North Ronaldsay Lighthouse

A lighthouse located on Dennis Ness in the northeast of the island of North Ronaldsay (Orkney), a quarter-mile (0.4 km) northeast of the settlement of Easting, the North Ronaldsay Lighthouse was built in 1854 by engineer Alan Stevenson (1807-65) for the Northern Lighthouse Board at a cost of £6181 8s 7d. It replaced an older lighthouse built in 1789, which was decommissioned in 1809. At 43m (140 feet) in height this red brick-built structure remains the tallest land-based lighthouse in Britain. The light can be seen at a range of 24 miles (39 km). In 1889, two white bands were painted on the tower for identification purposes, the light was upgraded in 1907 and a radio beacon was added in 1932. The lighthouse was automated in March 1998 and is continuously monitored from the Northern Lighthouse Board Headquarters in Edinburgh. In 2003, the lightkeepers' houses and ancillary buildings were purchased by the North Ronaldsay Trust, who now have their own resident keeper who takes visitors on tours of the lighthouse.


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