Shetland Islands

Place of the lighthouse

The island of Bressay is located 4 kilometer south-east of the capital of the Shetland Islands and two west of the island of Noss. The island has an area of 28 square kilometers and is the fifth largest island in Shetland.

The island consists of Old Red Sandstone with some basaltic intrusions. Bressay was mined extensively for building materials, which were used throughout Shetland, especially in nearby Lerwick. A lighthouse has been placed on this island because a lot of shipping traffic goes along this strait towards Lerwick. It is also alandmark on Bressay. It is located on the island of Bressay at Kirkabister Ness overlooking Bressay Sound.

Building of the Lighthouse

The Commissioners of the Northern Lighthouses Board wrote to the Board of Trade on 10 November 1854 for permission to build a lighthouse on Kirkabister Ness (Bressay Sound), a site at the southern entrance to Lerwick Harbour. The Board of Trade gave permission in a letter to the Commissioners dated November 14, 1854.

It was one of four lighthouses built in Shetland between 1854 and 1858 which were designed by brothers David Lillie and Thomas Stevenson. David Lillie initially maintained that building a lighthouse in Shetland waters was impossible, too dangerous and too expensive, and that any vessel's captain who took this route was mad.

After lengthy correspondence with the Board of Trade and the Elder Brethren of Trinity House regarding the cost of building the lighthouse and obtaining approval for the plans, construction of the lighthouse finally began in February 1856. The two brothers David Lillie and Thomas Stevenson were the engineers of this lighthouse in 1856 - 1958. The lighthouse was first lit on the evening of August 31, 1858.

TOWER: 3-stage tower comprising battered circular shaft on base course and circular concrete plinth; 2-leaf vertically-boarded timber entrance door with 2-pane fanlight centred to N and narrow 3-pane fixed lights centred to S at each lower stage. Droved sandstone string course at upper stage, bold corbels above, supporting balcony with cast-iron handrail around cylindrical murette surmounted by lantern comprised of triangular-paned glazing with arrow weathervane vent to dome above. KEEPER'S ACCOMMODATION: single storey, 5 x 2-bay building of double- pile plan with M-gables. Base and eaves courses, margined corners and windows with projecting cills. Irregularly fenestrated S elevation with later concrete-roofed porches projecting at centre and left. Irregularly fenestrated E gable; regularly fenestrated N elevation except blank in bay at outer left. Small flat-roofed stugged ashlar toilet block with base course and vertically-boarded timber door adjacent to NE corner of keeper's accommodation. ENGINE HOUSE AND OIL TANKS: single storey, with asymmetrical 7-bay elevations to N and S and blank end elevations. Base course, blocking course at eaves; long and short quoins to corners and windows. Rivetted cast-iron tanks on concrete bases adjoining SW corner. Glazed brick walls, tiled floors and 4-panel doors to interior. STORE: single storey, 3-bay symmetrical store building with base course; vertically-boarded timber door in each bay of S elevation, regular fenestration in N elevation. FOG HORN HOUSE: single tier tower comprising battered semi-circular plan shuttered concrete plinth with vertically-boarded timber door; exterior wall enclosing stair and works, surmounted by cogged track (horn now replaced by modern radar). 3-pane fixed-lights to tower; modern glazing to keeper's accommodation, some timber sash and case windows comprising 6-pane upper sashes over 2-pane lower sashes surviving at engine house. Green slate M-roof to keeper's accommodation with cast-iron gutters and downpipes with decorative hoppers; formal arrangement of coped, stugged sandstone and cement-rendered stacks with circular cans to apexes of W gables, ridges, and valley; cement-rendered skew copes. Flat roof to engine house; cast-iron downpipes with hoppers; 2 flue cement-rendered stack with circular cans, at centre of roof. Purple-grey slate roof to store with cast-iron gutters and downpipe with decorative hopper. BOUNDARY WALLS AND GATEPIERS: flagstone rubble boundary walls, harl- pointed and whitewashed on inner face. Stugged sandstone gatepiers with pyramidal caps at entrance gate to NE.

The three-storey lighthouse has a circular design, tapering towards the lantern house. The tower is 30 meters high and had a light intensity of 159,000 candela.

Warning systems (Light)

Sealed Beam 10 lamps 6 red 4 white 13/9/1940 Catoptric PV light 1967 Electric lamp 17/7/1976 Mercury vapour lamp 1986 Minor light status 12/9/2012 Replaced by LED beacon mounted on Radar tower adjacent to tower

Warning systems (Foghorn)

Operational status

Operator Lerwick Port Authority

Information about the lighthouse specific

Additional information

---

Statement of Special Interest The modern glazing of the keeper's accommodation is out of character, the original glazing perhaps matched the 12-pane pattern of the earlier buildings at Sumburgh Head Lighthouse (see separately listing). It is unfortunate that the horn of the famous "Bressay Coo" has been removed from its plinth, but the interior and oil tanks of the generator house remain as an interesting survivors from the early 20th century improvements.

