curst himself in his despair; The waves rush in on every side, The ship is sinking beneath the tide.

But even in his dying fear One dreadful sound could the Rover hear, A sound as if with the Inchcape bell, The devil below was ringing his knell.

But whatever may be the truth of these traditions, it is certain that for a long period, perhaps centuries, no permanent distinguishing mark was attached to the rock until the building of the present lighthouse, whose history we have now briefly to state.

On the appointment of a board for the erection of lighthouses in Scotland, the public anxiously expected that some means would be taken to guard the mariner from this fatal rock; but the difficulties of the undertaking, the great expense, and the inadequate funds of the board, all contributed to promote delay. In the winter of 1799 the northern coast of Great Britain was visited with a dreadful storm, and no less than seventy vessels were wrecked upon the coast of Scotland. This calamity excited so strong a sensation that the attention of the board was at once directed to this object; and in 1802 application was made to Parliament to enable the commissioners of the northern lighthouses to levy certain additional duties, and empower them to borrow a sum of money for this work. The Act was not obtained until 1806; but when obtained, this highly important work was immediately undertaken.

A variety of plans were submitted to the consideration of the lighthouse board. The beacons of spars which had been erected on the rock had been washed away, and many persons feared that a more solid structure would share the same fate. Considering that the rock was frequently under water to the depth of twelve feet, some proposed to erect a building which should stand on pillars of cast-iron or of stone. The commissioners, however, wisely referred the matter to Mr.

Robert Stevenson the engineer, who was to survey the rock, and report upon the practicability of erecting a lighthouse upon it. The survey was accordingly made; and during its progress, many instances were discovered of the extent of loss which this reef had occasioned, and many articles of ships' furnishings were found, as well as various coins, a bayonet, a silver shoe-buckle, and many other small objects.

The result of this survey was a report from Mr. Stevenson to the effect, that a work of stone similar to that of the Eddystone lighthouse was practicable; and having sent in his plans, the commissioners submitted them to Mr. Rennie, who gave them his cordial concurrence; and the work was accordingly proceeded with.

The time that remained after the pa.s.sing of the Act in 1806 was employed in making the necessary preparations for the summer of the next year; and the commissioners being authorized to collect duties on the exhibition of a floating light, a vessel was employed to serve the double purpose of a floating light, and a tender for the workmen employed in the building. Accordingly in July a Dutch fishing vessel was moored off the Bell Rock, at the distance of about two miles, in a depth of about twenty fathoms water; her crew consisting of a master, eight able seamen, and a boy. This strong crew was necessary, in case the vessel should accidentally drift from her station, and to enable them to light or lift their moorings after every gale of wind. The vessel was rigged with three masts, on each of which a lantern was so placed that the light could be seen in all directions.

The stones and machinery were prepared in a work-yard provided for the purpose at Arbroath, the nearest harbour on the adjacent coast. In this place barracks were erected for the workmen, that they might at all times be ready night or day to go off to the Bell Rock. A sloop, named the 'Smeaton,' (in honour of the great engineer who had left so splendid a pattern for the present structure,) had been built expressly for the Bell-Rock service, to be employed as a tender for the floating light, and as a stone-lighter for the use of the work: it served also to convey the workmen to and from the rock.

On the 17th August 1807 the work on the rock was begun. The first employment was to bore a sufficient number of holes for receiving the ends of beams, for the support of a wooden beacon or workshop and temporary residence for the workmen. But this was no easy task. The hard compact nature of the sand-stone of which the rock is composed soon blunted the tools, and rendered necessary the constant employment of a smith with his forge. But the operations of this useful artificer were even more difficult than those of the stone-cutters. It often happened that after the flood-tide had obliged the pickmen to strike work, a sea would come rolling over the rocks, while the smith was in the middle of a 'favourite heat,' dashing out the fire, and endangering his indispensable instrument, the bellows; or if the sea was smooth, the smith had often to stand at work knee deep in water, and the tide would rise imperceptibly, first cooling the exterior of the fire-place or hearth, and then quickly blackening and extinguishing the fire from below. Mr. Stevenson describes it as amusing to witness the perplexing anxiety of the smith when coaxing his fire, and endeavouring to avert the effects of the rising tide.

