Lighthouses of Scotland

Account - Scotland in General

---

Account / Introduction

Scotland, a country with an amazing beautiful countryside and coast, houses as part of an Island a load of great lighthouses. They are typical and functional in their geographical place and of their general features as a cultural expression. This site describes these lighthouses; its surrounding, its function, their architects, the construction, the workings, maintenance and actual operation. Information has been taken from the internet. Below a general orientation on this beautiful country.

The left-hand column (all pages) shows the menu structure of this site. Each button gives specific information. The right-hand side of the page gives additional information about to the lighthouse. Information and/or improvements to the text are always welcome through an email to: Bob Schrage.

The name

The Latin name Scotia was originally used for Ireland. Later, about the 5th century AD when Celtic people from Ireland settled in the North-West of the mainland of Great Britain, the name was used for that part of the country. The name Caledonia indicating Scotland is also in use, especially in poetry. It comes from Caledonii, the Roman name of a tribe in the northern part of what is now Scotland.

Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels. The Late Latin word Scotia ("land of the Gaels") was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to (Gaelic-speaking) Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside with Albania or Albany, both derived from the Gaelic Alba. The use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages.

Geography

The country is part of Great Britain that covers the northern third of the mainland. It shares a border with England to the south. In the west the Atlantic Ocean, at the eastern side the North Sea, in the southwest the Irish Sea between Ireland and England. Next to the mainland, the country is surrounded by more than 790 islands, including the Orkney Islands, the Shetland Islands to the north and the Outer Hebrides to the west.

Great Britain

As an independent sovereign state The Kingdom of Scotland existed in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, thus forming a personal union of the three kingdoms. Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain.

The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. (In 1801, Great Britain itself entered into a political union with the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; the Parliament of Ireland merging with that of Great Britain to form the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Since the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922, the United Kingdom has been comprised as Great Britain and Northern Ireland).

Law and culture

In comparison with the United Kingdom monarchy, Scotland continued to use the pre-union variety of styles, titles and other royal symbols of statehood. The legal system of Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland comprises in its constitutions a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. The continued existence of legal, educational, religious and other institutions distinct from those in the remainder of the UK have all contributed to the continuation of Scottish culture and national identity since the 1707 union with England.

The country's capital and second-largest city is Edinburgh. It was the hub in the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century, which transformed Scotland into one of the commercial, intellectual, and industrial powerhouses of Europe. Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, was once one of the world's leading industrial cities. It lies at the centre of the Greater Glasgow conurbation. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee. Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europe's oil capital.

Other important cities in Scotland are: Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee

Listed buildings in Scotland

Many lighthouses in Scotland are listed buildings. In case of a listing it will bee mentioned at the relevant lighthouse. A listed building or listed structure, in Scotland, is a statutory list of buildings with particular architectural or historical interests. The legal authorities that maintain the list in Scotland is Historic Environment Scotland.

---

Category	Criteria
A	Buildings of national or international importance, either architectural or historic, or fine little-altered examples of some particular period, style or building type.
B	Buildings of regional or more than local importance, or major examples of some particular period, style or building type which may have been altered.
C	Buildings of local importance, lesser examples of any period, style, or building type, as originally constructed or moderately altered; and simple traditional buildings which group well with others in categories A and B.

---

In Scotland, the process of classifying buildings has started earlier than in the rest of the UK. In September 1936, the architect commissioned Ian Lindsay to investigate 103 cities and villages based on a Amsterdam model with three categories (A, B and C).

A listed building may not be demolished, renewed or modified without the special permission of the local planning authority, which generally consult with the relevant central government office, in particular for significant changes in the more remarkable buildings. Owners of listed buildings are in some cases obliged to repair and maintain them and can prosecute if they do not or do unauthorized changes. When changes are allowed, or when the buildings are repaired or maintained, owners are often required to use specific materials or techniques.