Lot 233
BRASS MODEL OF THE BELL ROCK LIGHTHOUSE
CIRCA 1900
Auction: Five Centuries: 15 November 2023 From 10:00
Description
on a rectangular base, unmarked
Dimensions
24.2cm high, 10.8cm wide, 16.5cm deep
Provenance
Provenance: Stevenson Collection
Footnote
The Bell Rock lighthouse, engineered by Robert Stevenson, was built between 1807 and 1810. The masonry work was to such a high standard that it has not been replaced for over 200 years. It lies in a treacherous stretch of the North Sea, twelve miles east of Dundee. The lighthouse was built on a rock known as the Bell Rock (or Inchcape). According to legend the rock got its name because, in the 14th century, the Abbot of Arbroath had a warning bell installed on the rock, which floating debris, the winds and the sea would act upon to toll the bell and warn mariners of this approaching danger. Soon after installation the bell was carried off by Dutch pirates. The lighthouse had the first revolving light in Scotland. It was de-manned in 1988 and from then it has been remotely monitored from the Northern Lighthouse Board headquarters at 84 George Street, Edinburgh. It is still an active lighthouse today. Because of the engineering challenges that were overcome to build the lighthouse, it has been described as one of the Seven Wonders of the Industrial World.