Sumburgh Head Lighthouse
Shetlopedia - The Shetland Encyclopaedia
Sumburgh Head Lighthouse, built in 1821, is the oldest lighthouse in Shetland.
Basic Information :
| Name | Sumburgh Head Lighthouse |
| Position | Latitude 59° 51.3’N
Longitude 01° 16.3’W |
| Location | On Sumburgh Head, Dunrossness, the south end of the Shetland Mainland |
| Description | A 56 foot high white tower, with 52 steps to the top |
| Built by | Robert Stevenson Snr |
| First lit | 1821 |
| Character | Flashing (3) white every 30 seconds |
| Nominal Range | 23 miles |
| Elevation | 299 foot. |
| Automated | 1991 |
| Other information | Foghorn established 1906, discontinued 1987 Before the foghorn was establised, they had a fogbell at the lighthouse. The bell had been presented by the parents of Captain Thomas Leslie of the Royal Victoria, a ship that had been abandoned at sea by her crew, most likely to the NW of Shetland on January 19th 1864. One of the lifeboats eventually came ashore in a geo at Scat Ness later in the month, with two survivors, but also the bodies of the Captain and five crewmembers. The bell is now the church bell in Dunrossness Kirk The former keepers' houses are now owned by the Shetland Amenity Trust, and in use as self-catering accomodation. |
The site is understood to have been that of a much earlier Fort, and today also includes the remains of WWII concrete buildings which were a Chain Home Low Radar Station, one of the earliest in the UK.
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