Copinsay Orkney Islands
Copinsay Lighthouse
Photo © Peter Gordon (cc-by-sa/2.0)
Chance Brothers Lighthouse
-
Date of lens manufacture
1913
-
Date of lighthouse construction
1915
-
Country
United Kingdom
-
Commissioning body
Northern Lighthouse Board
-
Order of lens
1st order
-
Fixed or revolving lens
Revolving
-
Active/Inactive
Inactive
-
Describe the character of light
Flashing white light (5) every 30 seconds
-
Describe the lighthouses daymarks
White stone 16 metres high with black lantern, domed roof and ochre trim.
-
Which aspects of the lighthouse (other than the lens) were manufactured by Chance brothers
The lamp was a petroleum vapour burner using paraffin on the tilley light made by Chance Brothers
-
Describe the history of the lighthouse
The name Copinsay was originally Kobeinn's Island. The island is situated on the east side of the Orkney archipelago. The lighthouse engineer was David Stevenson and the light was first exhibited on 8th November 1915. The tower was built by two contractors, the first was a Mr McDougall who built the first 30 feet of the tower but unfortunately became bankrupt, the towers remaining 23 feet being completed by Mr Harry Ramsey Taylor an architect from Edinburgh. The lighthouse is a Category B listed building. The initial apparatus installed was a Stevenson equiangular refractor flashing white light, the lamp was a petroleum vapour burner using paraffin on the tilley light principle made by Chance Brothers of Smethwick near Birmingham. The lantern parapet, revolving machinery and mercury trough were made by the Edinburgh firm of James Milner and Son. Copinsay is now uninhabited, the final inhabitants heading to the mainland in 1958. The island was purchased in 1972 by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds who now manage it as an ornithological reserve. The light was automated in 1991 and is now remotely monitored by the NLB from Edinburgh.
-
Current management body/ ports authority
Northern Lighthouse Board
-
Historical preservation societies/manager/operator
Northern Lighthouse Board.
-
Is the site vulnerable to coastal erosion?
nu -
Have you experienced any affects of climate change on the lighthouse?
--- -
Observations on the condition of the lighthouse?
None made.
-
Is the site open/closed to the public
Closed
-
Is the tower open/closed to the public
Closed
-
Latitude and Longitude
--- -
On-site bookable accommodation available
nu -
Associated web addresses
-
Other details
ARLHS SCO-049; Admiralty A3676; NGA 3228.
-
Which resources did you use to research this lighthouses?
---
Inactive Chance Lens
-
When was the lens deactivated?
Lens was made redundant in 2015 but remains on site. Four new SeaLite LED lights were fitted around the balcony as replacements.
Unde?
