Listen to the podcast using this player:







Wave-swept Bell Rock Lighthouse, about five miles from Arbroath in southeastern Scotland, was designed by the engineer Robert Stevenson of the famous Stevenson family of engineers. The granite tower, first lighted in 1811, was built so well that none of it has needed to be repaired or replaced in more than 200 years. It’s the oldest wave-swept, or sea-washed, granite lighthouse in the world.



Bell Rock Lighthouse, Scotland. Photo by Kim Fahlen.



The keepers at Bell Rock lived inside the tower itself. The lighthouse operated in tandem with a shore station known as the Bell Rock Signal Tower, built in 1813 in Arbroath. The Signal Tower housed the families of the keepers, along with personnel who ran the lighthouse tender that supplied the light station.



The Signal Tower Museum. U.S. Lighthouse Society photo by Tom Tag.



Caroline Taylor



The Signal Tower was converted into a museum in the 1970s. The museum has exhibits on Bell Rock Lighthouse and its keepers, as well as exhibits on the local manufacturing and fishing industries.



The Signal Tower is one of several museums operated by ANGUSalive. Caroline Taylor is the Heritage Learning and Engagement Lead at ANGUSalive.