Description
East Vows Beacon was built in 1847 by the Northern Lighthouse Board to plans by the board's engineer, Alan Stevenson. This unlit beacon marks the East Vows, a tide-covered rock around 2km south from Craigforth, a peninsula located just to the west of the entrance to Elie and Earlsferry Harbour on the Fife shore of the Firth of Forth. It also served as a place of refuge for shipwrecked mariners.East Vows Beacon stands on bedrock and is an iron structure 14m in height, constructed of six columns of cast iron with horizontal bracing. The columns are surmounted by a cylindrical open iron cage with a cross on top. An iron platform and ladder within the columned structure provided access from ground level to the cage of refuge.
Historical development
The town of Elie is situated around a bay which provided a safe anchorage protected by an island and the promontory of Elie Ness. Elie became a Burgh of Barony in 1589 under the Lairds of Ardross. This meant that Elie was forbidden from engaging directly in foreign trade. The harbour of Elie fell into decline until the 19th century. In May 1836, engineers were appointed to develop plans to improve Elie Harbour (LB30937). Improvements were eventually made 1854-1864 under William Baird of Elie. These benefited fishermen and coastal shipping engaged in trading of grain and other agricultural goods between Elie and other harbours in the Forth.
The hazard of the East Vows rock is evident from contemporary news items. For example, in November 1843, The Fife Herald (16 November 1843) reported that the sloop Industry of Newcastle, was lost on the Vows rock while on route to Leith. The Fifeshire Journal (30 July 1846) reported that the steamship Benledi, having departed Elie for Newhaven, struck the Vows rock and that most of the passengers and crew were forced to climb the rigging as the vessel sank, and to stay there until they could be rescued by boats from the shore. The East Vows is described as a frequent cause of accidents to vessels, 'and not unfrequently, the loss of lives'.
Between 1843 and 1846, the communities of Elie and Earlsferry made representations to the Northern Lighthouse Board on the case for a beacon on East Vows. The Commissioners eventually agreed to the erection of the beacon at East Vows in December 1846. In February 1847, Alan Stevenson landed on East Vows to assess the suitability of the rock for a beacon. By May 1847, the foundation had been created and work was completed by September 1847. The iron for the beacon was manufactured by the foundry of the Shotts Iron Company, Leith. The total project cost was £483. 13s 10d.
The completion of a red-painted beacon at East Vows Rock and a black buoy to mark the nearby Thill Rock, were announced by Northern Lighthouse Board in a Notice To Mariners (Lloyds List Wednesday 14 January 1848). On the Ordnance Survey 1st edition (surveyed 1853, published 1855) the beacon is marked as 'East Vows Chair of Refuge'.
Statement of Interest
East Vows Beacon meets the criteria of special architectural or historic interest for the following reasons:
- East Vows Beacon is an example of a mid-19th-century beacon and chair of refuge by the renowned Northern Lighthouse Board engineer Alan Stevenson and retains much of its original character.
- Although part of a relatively common building type, few examples of these beacons and chair of refuge survive in an unaltered condition, including the open cage, ladder, and cross.
- The coastal setting of East Vows Rock close to Elie Harbour is largely unchanged since the beacon was built although the buoy marking the nearby Thill Rock has been removed. The survival of East Vows Beacon, together with the 1908 lighthouse at Elie Ness, are important for understanding the steps taken by Northern Lighthouse Board to safeguard coastal shipping into this important east coast harbour during the 19th century.
Architectural interest
Design
The East Vows Beacon is of design interest as an early 19th century beacon and chair of refuge built in Scotland to a design by Alan Stevenson. Researchers believe that the six-legged iron frame design of the East Vows beacon and others of similar design (e.g Halliman Skerries) installed around Scotland from the 1840s (Munro, 1979;125) were likely to have been based on Robert Stevenson's earlier design for the nearby North Carr beacon (Paxton and Shipway 2007). Robert Stevenson himself had described the framework of six cast iron pipes that formed the North Carr beacon, as being 'of great strength, fashioned somewhat after the manner of what seamen term a spar or spar beacon, from being made generally of timber, set up in the form of struts or spur-beams' (Stevenson 1824: 487).
The design of the East Vows beacon differs however from North Carr and it was intended to perform more than one purpose. It served as a day mark to warn sailors away from the East Vows rock. However, the beacon also served as a refuge for shipwrecked mariners and others in distress, being described in the Ordnance Survey Name Book (OS1/13/81/74) as 'an iron chair of a circular cage shape and large enough to hold 8 or 10 persons.' Of design interest, therefore, are the survival of the cylindrical cage along with the platform and ladder that enabled access for those in distress, and also the cross, reflecting perhaps the close historical connections between the church and the seafaring community.
Despite the exposed location of the East Vows Rock, the cast iron beacon and refuge chair completed by Stevenson in 1847, survives in its original 19th century form and is of design interest.
Setting
The location for lighthouses and beacons is critical to their function. East Vows Beacon occupies an exposed rock outside the entrance to Elie harbour. It therefore represented a significant hazard for vessels either entering or leaving the harbour, and to coastal traffic along the Fife shore. The beacon continues to perform this function, remaining visible from the sea, and from the coast.
The nearby setting of East Vows Beacon contributes to our understanding of its function or historical context. The construction of the beacon can be understood through the survival of Elie harbour (LB30937). A lighthouse to mark nearby Elie Ness became operational in 1908 (LB8997). The buoy marking the nearby Thill Rock was removed in 2008 (Elie and Earlsferry History Society).
