Eilean Glas Lighthouse
Eilean
Glas Lightouse was one of the first four lighthouses
in Scotland and the first in the Western Isles
(Outer Hebrides) & the whole west coast
of Scotland. Building was started in 1787 (bill
passed 1786) by Mr Campbell (tacksman) and was
completed in 1788/89 by Thomas smith, founder
of the famous Stevenson dynasty of lighthouse
builders.
The lamp was first lit on 10th October 1789. The first lighthouse keeper was Alexander Reid who came in 1789 and stayed for 35 years. The later tower (now automated) and the keepers houses were built between 1824 and 1826 and were designed by Robert Stevenson. The last Great Auk in scotland was captured here in 1821.
As the lighthouse was in an isolated area, the inhabitants needed to be virtually self sufficient. They cultivated large areas of nearby ground, surrounding it with a large dry stone wall, in which they grew all manner of crops including wheat and barley. If you visit the lighthouse today you can still see these areas clearly marked out and you can imagine how busy the area must have been at harvest time.
Eilean Glas was one of the first four lighthouses built in Scotland following the setting up of the Northern Lighthouse Board in 1786. The engineer in charge of building operations was Thomas Smith, an Edinburgh lampmaker, and father-in-law of Robert Stevenson, first of the famous family of lighthouse engineers Harris at this time was owned by Captain Alexander MacLeod,who was a kinsman of MacLeod of Dunvegan. In 1779 he had bought the island from his chief for £15,000 when the latter had got into financial difficulties.
Now styled MacLeod of Harris, Captain Alexander was a benevolent and enterprising landlord. He had amassed a large fortune in the East and set about investing much of this in developing the island's fishing industry and generally improving the social and economic conditions of his people. His schemes predated those of Lord Leverhume by some 140 years. He welcomed the proposal for the new lighthouse and gave a site for this purpose. Kenneth Campbell was tacksman under MacLeod at this time and when he heard of the plans, he offered to undertake the work himself with local workmen for a sum of £500. From this he would pay local workmen 5/- a day.
