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Introduction
Overview of Scottish lighthouses and lightkeepers 
What lightkeeper registers are available on Scotland's People?
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 Scotland's People (see What lightkeeper registers are available on Scotland's People?)

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 Scotland's People?

Lightkeeper registers covering the years 1837 to 1921 are available to search and view on Scotland's People. 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 NRS' online catalogue (NRS, NLC).

How to search lightkeeper registers

On Scotland's People, 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 Scotland's People in search the records - employment records, is the Lightkeeper search which can be used to search the pages of individual lightkeepers.

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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 Scotland's People in search the records - employment records,  is the Lighthouse search which can be used to search the pages of individual lighthouses.

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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.

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

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

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.

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A screenshot of an example of 'more details' information

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

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.

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 Scotland's People 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.

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.

Further reading

Allardyce, K and Hood, E, ‘At Scotland's Edge’ (London, 1986)
Allardyce, K, ‘Scotland's Edge Revisited’ (London, 1998)
Bathurst, B, ‘The Lighthouse Stevensons’ (London, 1999)
Hume, J, ‘Harbour Lights’ (1997)
Leslie J and Paxton, R, ‘Bright Lights: The Stevenson Engineers 1752-1971’ (1999)
Mair, C, ‘A Star for Seamen: The Stevenson Family of Engineers’ (London, 1978)
Munro, R W, ‘Scottish Lighthouses’ (Stornoway, 1979)
Stevenson, Robert Louis, ‘Records of a Family of Engineers’ (1896 and later editions)

You may find the handwriting in the lightkeeper registers difficult to read. Look at the guides on reading older handwriting, unfamiliar words and phrases, and search the glossary for assistance with abbreviations, legal terminology, occupations and other unfamiliar words.