Dennis Head Old Beacon
| Dennis Head Old Beacon | |||
| North Ronaldsay | |||
 The Old Beacon | |||
| Location | |||
| Grid reference: | HY79005537 | ||
| Location: | 59°23’3"N, 2°22’17"W | ||
| Characteristics | |||
| Height: | 70 feet | ||
| Tower shape: | cylindrical tower and no lantern | ||
| Tower marking: | unpainted tower | ||
| History | |||
| Built 1789 | |||
| Decommissioned: | 1809 | ||
| Information | |||
Dennis Head Old Beacon is a ruined, Georgian lighthouse standing on Dennis Head, the easternmost point of North Ronaldsay, the farthest of the isles of Orkney. The lighthouse was in operation for just twenty years, but it remains an impressive construction.
The beacon and keepers' houses are protected as a scheduled monument.[1]
The tower stands 70 feet high. It was completed in 1789 under the supervision of Thomas Smith assisted by his stepson Robert Stevenson (the latter of whom was to become the most famous lighthouse engineer of the age). It was to be the first of many island lighthouses for Smith (he had previously worked on the lights at Kinnaird Head and Mull of Kintyre). Its lighting system, although advanced for its time, consisting of a cluster of oil-burning lamps and reflectors was not very effective, often being mistaken for the mast-head of another ship by mariners.
In 1809, with the construction of other nearby lighthouses, it was decided that the North Ronaldsay light was no longer required, and it was extinguished. The round stone tower was retained as a sea-mark, however, and the original beacon chamber at the top replaced by a vaulted roof, capped by a remarkable ball finial. The stone spiral staircase which once led to the beacon was demolished. The original keepers' houses, roofless but largely complete, survive below the tower.
The Old Beacon featured on the 2006 BBC television series Restoration Village finishing in third place.
North Ronaldsay Lighthouse was built nearby in 1854.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Dennis Head Old Beacon) |
- Restoration Village: Dennis Head Old Beacon: BBC
- "Race to save an Orkney landmark - Scotsman". 4 August 2006. http://heritage.scotsman.com/places.cfm?id=1132192006. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
- "The Old Beacon - North Ronaldsay". http://hodgers.com/northronaldsay/2006/08/the_old_beacon.shtml. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
References
- ↑ Dennis Head, Old Beacon, North Ronaldsay - scheduled monument detail (Historic Environment Scotland)