Letter from Lady Bouchier, sending books for Lamlash Library.

Hampton Court

24^th October 1877 

Sir, I am now about to send off a box containing the books I have been collecting as a contribution to the Library at the new Lighthouse on Holy Isle, Arran.

It is addressed to your care, and I enclose a list of the books (they are most of them small volumes) to which I have added a copy of the Memoir that I published some time ago of the life of my father, Admiral Sir Edward Codrington.  I still have some copies of that work in my hands, and if it is not already in the library of the Bell Rock Lighthouse, I will send a copy there as a contribution to that library, on hearing from you that it would be acceptable.  I find that I cannot pay for the box further than from here to London; but if you will tell me the charge for it on its arrival at Edinburgh, I will repay it to you. 

Yours etc

(signed) J Bouchier

Holy Isle Lighthouses

Northern Lighthouse Board

84 George Street

Edinburgh

31^st July 1902 

Telegraphic address

LIGHTHOUSE, EDINBURGH 

PILLAR ROCK POINT

Dear Sir,

The grounds and rights which it will be necessary to obtain from the trustees of Lady Mary Hamilton in connection with the lighthouse and Fog signal buildings to be erected upon Holy Isle, are as follows:- 

• The ground coloured red on the accompanying plan amounting to .266 of an acre, as a site for dwelling houses, engine house, outbuildings etc.  The terms for this piece of ground to be separately priced because the Commissioners may chose to build on present ground should the terms asked for be too high. 

•  The ground coloured green on the plan, as a site for lighthouse tower, fog signal tower, etc. amounting to .055 of an acre. 

•  A right to form a bridle path four feet wide between Lamlash Lighthouse Station and Pillar Rock, as shown approximately by the blue dotted line. 

•  A right to lay pipes for air and oil between those two places. 

•  A right to erect a line of telephone wire and posts between those two places. 

•  A right of way for landing and conveying material at Lamlash Lighthouse Station to the adjacent cove during the progress of the works as shown by a dotted red line. 

•  A right of way from the new land at  Pillar Rock to the tongue of rock where the fence runs to high water mark as shown by a dotted green line and to form a landing place there if desirable.  

•  A right to make use of any wells or springs in the neighbourhood of Pillar Rock to supply water to the lighthouse, eg those marked by red circles. 

•   A right to form an intake at the spring on the hill above the existing lighthouse reservoir and to lay a pipe between the intake and the reservoir. 

•  A right to quarry stone upon the Island from such places and upon such rates as may be mutually agreed upon for forming the necessary buildings and footpaths and afterwards maintaining them. 

•  A right to take small stones and gravel from such places and such rates as may be mutually agreed upon for the making of concrete and other purposes. 

Yours faithfully 

D A Stevenson 

To

C Dick – Peddie Esq.

Secretary

Northern Lighthouse Board

Holy Isle Lighthouses

REGUATIONS FOR HOLY ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE

1. The Principal Lightkeeper is responsible for the efficient working of the double station.
2. The four keepers will keep watch at the Tower and Engine room, two at the former and two at the latter, in rotation – each having a fortnight at the Tower, and a fortnight in the Engine Room.  The rotation will be kept by one Keeper changing every Saturday afternoon.
3. The duration of the watches at both Stations will be four hours.
4. The Keepers at the Tower will keep a constant look out for fog, day and night, and instantly warn the Keeper at the Inner Station by telephone when necessity arises for sounding the horn.
5. On every day except Friday, which is the day for practising the signal and cleaning up thereafter, the Keeper who is having his second week at the Inner Station will go to the Tower after dinner (1.30 p.m.) and remain there till half an hour before lighting time or 8 p.m. whichever is earlier, to allow the Keeper who has the afternoon watch at the Tower to go home.  Should the Signal have been sounding so long that the relieving Keeper at the Inner Station has been more than four hours on duty in the Engine Room on any day before 10 a.m.,  there will be no relief of the Keeper at Pillar Rock that afternoon.
6. Rule 5 will not apply in exceptionally stormy weather, during which the Keepers must not leave their respective Stations.
7. At the season when painting, limewashing etc are being done, the Principal Lightkeeper may modify the foregoing arrangements and may send a Keeper from the Inner to the Outer Station at any time to assist with the work.  He may also send a Keeper from the Outer to the Inner station, provided there is no appearance of fog.
8. The gas light at the Inner Station will be lighted and extinguished by the Keeper who is having his first week at home.
9. The Occasional Keeper will reside and do duty at the Outer Station only and the Principal Keeper will modify the foregoing rules so as to suit the special circumstances of each occasion on which the Occasional’s services are required.

