Bressay Lighthouse

Bressay Lighthouse
Location	Bressay, Shetland Islands, Kirkabister Ness, United Kingdom
OS grid	HU4892337593
Coordinates	60°07′12″N 1°07′17″W / 60.12°N 1.12152°W
Tower
Constructed	1858
Built by	David Stevenson, Thomas Stevenson
Construction	masonry (tower)
Automated	1998
Height	16 m (52 ft)
Shape	cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markings	white (tower), black (lantern), ochre (trim)
Operator	Northern Lighthouse Board (–2012), Lerwick Port Authority (2012–)
Heritage	category B listed building
Fog signal	Disused 1987
Light
First lit	31 August 1858
Deactivated	2012
Focal height	32 m (105 ft)
Range	23 nmi (43 km; 26 mi), 10 nmi (19 km; 12 mi)
Characteristic	Fl(2) W 20s

Bressay Lighthouse is a lighthouse in the Shetland Islands, Scotland, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south-east of Lerwick. It is located on the island of Bressay at Kirkabister Ness overlooking Bressay Sound.^[1]^[2]

History

Bressay Lighthouse was one of four lighthouses built in Shetland between 1854 and 1858 which were designed by brothers David Stevenson and Thomas Stevenson. David Stevenson initially maintained that building a lighthouse in Shetland waters was impossible, too dangerous and too expensive, and that any ship's captain who took this route was mad.

The shore station was purchased by the Shetland Amenity Trust in 1995 and has been converted into a Marine Heritage Centre. The fog signal was discontinued in the 1980s. The notable red horn was removed, however, the building that housed the siren is still in place and now houses a radar mast, and the five pressurised air tanks are still in place. The 16m lighthouse itself is inactive and closed to the public, its warning light was replaced in 2012 by an automatic 10-mile LED light which flashes twice, every 20 seconds.

The two assistant lighthouse keepers' cottages are available for short term rental, the principal keeper's cottage is let on a longer-term basis.