Bressay Lighthouse is still an active lighthouse in the Shetland Islands, Scotland, 4 kilometers south-east of Lerwick.

Bressay was electrified on 17 July 1967 and the fog siren was discontinued in 1987. The light automated in 1989 and is now remotely monitored from the Board’s headquarters in Edinburgh.

In November 1995 the outbuildings and former Keepers cottages buildings were purchased by the Shetland Amenity Trust, a charitable organisation set up to conserve and enhance Shetland’s heritage. The two Assistant Keepers cottages have been refurbished and are available on short-term lease. The Principal keeper’s cottage will be a self-catering complex and the Engine Room adjacent will be a camping bod or bothy with bunks. The Engine and Radar room are due to be turned into a Heritage Centre.

On the 12 September 2012 there was a change at Bressay lighthouse when the light, which has been operational for over 150 years, was permanently discontinued by the Northern Lighthouse Board. However, there was a seamless transfer of the provision of an aid to navigation for Bressay Sound. Instead of the 23 mile light shining from the original Stevenson lighthouse a new 10 mile light is now provided by Lerwick Port Authority.

This switchover followed years of discussion between the NLB and Lerwick Port Authority. From the conclusions of the Northern Lighthouse Board's 2005 Review of its aids to navigation requirements it was considered that as the Bressay light was within Lerwick Harbour limits it qualified for transfer to the Authority under the terms of the Merchant vesselping Act 1995. The Board and the Port Authority considered the best possible solution to ensure the continued safety of the mariner in these waters.

Rather than the Port Authority taking over the existing Stevenson structure they opted to erect a new light structure, which exhibits a 10 mile LED light showing the same character of flashing (2) every 20 seconds. The new structure was placed on the site of the former radar station and fog signal adjacent to the existing light.

A Notice to Mariners was issued by the Northern Lighthouse Board on 21 August 2012 advising the mariner of the change in status of the light.

Following the discontinuation of the light on 12 September 2012 the Board no longer required the lighthouse tower at Bressay. The former lighthouse tower was transferred into the ownervessel of the Shetland Amenity Trust in June 2013 and the Board no longer have an involvement with the property at Bressay.

The shore station was purchased by the Shetland Amenity Trust in 1995 and has been converted into a Marine Heritage Centre. The fog signal was discontinued in the 1980s. The notable red horn was removed, however, the building that housed the siren is still in place and now houses a radar mast, and the five pressurised air tanks are still in place.

Bressay Lighthouse is situated on the Island of Bressay off the East Mainland of Shetland. The Commissioners of the Northern Lighthouses wrote to the Board of Trade on 10 November 1854 requesting sanction to build a Lighthouse on Kirkabisterness (Bressa Sound) - a site at the South entrance to Lerwick Harbour. The Board of Trade conveyed sanction in a letter to the Commissioners dated 14 November 1854. Following lengthy correspondence with the Board of Trade and the Elder Brethren of Trinity House, regarding the cost of building the lighthouse and obtaining approval to plans and specifications, work was eventually commenced on the stonework etc in February 1856. The light was first lit on the night of 31 August 1858. Bressay was electrified on 17 July 1967 and the fog siren was discontinued in 1987. The light automated in 1989 and is now remotely monitored from the Board’s headquarters in Edinburgh. In November 1995 the outbuildings and former Keepers cottages buildings were purchased by the Shetland Amenity Trust, a charitable organisation set up to conserve and enhance Shetland’s heritage. The two Assistant Keepers cottages have been refurbished and are available on short-term lease. The Principal keeper’s cottage will be a self-catering complex and the Engine Room adjacent will be a camping bod or bothy with bunks. The Engine and Radar room are due to be turned into a Heritage Centre. On the 12 September 2012 there was a change at Bressay lighthouse when the light, which has been operational for over 150 years, was permanently discontinued by the Northern Lighthouse Board. However, there was a seamless transfer of the provision of an aid to navigation for Bressay Sound. Instead of the 23 mile light shining from the original Stevenson lighthouse a new 10 mile light is now provided by Lerwick Port Authority. This switchover followed years of discussion between the NLB and Lerwick Port Authority. From the conclusions of the Northern Lighthouse Board's 2005 Review of its aids to navigation requirements it was considered that as the Bressay light was within Lerwick Harbour limits it qualified for transfer to the Authority under the terms of the Merchant vesselping Act 1995. The Board and the Port Authority considered the best possible solution to ensure the continued safety of the mariner in these waters. Rather than the Port Authority taking over the existing Stevenson structure they opted to erect a new light structure, which exhibits a 10 mile LED light showing the same character of flashing (2) every 20 seconds. The new structure was placed on the site of the former radar station and fog signal adjacent to the existing light. A Notice to Mariners was issued by the Northern Lighthouse Board on 21 August 2012 advising the mariner of the change in status of the light. Following the discontinuation of the light on 12 September 2012 the Board no longer required the lighthouse tower at Bressay. The former lighthouse tower was transferred into the ownervessel of the Shetland Amenity Trust in June 2013 and the Board no longer have an involvement with the property at Bressay.

