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The Isle of May spelled romance for two members of the Clyne family. Robert Clyne, my great uncle, was sent to the Isle of May as Assistant Light Keeper in the year 1878. It was his first station, and he remained there for 6 years. An unmarried man, he took with him a housekeeper, as was the custom. Robert’s housekeeper was his younger sister, Mary Clyne.
The Principal Keeper at the time was
Joseph Agnew, a gentleman who appears to have been ready to speak his mind.
The minutes describing the visit of the Commissioners in 1868, while finding
everything “in good order”, record that Joseph was requesting a new stair
carpet, pointing out a dangerous iron plate in the back hall, and complaining
about the behaviour of the day trippers to the island – trippers who were
frequently drunk and who carried guns into the bargain! (see
Isle of May
Archives). Later documents record Joseph Agnew
submitting to the Northern Lighthouse Board a “somewhat novel claim” in
compensation for the death of the station cow, who was in calf, the death having
been caused by a fall on the slippery floor in the shed where she was kept – a
claim turned down, it might be added, as the shed was not the recognised byre!!
(see Isle of May Archives). Joseph had a son, Robert Agnew, who also aspired to
enter the service of the Northern Lighthouse Board as a Light Keeper; Robert,
however, entered the service in the first instance as a member of the crew of
the NLB Vessel, the “Pharos” which was based at nearby Grantham, Cramond. Not
only would young Robert have returned home to the Isle of May when he was on
leave, but no doubt the “Pharos” would have made regular provisioning trips to
the Isle of May as well; Robert Agnew no doubt availed himself of this double
opportunity of becoming better acquainted with the ALK’s housekeeper! In the
meantime, Robert Clyne was himself courting, although in this instance, meetings
would have been restricted to Robert’s visits to his parents’ house when on
leave. Robert’s young lady was named Isabella Davidson. She would almost
certainly have been known to Mary Clyne, and might possibly even have been a
friend, coming as she did from the same village of Craig, near Montrose. Thus
young love ran its
course, and in June 1883, the wedding of Robert Clyne and
Isabella Davidson took place, to be followed 15 months later by the wedding of
Mary Clyne and Robert Agnew, in September 1884.
The Isle of May can boast that it was
the home of the first of all recorded Scottish lighthouses, dating from as early
as 1636. Built by private enterprise, the tower was 25 feet square with a
vaulted roof; on top of this burned a coal-fired beacon, which was estimated to
consume approximately 1 ton of coal per day, all of which had to be hauled up
the hill by the keeper and his family. Permission for this enterprise had been
sought and granted by King Charles 1 and the Scottish Privy Council, who had
agreed that a fee or two shillings per ton, if the ship was a Scottish one, and
four shillings per ton, if the ship was of any other nationality, was to be
levied on passing vessels.
From this sum, the Crown would receive £1000 per
annum. This private arrangement, although modified from time to time, continued
for almost two hundred years, until in 1814, the island and all its concerns,
including the lighthouse, were purchased by the Northern Lighthouse Board.
While better than nothing, the coal-fired beacon had many disadvantages; not
only was it responsible in 1792 for the death of one keeper, his wife and five
of his six children (see Isle of May Archives),
but the fire had also been confused
on many occasions with fires from salt pans and lime kilns further down the
coastline, sometimes with disastrous maritime results; moreover, technology had
moved forward, and so the NLB lost no time in beginning the erection of
a new lighthouse which would use oil-fired lamps. This new building, engineered
by Robert Stevenson, was a striking structure which incorporated a square tower,
24 metres high, upon a stone dwelling. Standing 73
metres above sea level, it now flashes white every 20 seconds and
can be seen at
a distance of 26 miles. This major lighthouse was automated in 1989. In 1844,
a second, conventional, Low Lighthouse was built, to
act as a leading light to guard vessels away from the North Carr rocks on the
coast of Fife but was discontinued in 1887 and is now used by birdwatchers. All
three lighthouses can still be seen on the island today.
Nowadays, the Isle of May is a National Nature Reserve, and is reputed to be the foremost Puffin site in the UK. It is also home to Eider Duck, Guillemots, and Razorbills to name but a few and a visit to the island in the spring is simply wonderful. The island is carpeted in wild flowers, and the birds show little fear of visitors, making it very important to keep to the paths to avoid treading on puffin burrows, or eggs laid in ground nests. On our last visit, a herring gull flew off her nest on the beach a few feet below us, and revealed her clutch of eggs lying beautifully camouflaged amongst the pebbles on which they were laid. “Maa Oy” from which the island may have derived its name, is the Norse for “Gull Island”. A small family of eider ducks were waddling along one of the paths, and the comical puffins were arriving in droves from seaward, making their way directly to the burrows which they had inhabited the previous year. Far below, a large colony of seals were lounging on the rocks. We had set off in the morning in a cloudless sky. However, as the day progressed, we became aware of large grey clouds gathering ominously, and towards the end of the afternoon, we witnessed the most spectacular lightning storm that I have ever seen. We found a shelter at the highest point of the island, near the lighthouse, in front of which stood a tall flag pole with a cross bar and metal guys. Blue and red forks of lightning lit up the sky and on a couple of occasions, the flag pole was struck, so that for several seconds at a time, the whole structure, including transept and metal stays, would spark and arc and glow only a few yards from us, a truly awesome sight.
Robert Clyne remained on the Isle of May for 6 years, and it was possibly here that his interest in ornithology began – he was to become an expert in this field as time progressed. In 1884, however, both he and Robert Agnew were transferred to new stations. Robert Agnew, who had by now become an Assistant Lightkeeper, and his new wife Mary Clyne, were sent to Muckle Flugga Lighthouse, on North Unst, the most northerly lighthouse operated by the NLB, while Robert Clyne and his wife Isabella Davidson were sent from the Isle of May to continue their service at Langness Lighthouse on the Isle of Man.
