Lightkeeper registers

Introduction
Overview of Scottish lighthouses and lightkeepers
What lightkeeper registers are available on ScotlandsPeople?
How to search lightkeeper registers
Understanding the content of lightkeeper registers
Related records
Related records not held by NRS
Further reading

Introduction

The main source for lighthouse history at National Records of Scotland (NRS) are the records of the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses. The Commissioners are a corporate body, operating as the Northern Lighthouse Board, with responsibility for Scotland and the Isle of Man. Included within this broad collection are lightkeeper registers (NRS, NLC4/1).

Lighthouses were manned by lightkeepers, whose primary duties were to keep the light and fog signal in perfect working order. Lightkeeper registers give career histories for each keeper, noting their full name, lighthouses worked at, promotions, demotions and date of retiral. Later volumes also record the lightkeeper’s date of birth. The registers are kept alphabetically according to surname and also separately by lighthouse.

Registers covering 1837 to 1921 are available to search and view on ScotlandsPeople (see What lightkeeper registers are available on ScotlandsPeople?)

Overview of Scottish lighthouses and lightkeepers

The earliest lighthouse to be built in Scotland was constructed on the Isle of May by James Maxwell of Innerwick and John Cunninghame of Barnes, under a patent from King Charles I of 1635. This light, however, was rather primitive compared to modern standards, consisting of a stone structure, with a coal fire serving as the illuminant.

The origins of the Northern Lighthouse Board date to 1782, when a number of severe storms highlighted the lack of lighthouses around the Scottish coasts. Following an act of parliament in 1786 the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses were created and given powers to borrow money, purchase land and levy dues from ships to finance their work. They were allowed to build four lighthouses, one of which, Kinnaird Head, Fraserburgh, is now part of the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses. Further acts of parliament in 1788 and 1789 gave the Commissioners the power to construct new lighthouses as they deemed necessary. Jurisdiction was extended to the Isle of Man in 1845.

Lightkeepers were divided into two grades – Principal Lightkeeper and Assistant Lightkeeper. At night, keepers took turns to keep watch in the lightroom to make sure the light was working properly. The hours for this varied depending on the type of station. During the daytime all keepers were engaged in cleaning, painting and generally keeping the premises clean and tidy. At rock stations such as the Bell Rock or Skerryvore, there were six lightkeepers (three on the rock and three having a spell ashore) and four at mainland fog signal stations.

On 31 March 1998, over 211 years of lightkeeping tradition came to an end in Scotland, when Fair Isle South became Scotland’s last manned lighthouse. Our feature Shining a Light on the Lives of Lightkeepers provides more historical background to the role of lightkeepers.

What lightkeeper registers are available on ScotlandsPeople?

Lightkeeper registers covering the years 1837 to 1921 are available to search and view on ScotlandsPeople. This is inclusive of the following four registers:

NLC4/1/1, Lightkeeper register, 1837–1852
NLC4/1/2, Lightkeeper register, 1852–1869
NLC4/1/3, Lightkeeper register, 1869–1912
NLC4/1/4, Lightkeeper register, 1912–1921

Full descriptions of records of the Northern Lighthouse Board can be found on the National Records of Scotland’s online catalogue (NRS reference NLC).

How to search lightkeeper registers

On ScotlandsPeople, the lightkeeper registers are split into two separate searchable indexes. The first index comprises 1363 entries for individual lightkeepers, taken from four volumes. The second index comprises entries for 92 lighthouses, taken from the same four volumes. Each entry is linked to a corresponding digital image of the relevant page from the register. A total of 2047 images are available.

There are two distinct search forms for searching the lightkeeper registers, as described below. Both search forms include search tips for each field with links to more detailed research guides where appropriate.

Search form 1 - lightkeeper search

In volumes NLC4/1/1-3 (1837–1912), Parts 1 and 2 of the lightkeeper registers include individual pages for each lightkeeper, with Part 1 covering Principal Lightkeepers and Part 2 covering Assistant Lightkeepers. Volume NLC4/1/4 (1912–1921) only contains two parts, with Part 1 including entries for both Principal and Assistant Lightkeepers. The first search form available on ScotlandsPeople is the Lightkeeper search which can be used to search the pages of individual lightkeepers.

