Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Generous visitors shine new light on history of Bell Rock lighthouse

Museum officer Kirsten Couper with a 19th century dish donated by the family of former Bell Rock keeper John Simpson
Museum officer Kirsten Couper with a 19th century dish donated by the family of former Bell Rock keeper John Simpson

An Arbroath museum has proved a summer mecca for families with ties to the famous Bell Rock lighthouse which sits off the coast of the Angus town.

More than two centuries after it was completed on the Inchcape rock the beacon, which retains its status as the world’s oldest sea-washed lighthouse, remains a major tourist draw alongside the prime role it has performed since 1810.

The Bell Rock lighthouse

Its Signal Tower shore station, completed a few years later and with which it served in tandem, is a busy museum and staff there have been delighted by a hectic summer which has brought memorabilia and visits by members of families with direct links to the Bell Rock.

They have included Brenda and Victoria Thacker from Florida, who are distant relatives of Bell Rock engineer Robert Stevenson.

Another poignant trip was made by the Ellsworth family, descendants of Hugh Rose, a stonemason from Aberdeenshire who was badly injured during construction of the lighthouse. He survived the accident and lived to the age of 99.

Museum friend and Bell Rock enthusiast David Taylor, also brought a group of visitors from the Lighthouse Society in Finland, who stopped off at the Angus Alive attraction en route north to the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses in Fraserburgh.

Museum officer Kirsten Couper said the Signal Tower collection had also received generous and important donations during summer.

The Signal Tower museum

She said: “James Dustan, the great grandson of Bell Rock lighthouse keeper John Simpson visited the museum recently and donated a 19th century ceramic dish, marked with the Northern Lighthouse Board’s emblem and motto ‘In Salutem Omnium’ (For the Safety of All).

“It was part of an original dinner service used at the Bell Rock and would have been used to serve food during the Northern Lighthouse Board inspection visits.

James Dustan with the 19th century dish donated to the Signal Tower museum

“James’ great grandfather, John Simpson served on the Bell Rock for five years between 1932 and 1937.

“The dish is a welcome addition to the collection and will display nicely with the other surviving dinner set pieces.”

She added: “The Sinclair family from Ellon in Aberdeenshire visited recently to donate a wedding picture of Donald Allan Jolly Sinclair and Betty Tully taken in 1937.

“Donald or ‘Danny’ as he was known, spent several months on the Bell Rock in 1947.

“However, he found it a difficult station to work and due to poor weather could not always get home when he was off duty. He missed his young family and requested to leave the Bell Rock.”

“The building is interesting, however it is the people and the stories they share about their connections to the place that really brings the history to life and gives staff a fascinating insight,” added Kirsten.