Sometimes, while his feet were immersed in water, his face was not only scorched but continually exposed to volumes of smoke and sparks of fire. A great object therefore, of the beacon was to remove the smith above the reach of the highest tide.

One effect of visiting the rock at every tide, and carrying on this noise and traffic, was to banish the herd of seals which had hitherto frequented it as a resting-place during low water. As many as fifty or sixty of these animals had been seen at one time on the rock, but now not more than one or two occasionally appeared, and these confined their visits to the detached outlayers of the rock, from whence they would gaze on the workmen with that look of curiosity so remarkable in this animal. Mr. Stevenson was desirous of protecting them, in hopes of taming them, so as to gain that facility of studying their habits which was afforded at Small's Lighthouse, off the coast of Pembrokeshire, a favourite resort of seals, where, by gentle treatment, they had become so tame and familiar as to eat bread out of the hands of the light-keepers.

The operations of this season were difficult and hazardous, the men having to row in boats at every tide from the rock to the floating-light; and the wind often shifting suddenly, the exertion of rowing was very great, although the distance was but two miles. When at the rock, the men had presently to work knee-deep in water; and the roughness of the sea was often such as to suspend the work for days together, during which time the floating-light would roll so unmercifully, that to put out a boat would have probably ensured its instant destruction.

During this early stage of the work there was a moment of appalling danger, which must be noticed in detail. On the 2nd of Sept. 1807, there were thirty-two persons upon the rock; and while all the artificers were busily occupied, a gale arose, during which the 'Smeaton' broke adrift from her moorings. In this perilous predicament, placed upon an insulated rock far out in the ocean, which, in the progress of the flood-tide, was to be laid under water to the depth of at least twelve feet, in a stormy sea, the feelings of the engineer may be better conceived than described. There were, at this period, only two boats attached to the rock, whose complement, even in fair weather, did not exceed twenty-four sitters; but to row to the floating-light, with so much wind, and so heavy a sea, a complement of eight men for each boat was as much as could possibly be attempted, so that, in this way, about one half of those employed on the rock must be left unprovided for. Under these circ.u.mstances, had Mr. Stevenson ventured to despatch one of the boats, in expectation of either working the 'Smeaton' sooner up towards the rock, or in hopes of getting her boat brought to the a.s.sistance of the rest, this must have given an immediate alarm to the artificers, each of whom would have insisted upon taking to his own boat, and leaving the eight artificers belonging to the 'Smeaton' to their chance.

The unfortunate circ.u.mstance of the 'Smeaton' and her boat having drifted, was for a considerable time, known only to Mr. Stevenson and to the landing-master, who removed to the further part of the rock, where he kept his eye steadily upon the progress of the vessel. While the artificers were at work, chiefly in sitting and kneeling postures, excavating the rock, or boring with the tools, and while their numerous hammers, and the sound of the smith's anvil continued, the situation of things did not appear so awful. In this state of suspense, with almost certain destruction at hand, the water began to rise upon those who were at work on the lower parts of the sites of the beacon and lighthouse. From the run of the sea upon the rock, the forge-fire was sooner extinguished than usual; and the volumes of smoke having ceased, objects in every direction became visible from all parts of the rock. After having had about three hours' work, the men begun, pretty generally, to make towards their respective boats for their jackets and stockings, when, to their astonishment, instead of three, they found only two boats, the third being adrift with the 'Smeaton.' Not a word was uttered by any one, but all appeared to be silently calculating their numbers, and looking to each other with evident marks of perplexity depicted on their countenances. The landing-master, conceiving blame might be attached to him for allowing the boat to leave the rock, still kept at a distance. At this critical moment Mr. Stevenson was standing upon an elevated part of the rock, where he endeavoured to mark the progress of the 'Smeaton,' not a little surprised that her crew did not cut the praam adrift which greatly r.e.t.a.r.ded her way. The workmen looked steadfastly at their leader, and turned occasionally towards the vessel still far to leeward. All this pa.s.sed with the most perfect silence, and the melancholy solemnity of the group was such that, Mr. Stevenson states, it left an impression never to be effaced from his mind.

