Update: 01-01-2025
Place of the lighthouse
The Covesea- and Halliman Skerries forms a group of small islands and rocks that lie off the Moray coast, 5 kilometers west of Lossiemouth and 1.5 kilometer east of Covesea. It is said that a holy man, St Gerardine, who lived on the coast of Moray in the 8th century, warned vessels of danger, by swinging a lantern on the shore, to guided them to safety past of the Covesea- and Halliman Skerries. (Halliman Skerries still retain in their name a reference to the holy hermit.)
Following a storm in the Moray Firth in November 1826 when 16 vessels sunk, applications made for lighthouses at Tarbat Ness, on the opposite coast, and at Covesea Skerries. The Commissioners of Northern Light Houses (the precursor of the NLB) and Trinity House found that a lighthouse at Covesea was unnecessary but this was against public opinion.
After many letters and petitions from local people, a suitable site was chosen and the building of a lighthouse on the Craighead and a beacon on the Halliman Skerries were approved. The 13 meters tall grid iron tower, which can still be seen on the Skerries today, was erected in 1845.
The Lighthouse
The Covesea Skerries lighthouse, is one of nearly 200 lighthouses that are located all around Scotland’s wild coastline and is built on top of a small headland on the south coast of the Moray Firth at Covesea, near Lossiemouth, Morayshire. The lighthouse was designed by Alan Stevenson member of the famous 'Stevensons' family. It was built by James Smith, a contractor in Inverness.
Alan Stevenson, the lighthouse architect, moved with the times and built his lighthouses in a neoclassical style. Here in Covesea he added numerous neoclassical details to his architecture and together with Ardnamurchan Lighthouse on the west coast are the best examples of his handiwork. Neoclassical influences can be seen at the entrance to the tower, the chimneys of the houses and the arches at the top of the lighthouse under the balcony.
The tall round lighthouse has 7 floors with a semi-circular extended base on the ground floor. The tower is now painted white as are parts of the carved bluestone and polished bluestone dressings, some painted in an ocher yellow color characteristic of the Northern Lighthouse Board.
The lighthouse complex included the two keepers cottages along with workshops and offices on the ground floor. The lighthouse keepers' houses with only a ground floor are also built in a neoclassical style. The front facade has 10 compartments (2x mirrored 5 compartments) with alternating advanced and recessed compartments. Worked bluestones, polished bluestone dressings, painted entirely white. Entrance or window in advanced bays, each with heavy cornice. High walls were built around the lighthouse complex to shelter the courtyard from the wind. But those high walls created 'strong whirlwinds' in the courtyard. This hindered the lookout of the light keepers, so the walls were lowered to their current height in 1907.
The inscription above the main entrance to the lighthouse reads:
In salutem omnium Northern Lights. Alan Stevenson, LLB, engineer, James Smith, contractor, William Middlemiss, chief inspector. MDLCCXL1V'.
Warning systems (Light, Fog horn, Radar Beacon)
The original lens from Covesea Skerries Lighthouse was made from a series of perfectly polished crystal glass lenses set into a brass structure. Called a Fresnel Lens, after its French creator, these intricate constructions were flat on one side and ridged at the other, like the rings of a tree. Each ring is slightly thinner than the next and focuses the light toward the centre, creating a narrow beam of light. This lens is now in the Lossiemouth Fisheries and Community Museum; it is so large that it can be seen on both, the lower and upper floor.
The lighthouse stands 36 meters high and its light had a range of 24 Nautical Miles ~ 44 kilometers, flashing red and white every 20 seconds. On daytime, and the relentless demands of ‘lightkeeping’ continued as reflectors were polished, oil was replenished and windows cleaned in preparation for the next evening. This work had to be undertaken in partial darkness. If light from the sun hits the lens, the intense heat could damage the burner and possibly going to fire.
After automation the light was monitored from the Northern Lighthouse Board's offices in Edinburgh. The light was visited on a regular basis by a local person to carry out basic maintenance and cleaning. Once a year the 'Northern Lighthouse Board' technicians would visit the light to carry an yearly inspection.
The light was finally extinguished in 2012 following 166 years of loyal service. the light is replaced by a "North Cardinal" navigational lit buoy fitted with X Band Radar Beacon on the north eastern extremity of the Halliman Skerries on 21 February 2012.
Additional information
The lighthouse is a Category A Listed Building, deemed to be 'of national importance'. It is now owned by Covesea Lighthouse Community Company who are preserves this iconic building as a heritage and education centre for all.
Following the discontinuation of the light in 2012, the Board no longer had required the ground at Covesea and plans were put in place to sell the Category A Listed property. In July 2012 the Northern Lighthouse Board received notification from The Scottish Government that the Covesea Lighthouse Community Company Limited had registered an interest in the Covesea Skerries property. The Covesea Lighthouse Community Company was formed by the local business association in Lossiemouth to develop the lighthouse site for tourism.
The Covesea Lighthouse Community Company managed to secure a major grant from the Scottish Land Fund and on 4 April 2013 the Northern Lighthouse Board sold the entire lighthouse complex at Covesea Skerries to the community. The plan is now to develop the iconic landmark as a major tourism hub to promote local heritage, the area's unique wildlife and environment and its links to the nearby airbase at RAF Lossiemouth.
