Very rare documents come to light at the Lighthouse Museum

Following an audit of the library and archive at the museum, two new artefacts have been found which are getting staff very excited. The museum has discovered that it possesses an original version of the James II declaration giving the power to erect lights around the coast in England. Known as the 'Royal Charter of confirmation' and printed in 1685, the document pre-dates the Scottish service by one hundred years but it gives a great deal of information about the way the government saw the use of lighthouses.

In the same audit the museum unearthed a sketch book thought to have been owned by Alan Stevenson, the designer of the Skerryvore lighthouse and detailing prospective landing sites and dangers around the Scottish coast.

Finally, a further anonymous sketchbook has been discovered that probably dates from the turn of the century. It was sketched from the ship the 'Isle of May' and details many of the coastal lights including some in Ireland and the Isle of Man. It is a wonderful book with many different sketches taken from different angles.

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