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   Holy Isle Lighthouses

9^th March 1908

Sir, With reference to Rule 7, Chapter 16 of the “Instructions to Lightkeepers”,  I now beg to state that, after considering the special circumstances of your Station, it has been decided that in future, when the weather is favourable and there is no appearance of fog, one of the two Keepers at the Inner Station may be allowed to go across to Kingscross without calling in the Occasional – on the distinct understanding that he must be back within two hours, and that should fog come on, he must return at once.

On the few occasions on which it is necessary for an Assistant Lightkeper to go to Lamlash or Whiting Bay to pay accounts he may, when on duty at the Inner Station, be allowed to do so without calling in the Occasional on the understanding that he first obtains the sanction of the Principal Lightkeeper, that he is absent no longer than is absolutely necessary and returns to the Station at least one hour before lighting time; and that the duration of absence is entered in the Return.

Holy Isle Lighthouses

HOLY ISLAND – 4^th November 1911 – Letter to PLK (John Clyne)

Sir, I have to state for your guidance that when a Lightkeeper who is at the Outer Station receives an intimation of transfer, he is to be allowed to return to the Inner Station a week before the date of his leaving the Station, to enable him to pack up – his place at the Outer Station being taken by the Keeper then at the Inner Station in turn. 

Holy Isle Lighthouses

7 November 1906

Appointment of doctor for Holy Isle and Pladda

….The duties connected with your appointment are to visit lightkeepers and any members of their families (including, in the case of an unmarried keeper, the person acting as his housekeeper), when called upon to do so, and prescribe for, and attend them in cases of illness or accident.

There is a medicine chest at each Station for the use of lightkeepers with a supply of medicine for ordinary complaints.

The above salary and fee are exclusive of your charge in cases of child-birth, which is a matter of private arrangement between you and the lightkeepers.

The Commissioners’ boatmen at Kildonan and Kingscross will take you to the respective stations when necessary, but should the weather at any time render it more suitable for you to go to Holy Island by boat from Lamlash instead of by the Commissioners’ boat at Kingscross, the cost will be borne by the Board.

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Holy Isle Lighthouses

Holy Island 2^nd December 1916 

HOLY ISLAND FOG SIGNAL QUESTIONNAIRE 

Q1 What is your storage pressure?

A -  75 lbs.

Q2  After opening the reducing valve at stored tanks, how many minutes elapse before the pressure in these tanks falls to the pressure stated in reply to Q 7?

A – 15 min.

Q 3  After deciding that it is necessary to sound for fog, how many minutes elapse before you open the reducing valve?

A – mins.  The Keeper at the Shore Station has to be called up and give reply before horn is started otherwise horn might be started and no-one in the engine-room.

Q 4  From the time of entering the engine room, how many minutes does it take to start two engines and have the compressors working?

 A – 12 mins..

Q – What is the ordinary blowing pressure at engine room at commencement of the first two blasts?

A – 36 lbs

Q -  What is the pressure at the engine room at the end of the second blast?

A – 31 lbs.

Q – What is the pressure at hornhouse at commencement of the first 2 blasts?

A- 34 lbs.

Q – What is the pressure at hornhouse at the end of the second blast?

A – 27 lbs.

Q – What are the observed lengths in seconds of each of the two blasts?

A – 5 sec

Holy Isle Lighthouses 

Holy Island, 9^th January 1918 

Sir,

I beg to inform you that having started the engines for snow showers this morning the 9^th inst at 2.15, we were obliged to stop the engines for want of water,  the pipes being frozen with the intense frost prevailing.  We had to thaw them with  the blow lamps and it was 5.0 o’clock before we succeeded in getting the water to come and the engines underway, by that time the weather had cleared.  The horn sounded from 2.15 to 2.40.

I am, Sir,

Your obed. Servant

James Innes

Principal Keeper

Holy Isle Lighthouses