Bell Rock

“ Excepting at the erection of the principal beams of the beacon, the Bell Rock this morning presented by far the most busy and active appearance it had exhibited since the erection of the Beacon. The surface [223] of the Rock was crowded with men, the two forges flaming, the one above the other, upon the Beacon, while the anvils thundered with the rebounding noise of their wooden supports, and formed a curious contrast with the occasional clamour of the surges. ”

“ Soundings prove the existence of a ridge or shallower part of the sea bottom extending a considerable way in these directions, and as the adjacent coasts present ample evidence of the sea having at some remote period in the world’s history occupied a much higher level, the theory that the Bell Rock did not always occupy the isolated position it now does, but stretched continuously from the Red Head to Berwick, damming the waters of the Forth and Tay, appears highly tenable. ”

“ There is, however, this peculiar difference between the waves on the ordinary seashore and the billows on the Bell Rock, that the latter, unlike the former, are not always defeated. The spectator on shore plants his foot confidently at the very edge of the mighty sea, knowing that “thus far it may come, but no farther.” On the Bell Rock the rising tide makes the conflict, for a time, more equal. Now, the rock stands proudly above the sea: anon the sea sweeps furiously over the rock with a roar of “Victory!” ”

“ In reflecting upon the state of matters at the Bell Rock, during the working months, when the writer was much with the artificers, nothing can equal the happy manner in which these excellent workmen spent their time. They always went from Arbroath to their arduous task cheering, and they generally returned in the same hearty state. While at the Rock, between the tides, they amused themselves in reading, fishing, music, playing cards, drafts, &c. or in sporting with one another. ”

“ I was with him, too, on the Bell Rock, in the fog, when the Smeaton had drifted from her moorings, and the Aberdeen men, pick in hand, had seized upon the only boats, and he must stoop and lap sea-water before his tongue could utter audible words; and once more with him when the Bell Rock beacon took a “thrawe,” and his workmen fled into the tower, then nearly finished, and he sat unmoved reading in his Bible—or affecting to read—till one after another slunk back with confusion of countenance to their engineer. Yes, parts of me have seen life, and met adventures, and sometimes met them well. ”

“ Detaching one from its anchorage, it seems quite dormant and inert, and appears to have lost the alacrity with which, in summer, they withdraw themselves into their shells, and only with apparent difficulty is the operculum or door of their domicile closed against intruders. To witness the continual thumping and pounding to which the Rock is subjected during the winter, one is surprised to find that life in any form should continue to exist under such conditions. ”

“ During these twenty-four hours the wind was from the south, blowing fresh breezes, accompanied with showers of snow. In the morning, the snow showers were so thick, that it was with difficulty the landing-master, who always steered the leading-boat, could make his way to the Rock through the drift. But at the Bell Rock, neither snow, nor rain, nor fog, nor wind, retarded the progress of the work, if unaccompanied by a heavy swell or breach of the sea. ”

“ The Bell Rock lies on the east of Scotland, off the mouths of the Forth and Tay, 12 miles from the Forfarshire coast, which is the nearest land. Its foundation is always under water except for an hour or two at low-tide. At high tides there are about 12 or 16 feet of water above the highest ledge of the Bell Rock, which consists of a series of sandstone ridges. These, at ordinary low-tides, are uncovered to the extent of between 100 and 200 yards. At neap tides the rock shows only a few black teeth with sea-weed gums above the surface.
There is a boat which attends upon this lighthouse. ”

“ At high water they come quite close to the tower, and their antics are seen to advantage from our balcony. Rolling over each other, they make for the bottom, gliding along the rocks like hounds hunting in couples; then with a rush they are on the surface, floating bolt upright, with their muzzles almost touching, staring with their large, expressive eyes into each other’s face. An almost human touch was given to their play by one taking the head of the other between his fore-flippers, as if about to salute him, or more likely her, in the orthodox fashion. ”

“ Bell Rock was only one of twenty lighthouses Robert Stevenson helped to build, but it was by far the most difficult one ... and even to-day, after it has been lighted for more than a hundred years, it still remains unique—a monument to his skill.
Bell Rock was practically a reef completely submerged at full tide and only a few feet of its crest visible at low water. To raise a tower on it meant placing a foundation under water, a new and perilous experiment. ”

“ The Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses accordingly resolved to erect a lighthouse there, somewhat after the model of Smeaton’s Eddystone, but the work proved to be a much more difficult and arduous undertaking owing to the Rock being always covered by the sea, except for a short time at low water, whereas the Eddystone was never altogether covered, even at high water. The Bell Rock is a low flat lying reef, the surface of which becomes uncovered to any extent only at low water of spring tides, but on which at high water there is a depth of from twelve to sixteen feet. ”

“ At first the darkness seems to preclude all possibility of holding a straight course along the narrow path, but as the eyes get accustomed to it the twenty steps and a round turn can be accomplished with wonderful precision. Should the round turn be omitted, however, you will probably be reminded of it by coming a cropper on the Bell Rock, which, though historical, is not at all sympathetic. ”

“ That the Bell Rock is most dangerously situate, lying in a track which is annually navigated by no less than about 700,000 tons of shipping, besides his Majesty’s ships of war, and revenue cutters: That its place is not easily ascertained, even by persons well acquainted with the coast, being covered by the sea about half flood, and the land-marks, by which its position is ascertained, being from 12 to 20 miles distant from the site of danger. ”