An image of the lightkeeper search button on the ScotlandsPeople website

You can search these register pages using some or all of the following search fields:

Surname
Forename
Age (when entered service)
Year entered service

If an individual appeared in more than one register, there will be a separate search result for each listing.

Search form 2 - lighthouse search

In volumes NLC4/1/1-3 (1837–1912), Part 3 of the lightkeeper registers includes individual pages for each lighthouse, which list each lightkeeper who was employed at that lighthouse during the time period covered by the register. In volume NLC4/1/4 (1912–1921) the pages for each lighthouse can be found in Part 2. The second search form available on ScotlandsPeople is the Lighthouse search which can be used to search the pages of individual lighthouses.

An image of the Lighthouse search button on the ScotlandsPeople website

You can search these register pages using some or all of the following search fields:

Lighthouse
County
Locality

In the ‘Lighthouse search’, selecting a county from the drop-down list, and conducting a search with no other search field selected, will return all the lighthouses mentioned in the registers for that county. The same applies when searching by locality.

Note that a small minority of lighthouses were also known by an alternative name. Where this has been identified on the website of the Northern Lighthouse Board, the lighthouse will be searchable by either the primary name, or else the alternative name. The search results page will display both the primary name and the alternative name, as shown in the image below.

Example search results for a lighthouse with an alternative name.
Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland

If a lighthouse appears in more than one register, there will be a separate search result for each listing.

Understanding the content of lightkeeper registers

Though the extent of details provided can vary slightly between the four registers, generally the registers contain the following details:

Parts 1 and 2 of the registers (lightkeeper search)

Name
Date of entering service
Age when entered service
Date of birth (later volumes)
Date of Commissioner's orders
Where serving
Period of service

Example from a lightkeeper register, part 2.
Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland, NLC4/1/2 page 150

‘More details’

For the ‘Lightkeeper search’ only, to the left of each individual search result is an eyeball symbol. Clicking on this enables you to view additional index details for each lightkeeper, which cannot fit onto the main search results screen. The example below of the 'More details' function shows what information is included. Note that this lists each lighthouse at which that individual is recorded as having served.

Part 3 of the registers (lighthouse search)

Name of lighthouse
Principal Keeper's salary
Assistant Keeper's salary
Name of lightkeeper
Date of entering
Whether principal or assistant
Period of service
Date of change
Where sent

Example from lightkeeper register, part 3.
Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland, NLC4/1/3 page 711

Sorting search results

On the main search results page for either the ‘Lightkeeper search’ or ‘Lighthouse search’, clicking on the header of each column of data will sort the data in either alphabetical or numerical order, whichever is relevant. Clicking once will order it as A-Z; clicking twice will order it as Z-A. Please see our guidance on sorting and filtering search results.

Related records

The NRS guide to lighthouse records gives details of other lighthouse records held by NRS. This is inclusive of records originating in, or providing for, the major manned lighthouses. Records for each lighthouse (NRS, NLC20–111) might include some of the following: general orders and correspondence; shipwreck returns; visitors albums; postage books; receipt books; meteorological returns books; stores books; order books; return of observation of neighbouring lights; inventory books.

Those records not available online on ScotlandsPeople will need to be viewed, by prior appointment, in the NRS Historical Search Room at General Register House, Edinburgh.

Please note that some records in the Northern Lighthouse Commission (NLC) collection are closed to public access. Further details on which records are closed can be found in the NRS online catalogue.

Related records not held by NRS

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) holds the Northern Lighthouse Board's drawings collection.

National Library of Scotland (NLS) holds records deposited by the Stevenson family, engineers to the Northern Lighthouse Board from 1808 to 1938.

Glasgow City Archives holds the records of the Clyde Lighthouses Trust.