---

LIGHTHOUSEACCOMMODATION Shore stations Photo: Patrick Tubby Bressay Lighthouse is situated on the southwest of the island at Kirkabister Ness (Ness meaning headland). It sits on a low-lying shelf with the island rising steeply behind it. From seaward, its white encircling walls and buildings stand out against the island’s greenery. A sea arch is close to the lighthouse. The six-mile-long island of Bressay runs parallel with Mainland Shetland’s east coast. Bressay Sound separates the island from Mainland Shetland, providing a natural shelter for Lerwick and its harbour. Along with Bound Skerry and Muckle Flugga, Bressay Lighthouse was built to serve naval traffic during the Crimean War. The Commissioners of Northern Lights made an application to build a lighthouse in November 1854, and the Board of Trade approved plans in the same month. However, Trinity House were concerned about the cost of building the new lighthouse. Much discussion took place over the plans and specifications, and building work was delayed until February 1856. Bressay Sound Photo: Patrick Tubby The 52ft high white tower and buildings were designed by David and Thomas Stevenson. A light was first exhibited on 31st August 1858, with a paraffin vapour burner within a second-order revolving optic. The optic turned using a clockwork mechanism with a falling weight down the tower’s centre. Its character, a red and white alternate flash at one-minute intervals, was visible in clear weather for 16 miles. An essential aspect of lighthouse keeping was good timekeeping. In July 1886, the Commissioners arrived at Bressay in fog aboard the NLB tender Pharos at 1.00 pm. On arrival, they found the lighthouse clock stopped at 11.00 am. The keepers had evidently not seen them coming! Arch and lighthouse Photo: Patrick Tubby In the summer, mornings can be light very early; this is known locally as the “Simmer Dim”. On one such occasion, the light was extinguished ten minutes before its official time. Unfortunately for the keepers, an observant person on the mainland had spotted the early extinction of the light. They reported the incident to Headquarters, and a few days later, the Principal Keeper was reprimanded. The fog signal that had sounded two blasts every 90 seconds was discontinued in 1987. Bressay Lighthouse was automated in 1989. Afterwards, the keepers’ accommodation was used as a shore station for the Muckle Flugga keepers and their families. Located at the tip of Unst, Muckle Flugga is the most northerly lighthouse in the UK. Bressay Lighthouse Photo: Patrick Tubby Even in recent times, the treacherous coast has claimed many vessels. Probably the most notorious was the grounding of the oil tanker Braer in January 1993. This had catastrophic effects on the area’s marine wildlife. Later that year, in November 1993, a Latvian factory ship the Lunokhod also ran aground close to the lighthouse. In November 1995, the Shetland Amenity Trust purchased the buildings. The two former keepers’ cottages were refurbished. The Northern Lighthouse Board transferred the operation of Bressay Lighthouse to Lerwick Port Authority following a major review. On 12th September 2012, the light at Bressay Lighthouse, which had been operational for 150 years, was discontinued. A new structure with LED light on the former radar station and fog signal replaced the existing light, and its range was reduced from 23 to 10 miles. Replacement light The replacement light Photo: Patrick Tubby Following decommissioning of the lighthouse, the lighthouse buildings were transferred to the Shetland Amenity Trust in June 2013. The former optic from Bressay Lighthouse, which used rotating reflectors, is on display at the Shetland Museum in Lerwick. optic at museum Former Bressay optic at the Shetland Museum Photo: Patrick Tubby Bressay is a five-minute ferry ride from the main Northlink ferry terminal on Mainland Shetland. Bressay Lighthouse Established: 1858 Height of tower: 16 metres Elevation of light: 32 metres (current light 18 metres) Automated: 1989 Character: Fl (2) W 10s Range of light: 10 miles