Wikipedia

Girdle Ness Lighthouse

Girdle Ness Lighthouse (or Girdleness Lighthouse) is situated near Torry Battery on the Girdle Ness peninsula just south of the entrance to Aberdeen's harbour, in Scotland. It is an active light, managed by the Northern Lighthouse Board.[1]

Girdleness Lighthouse
Map
LocationBalnagask, Aberdeen, Scotland
OS gridNJ9715905348
Coordinates57°08′20″N 02°02′56″W / 57.13889°N 2.04889°W / 57.13889; -2.04889
Tower
Constructed1833
Designed byRobert Stevenson Edit this on Wikidata
Automated1991
Height37 metres (121 ft)
Shapetapered cylindrical tower
Markingswhite round tower, black lantern and orch trim
Power sourcemains electricity Edit this on Wikidata
OperatorNorthern Lighthouse Board
Heritagecategory A listed building Edit this on Wikidata
Fog signalType Siren, 1 blast every 60s Operational from 1902–1987
RaconG(--o) 25M
Light
First lit15 October 1833
Focal height56 m (184 ft)
Light sourceElectric Rotating Mains Powered PAR 56 Optic
Range22 nautical miles [41 km]
CharacteristicFl(2) W 20s 56m 12M
Gridle Ness dome
Gridle Ness dome
[Fl.0.5s-ec 2.0s; Fl.0.5-ec 17.0s]
Girdle Ness band

Description

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The tower is a tapering cylinder, painted white, with a watch room about a third of the way up. The lantern is black and there is a gallery. The tower is 37 metres (121 ft) tall and there are 182 steps to the lantern which produces two white flashes every 20 seconds. Adjacent is single-storey keepers' accommodation (which has been sold off) and ancillary buildings. DGPS is provided via two radio towers. The light was automated in 1991 and is continuously monitored on-line from the Northern Lighthouse Board headquarters in Edinburgh. There is no public access to the lighthouse.[1][2] A racon was installed after 1968.[3] It is a Category A listed building.[4]

History

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In 1813 the whaler Oscar was blown ashore in a storm into Greyhope Bay, at the entrance to Aberdeen Harbour. Despite rescue attempts only two men of the forty four on board were saved. The disaster had nothing to do with the lack of a light – the crew were drunk and incapable – but there were strong calls for a lighthouse to be built on the headland above the bay and this was achieved twenty years later.[5]

For the construction, the engineer was Robert Stevenson and the principal contractor was James Gibb. The construction was completed in 1833 and the light was first lit on 15 October– Alexander Slight became the resident inspector and Alan Stevenson the resident engineer. Originally sperm oil was used in eighteen Argand burners giving a fixed light at the focus of a 21 inches (530 mm) diameter silvered-copper parabolic reflector. In 1847 a dioptric light was installed and the previous lantern was transferred to Inchkeith Lighthouse. In 1870 paraffin was used experimentally. In 1890 the light was replaced by a single 200,000 candlepower revolving light. Until that time there had been a second level of thirteen lights with a similar reflector at the height of the watch room so as to display white lights at two levels.[3][6][7] As a member of a Royal Commission the Astronomer Royal, George Airy, visited in 1860. He said it was "the best lighthouse that I have seen".[5][8]

Foghorn

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The "Torry Coo"

The associated foghorn was installed in 1902 in its current location by the Northern Lighthouse Board, which worked by using oil powered engines and compressed air stored in its two large tanks. The foghorn was first used from June 20, 1902 when visibility was less than 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi). In calm weather, the foghorn could be heard across Aberdeen as well as up to 20 miles out to sea. Because of its low droning sound, the foghorn became known as the “Torry Coo”, alluding to the “Turra Coo”.

Fog signals were discontinued at 12 noon on November 30, 1987, after the Northern Lighthouse Board made the decision to decommission the foghorn, as well as 17 others around Scotland.

In 2003, demolition proposals by the Northern Lighthouse Board were met with outrage by local residents and Aberdeen City councillors, as well as groups including Historic Scotland and the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland, among others.

Both the lighthouse and the foghorn remain protected as Category A listed structures. [1][3][5][9]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 "Northern Lighthouse Board - Girdle Ness". www.nlb.org.uk. Northern Lighthouse Board. Archived from the original on 29 May 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  2. ↑ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Eastern Scotland". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Historic Environment Scotland. "Aberdeen, Greyhope Road, Girdleness Lighthouse and Keepers' Cottages (Site no. NJ90NE 8)".
  4. ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "Girdleness Lighthouse, Greyhope Road, Including Fog Signal at South Side at Nj 9724 0530 (LB20078)". Archived from the original on 4 April 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 Gillon, Jack (2018). "44". Aberdeen in 50 Buildings. Amberley Publishing. pp. 84–86. ISBN 978-1-4456-7616-6.
  6. ↑ Spencer, Michael (2009). "Section D: Arbroath to Fraserburgh (17 towers and 47 other structures)". Michael’s Comprehensive List of Scottish Lights. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  7. ↑ Keith, Alexander (1972). A thousand years of Aberdeen;. Aberdeen University Press. p. 325. ISBN 0-900015-29-2.
  8. ↑ "Girdle Ness Lighthouse from The Gazetteer for Scotland". www.scottish-places.info. School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, and Royal Scottish Geographical Society. Archived from the original on 8 September 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  9. ↑ Waterston, Kirstie (27 August 2025). "The coo that doesn't moo: Torry Coo foghorn bellowed across Aberdeen for 85 years". The Press and Journal. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
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