In the meantime Mr. Stevenson was considering various schemes which might be adopted for the general safety of the party, in hopes that the 'Smeaton' might be able to pick up the boats to leeward when they were obliged to leave the rock. He was, accordingly, about to address the artificers on the perilous nature of their situation, and to propose that all should unstrip their upper clothing, when the higher parts of the rock were laid under water,--that the seamen should remove every unnecessary weight and enc.u.mbrance from the boats, and a specified number of men should go into each boat, and that the remainder should hang by the gunwales, while the boats were to be rowed gently towards the 'Smeaton,' as the course of the 'Pharos' or floating-light lay rather to windward of the rock. But, when he attempted to speak, his mouth was so parched that his tongue refused utterance, and he says, 'I now learned by experience that the saliva is as necessary as the tongue itself for speech.' He then turned to one of the pools on the rock, and drank a little salt-water, which produced immediate relief; and his delight was in no small degree increased when, on rising from this nauseous beverage, some one called out, 'A boat!' 'A boat!' and on looking round, at no great distance, a large boat was seen through the haze making towards the rock.

The effect of this accident was, that when the bell rung next morning, and the workmen were mustered, out of twenty-six, only eight, besides the foreman and seamen, appeared on deck to accompany the engineer to the rock. 'The use of argument to persuade the men to embark in cases of this kind would have been out of place, as it is not only discomfort, or even the risk of the loss of a limb, but life itself, that becomes the question.' The boats proceeded with the eight willing workmen: four hours were pa.s.sed upon the rock, and, on returning to the 'Pharos,' the eighteen men who remained on board seemed quite ashamed of their cowardice; and on again proceeding to the rock, they were the first to embark. This was the only instance of refusal to go to the rock.

Shortly after this occurrence, the whole party on board the Pharos was exposed to a fearful gale, which kept them from the rock during ten days and exposed them to imminent danger. The floating-light broke adrift, but, providentially, no damage was sustained. This circ.u.mstance, however, imparted a character of extreme hazard to life on board the floating-light, that it was difficult to provide sailors to man her. On landing upon the rock the effects of the gale were at once apparent. Six large blocks of granite, which had been landed by way of experiment, had been removed from their places, and by the force of the sea thrown over a rising ledge into a hole at the distance of twelve or fifteen paces; a sufficient evidence of the violence of the storm and the agitation of the sea on the rock. The smith's forge was also shifted from its place--the ash-pan of the hearth with its ponderous cast-iron back had been washed from their places of supposed security, the chains of attachment broken, and these weighty articles found at a very considerable distance in a hole of the rock.

Although the sea often had a most frightful appearance, yet the beacon divested the Bell Rock of many of its terrors: its beams afforded an excellent guide to shipping, and old sailors frequently expressed their admiration at the change of circ.u.mstances which led to their cruising with so much confidence both by day and night in the immediate vicinity of this dangerous rock. It also had a beneficial influence on all who were actively engaged about the lighthouse by inducing a greater confidence of safety, so that at all times when a boat could be put to sea or approach this sunken reef, there was not that actual danger in landing which formerly presented itself, because in the event of the tender going adrift or a boat happening to be wrecked upon the rock, the beacon could be looked to as a refuge till a.s.sistance arrived.

On the 6th October, 1807, the works were relinquished for the season.

The time which had been spent in the rock amounted only to one hundred and eighty hours, of which one hundred and thirty-three, or about thirteen and a half days of ten hours each, could be said to have been actively employed, and yet during this period, besides the erection of the princ.i.p.al beams of the beacon-house, some considerable progress had been made in preparing the site of the lighthouse. 'This reason's work,' says the engineer, 'affords a good example of what may be executed under similar circ.u.mstances, when every heart and hand is anxiously and zealously engaged, for the artificers wrought at the erection of the beacon as for life; or somewhat like men stopping a breach in a wall to keep out an overwhelming flood.'

During winter the men were busy in the work-yard preparing the stones and laying them course by course upon a stone bas.e.m.e.nt, equal to the foundation course of the lighthouse. Here the stones were fitted into their places, and carefully numbered and marked as they were to lie in the building; a necessary operation, the several courses being dove-tailed and connected together, so as to form one ma.s.s from the centre to the circ.u.mference of the building. The stones were also bored or fixed with trenails of oak and joggles of stone, after the manner of the Eddystone lighthouse, and in this state they were laid aside, and in readiness for being shipped in lighters for the rock.

