Holburn Head Lighthouse (Scrabster)

Chance Brothers Lighthouse Chance Brothers Lighthouse
  • Date of lens manufacture

    1862

  • Date of lighthouse construction

    1862

  • Country

    United Kingdom

  • Commissioning body

    Northern Lighthouse Board

  • Order of lens

    Holophotal revolving lights

  • Fixed or revolving lens

    Revolving

  • Active/Inactive

    Inactive

  • Describe the character of light

    Flashing White/Red every 10 Secs - White - 15 miles Red - 11 miles

  • Describe the lighthouses daymarks

    White Tower 17m (56feet) high

  • Which aspects of the lighthouse (other than the lens) were manufactured by Chance brothers
    ---
  • Describe the history of the lighthouse

    Permission was granted from the Board of Trade in 1859 to build a lighthouse on Holburn Head, but the estimated high costs (£3,900 including living accommodation for the lighthouse keepers) caused delays as these were examined in detail. It was not until 1861 that building work actually started after permission had been granted by the Northern Lighthouse Board to proceed with the building.

    It was engineered by David Stevenson. Its design was different from the norm, with the tower being of a "school house model." This meant the tower is built as a part of the Keeper's house.

    A Mr Stewart from Peterhead was building contractor and the tower was completed ahead of schedule. The light was first operational in September 1862 and the Notice to Mariners stated "The light will be a dioptric holophotal flashing light. Showing a flash every 10 seconds, it will be seen as a white light towards the Pentland Firth and Thurso Bay and as a red light towards Scrabster Roadstead".

    The light was automated in 1988 and the keepers were withdrawn.

    The light was discontinued in 2003.

  • Current management body/ ports authority

    Private residence

  • Historical preservation societies/manager/operator
    ---
  • Is the site vulnerable to coastal erosion?
    ---
  • Have you experienced any affects of climate change on the lighthouse?
    ---
  • Observations on the condition of the lighthouse?
    ---
  • 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

    Now a private residence.

    ARLHS SCO-097; ex-Admiralty A3578.

  • Which resources did you use to research this lighthouses?
    ---
Inactive Chance Lens Inactive Chance Lens
  • When was the lens deactivated?

    2003

added on 7 august 2022
Made In Smethwick: Lighthouses Around the World

In the 1800s, Chance Brothers & Co glassworks in Smethwick began making the hi-tech lenses that lighthouses use to warn ships of dangerous locations. By 1951, over 2,500 lighthouses around the world were fitted with a Chance lens.

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