“ The whitewashed appearance of the rock surface in summer, due to the presence of the acorn barnacle, has now vanished—thanks to the voracity of the white whelk—and the rocks appear in their natural colour, a reddish-brown. The “sere and yellow” is well represented in the once luxuriant crops of heavy tangles, but lately swaying on the surface with a freshness and beauty peculiarly their own, now storm-tossed, frayed and abraded, denuded of their palm-like fronds, they appear but a vestige of their former selves. ”

“ At 7 A. M. the boats of the Floating-light, the Yacht, and the Smeaton, arrived at the rock, when the work immediately commenced. The sailors and artificers, including all hands to-day, counted no fewer than fifty-two, being perhaps the greatest number of persons ever collected upon the Bell Rock. It was early in the tide when the boats reached the rock, and the men worked a considerable time up to their middle in water, every one being more eager than his neighbour to be useful. Even the four artificers, who had hitherto declined working on Sunday, were to-day most zealous in their exertions ”

“ The Sir Joseph Banks Tender, having been fitted out for sea, sailed on the 20th of April, with the Hedderwick praam-boat in tow, to attend the works at the Bell Rock. She had also on board 15 artificers, consisting of mill-wrights, joiners, smiths and masons, to be employed in extending the Railways, and fitting up the Beacon-house as a place of residence for the workmen. ”

“ At times the morning presents a scene anything but peaceful, the whole reef enveloped by shouting, tumbling seas, which bang our domicile till the crockery rattles, and blind by their spray our kitchen windows, seventy feet from the Rock—yet, let the wind but freshen from the westward and the conflict immediately becomes visible. ”

“ This morning the wind shifted to NE. with moderate breezes. In the course of the forenoon we beat towards the Bell Rock, and sailed round it, when every thing appeared to be in good order about the beacon. Having no shelter in St Andrew’s Bay with this wind, the Yacht stood alternately towards Arbroath and the Bell Rock for the night. The floating-light being a most excellent guide for putting about, before the vessel got too near to the rock. ”

“ It was necessary that every thing intended to be left on the Bell Rock during the working season, should have as little buoyancy as possible, and as it would have been extremely inconvenient to have removed the waggons from the rock, which were to be employed in conveying the blocks of stone from the landing-places to the Light-house, they were constructed entirely of iron, excepting two pieces of oak timber, which were bolted upon the top, to form a seat for the stones. ”

“ A dull, rumbling noise, distinctly audible in the light room, announces their presence at the base of the tower, and at low water a dotted line of chips and abrasions marks their passage across the Rock to where they are again hurled to the depths. Others, again, may bring up in some sheltered corner, where, if not considered dangerous, they may remain a fixture for years. ”

“ Alexander Davidson and William Kennedy, two careful masons, were also sent to take charge of the loading of the stones at Greenside, and stowing them on board of the vessel at Leith. The writer also went on board, with a view to call at the Bell Rock, and to take his passage up the Firth of Forth. The wind, however, coming to blow very fresh from the eastward, with thick and foggy weather, it became necessary to reef the mainsail, and set the second-jib. ”

“ But round about the light on the Bell Rock more romance centres. This rock is a very perilous one, lying eleven miles off the coast of Forfarshire, and, if tradition may be trusted, the first attempt to rob it of some of its awful power was made by an ancient abbot, who hung a bell over it, so that the winds and waves should cause it to ring, and thus warn mariners who were in danger. ”

“ Few stand on an equal footing with the Bell Rock, either in regard to its national importance or its actual pedestal. In the last place, it is our subject of consideration at present, and we object to odious comparisons while we sing its praises! ”

“ The bell-shaped formation of the base of the tower is admirably adapted for withstanding the assaults of the sea, and is built solid to a height of thirty feet, above which the seas never strike, though I have seen the spray carried right over our balcony, a hundred feet from the rock. That the building remains to all appearance as intact as when completed, almost a century ago, speaks volumes for the skill and ingenuity displayed in its erection. In weather such as I have described we are as completely cut off from outside assistance as though we were at the North Pole ”

“ Situation and Dimensions.
Situation.
The Bell Rock may be described as a most dangerous sunken reef, situate on the northern side of the entrance of the great estuary or arm of the sea called the Firth of Forth; and as such directly affecting the safety of all vessels entering the Firth of Tay. Its position, as will be seen from the Charts, Nos. 3. and 4., which accompany this work, is in west longitude [70] from Greenwich 2° 22 ́, and in north latitude 56° 29 ́. ”

“ The service of the Bell Rock now became every trip more desirable with the artificers, who, having been enabled to work both during the morning and evening tides, with the exception of the evening of the 11th, the premiums over and above their stated wages became more and more an object, while the experience acquired in landing 123 blocks of stone, had fully established the practicability of the whole operation. ”

“ The dangerous islet called the Bell Rock, on the coast of Fife, used formerly to be marked only by a Bell, which was so placed as to be swung by the motion of the waves, when the tide rose above the rock. ”

“ Lightkeepers are not allowed to read, write, or work while on watch in the lightroom, as duty there requires all the attention they can give to keep the lights burning brightly, and at revolving lights to watch and wind up the machinery periodically. Then during certain states of the atmosphere the glass of the lantern requires cleaning, more especially when snow is falling on it and obscuring the light. A graphic description of this operation at the Bell Rock is given in the Notes. ”