Considering the importance of a light on the Bell Rock, it was at first determined that the whole outward casing of the lighthouse should be of granite, and that sand-stone should be used only for the interior work; but from the difficulty of procuring a sufficient supply of granite, it was afterwards found necessary to restrict the use of it to the lower courses of the building. The granite was from the Rubislaw quarry, and was so compact, that it contained only about thirteen and a half cubic feet to the ton. The sand-stone was from the Mylnefield quarry, and contained fifteen feet to the ton.

As soon as the weather would permit, the operations of the second season commenced at the rock. The arrangements for carrying on the works were made on an improved scale. A new vessel (named the Sir Joseph Banks) was provided as a tender for lodging the workmen off the rock, instead of the floating-light. The new tender was well supplied with cooking apparatus, provisions, water, fuel, &c.; the s.p.a.ce not used as birthage, &c. was occupied with casks of lime, cement, and other articles required for the work. The advantage of this new arrangement was, the ease with which the tender could be brought to the lee side of the rock, to take the people on board at any emergency; whereas, the floating-light, being moored as a guide to shipping, could not be moved about so easily, to serve the purposes of the workmen. Every precaution was also taken to render the praam-boats or stone-lighters buoyant, for such was the presentiment of danger attached to the landing department, that, in addition to a water-tight lining, each praam was provided with twelve strong empty casks, which were stored in the hold, and were sufficient to float and render her buoyant in case of accident. The praams therefore became so many life-boats, moored in the neighbourhood of the rock. The Sir Joseph Banks was also furnished with large landing boats and a life-boat.

The beacon had resisted the wintry storms tolerably well. Indeed, the force of the waves upon the rock was not so great as might have been expected, from an interesting and unlooked-for cause, namely, the extensive beds of marine plants which grow upon it. 'It often happened,' says Mr. Stevenson, 'when heavy seas were rolling along the Bell Rock, which at a distance threatened to overrun the whole, that, upon reaching these beds of fuci, with which the flat and level parts of the rock were thickly coated, the velocity and force of the waves were immediately checked, and in a great measure destroyed.'

On the 25th of May 1808, the operations of the second season were commenced with very different feelings, to those experienced during the previous year, when every step was attended with a great degree of doubt, uncertainty, and danger; but the preparations and precautions, which had been so wisely adopted, gave a security and promptness to the work, which relieved all concerned in it of much anxiety. Landing upon the rock was at all times difficult, but, so long as the boats were kept from striking upon it, the spray which came on board was but little heeded.

During the early part of this season the work proceeded as follows: The workmen landed on the rock at low water, and immediately began to bale out the water from the foundation pit, while the pumps were also kept in action. The work was proceeded with on the higher parts of the foundation as the water left them. The pumps being placed diagonally, about twenty men were employed to work each pump; and thus this great body of water, extending over a circular area of forty-two feet diameter, and of the average depth of two feet, could be drawn off in half an hour. The men then proceeded, for about two hours and a half, to level the foundation with their picks, some of the sailors being employed in clearing away the chips, and conveying the iron tools to and from the smiths on the beacon, where they were sharpened. When the sea broke in and overflowed the pit, the party returned in boats to the tender.

The appearance of the rock about this time is thus described: 'Its surface was crowded with men, the two forges flaming, the one above the other, upon the beacon, while the anvils thundered with the rebounding noise of their wooden supports, and formed a curious contrast with the clamour of the surges.' Sometimes, when the sea was smooth, the beacon had the appearance of being afloat upon the water, with a number of men supporting themselves in every variety of att.i.tude and position; while from the upper part of this wooden house, such volumes of smoke ascended from the forges, that strangers at a distance often mistook it for a ship on fire. When working by such light at night, the rock presented a remarkable aspect to the distant shipping, the numerous lights flitting about, apparently below the surface of the water, having a curious and fanciful appearance. To the workmen themselves, the effect of extinguishing the torches was sometimes startling, and made the darkness of the night quite horrible, while the sea would a.s.sume that phosphoric appearance so familiar to the sailor, and dash upon the rock like so much liquid fire.

As the work proceeded, the smiths were sometimes left on the beacon throughout the day, and the noise of their anvils was an excellent guide to the boats in foggy weather. This circ.u.mstance confirmed the engineer, as to the propriety of erecting in the lighthouse large bells, to be tolled by machinery day and night, during the continuance of foggy weather, by which the mariner may be forewarned of too near an approach to the rock.