Historic interest
Age and rarity
East Vows Beacon is of interest as it is one of the earliest of the surviving fixed beacon and chairs of refuge built by the Northern Lighthouse Board to warn shipping away from hazardous reefs, and for the rescue of shipwrecked mariners and others in distress.
There are over 200 operational Northern Lighthouse Board lighthouses within Scotland, with many other examples either decommissioned or operated by other organisations and groups. They range from elegant stone pinnacles on remote reefs far out to sea, to small navigational beacons and modern modular lights. Of these, around 150 lighthouses of various shapes, sizes and types are currently designated as either listed buildings or scheduled monuments, representing a wide range of specific navigational dangers that required marking.
In 1979, researchers recorded around 50 unlit beacons of which the oldest was the beacon at North Carr, built 1818 (Munro, 1979:248). East Vows Beacon appears to be one of the earliest surviving examples of a design of iron beacon, which incorporated a refuge chair – the earliest surviving example is believed to be Halliman Skerries built in 1845 (Munro, 1979: 122).
Many other examples of these beacons and chairs of refuge appear to have been replaced or altered. For example, Stroma Skerry Beacon (Canmore ID283968) and Ruff Reef Beacon (Canmore ID74480) have had the refuge removed and replaced with a solar power pack and automatic minor light. The refuge on East Vows Beacon survives in its original form and is therefore a rare intact and early example of these mid-19th-century beacons.
Social historical interest
East Vows Beacon is of social historical interest in helping us to understand this system of seamarks and the contribution they made, alongside major and minor lights, in safeguarding shipping around the coast of Scotland.
The significance of Scotland network of lighthouses and beacons to the country's history is high. As an island nation with over 18,000 kilometres of coastline and over 900 islands, maritime industries such as fishing, coastal trade and transportation have long been significant social and economic factors. Scotland's coasts are also located on international sea-routes linking northern Europe with the rest of the world. The use of lighthouses and beacons was therefore vital to the safety of shipping in Scottish waters. Prior to the construction of Scotland's lighthouses, most navigation markers were landmarks visible only during daylight, and so nautical navigation at night or in poor conditions was a highly dangerous but sometimes unavoidable undertaking. This is reflected in the large numbers of records of ships and sailors lost in wrecking incidents around the coasts of Scotland during the 19th and 19th centuries.
The first lighthouse in Scotland was established on the Isle of May (SM887) in 1636. This light aided navigation into the many harbours around the Firth of Forth and took the form of a stone tower mounting a coal fired brazier. Although the Isle of May beacon was far from as bright as later examples, in good weather it good be seen from as far as the entrance to the Tay, and it would remain operational for 180 years. The Isle of May was followed by several other lighthouses and beacons being built from the late 17th century, improving navigation for the Tay, the Solway and the Clyde.
A common factor in all the lights established in the first 150 years was that they were conceived, built and operated by private interests and organisations, such as local magistrates, councils and individuals, supported by the king and parliament when necessary. By the early 1780s, however, there was a growing recognition that many shipping and navigational dangers existed far beyond the profitable harbours and estuaries that had driven the development of the early lights. To address this, in 1786 parliament passed "An Act for erecting certain Light-houses in the Northern Parts of Great Britain" and established a board of Commissioners (subsequently to become the Commissioners of the Northern Lighthouses and then the Northern Lighthouse Board), initially to undertake the work of building and maintaining lights at four locations, including Kinnaird Head (LB31888), Eilean Glas (LB13487), Mull of Kintyre (LB19874) and North Ronaldsay (SM6596). These lights were the work of the Board's first engineer, Thomas Smith, and his assistant Robert Stevenson, and used improved lighting technology in the form of whale oil burners and mirrored reflectors to enhance the brightness.
Following the 1786 Act, the number of lighthouses around the coasts of Scotland began to rapidly grow, along with the technology and engineering skills employed. By the early 19th century oil lamps were replacing the earlier coal burners, and Robert Stevenson had been able to design and build a lighthouse on the Bell Rock (LB45197). Throughout the 19th and early 20th century, Robert Stevenson and his descendants continued to push the boundaries of technology and engineering to expand the network, including lights on Skerryvore (LB17489), Muckle Flugga (LB17479), Dhu Heartach (LB12320), and the Flannan Isles (LB48143). In addition to the major lights, fixed seamarks were also used, many marking rocks and reefs that represented a significant hazard to navigation and threat to life, but which were inaccessible and impractical from the point of view of erecting a lighthouse. East Vows Beacon provides an important illustration of the innovative designs of beacons and refuges that were developed during the 19th century to safeguard life at sea.
Association with people or events of national importance
The East Vows Beacon has a close historical association of national importance.
This beacon and other identical examples from the 1840s were designed by the internationally renowned engineer Alan Stevenson, engineer to the Northern Lighthouse Board (1843-53). Alan Stevenson was the second of several generations of Stevenson family appointed as engineers to the board. Robert, Alan, David, Thomas, and David A Stevenson were jointly responsible for the design and construction of lighthouses in Scotland over a period of nearly 150 years. Alan Stevenson's legacy is evident at sites such as Skerryvore, and Ardnamurchan. He also designed and carried out some notable improvements on dioptric apparatus used in lighthouses. East Vows Beacon is an example of Alan Stevenson's innovative work on seamarks and chairs of refuge to help safeguard loss of life.
External Links
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