Thomas Stevenson
Encyclopedia
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
designer and meteorologist, who designed over thirty lighthouses in and around Scotland, as well as the Stevenson screen
Stevenson screen
A Stevenson screen or instrument shelter is an enclosure to shield meteorological instruments against precipitation and direct heat radiation from outside sources, while still allowing air to circulate freely around them. It forms part of a standard weather station...
used in meteorology. His designs, celebrated as ground breaking, ushered in a new era of lighthouse creation.
He served as president of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts
Royal Scottish Society of Arts
The Royal Scottish Society of Arts is a learned society in Scotland, dedicated to the study of science and technology. It was founded as The Society for the Encouragement of the Useful Arts in Scotland by Sir David Brewster in 1821 and dedicated to "the promotion of invention and enterprise"...
(1859–60), as president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
(1884-6), and was a co-founder of the Scottish Meteorological Society
Scottish Meteorological Society
The Scottish Meteorological Society was founded in 1855 with private funding, particularly from wealthy landowners who wished to compile meteorological records in order to improve agriculture....
.
Background
The youngest son of engineer Robert StevensonRobert Stevenson (civil engineer)
Robert Stevenson FRSE MInstCE FSAS MWS FGS FRAS FSA was a Scottish civil engineer and famed designer and builder of lighthouses.One of his finest achievements was the construction of the Bell Rock Lighthouse.-Early life:...
, and brother of the lighthouse engineers Alan
Alan Stevenson
Alan Stevenson FRSE MInstCE was a Scottish lighthouse engineer who was Engineer to the Board of Northern Lighthouses...
and David Stevenson
David Stevenson (engineer)
David Stevenson FRSE FRSSA was a Scottish lighthouse designer, who designed over thirty lighthouses in and around Scotland, and helped found a great dynasty of lighthouse engineering.-Background:...
, between 1854 and 1886 he designed many lighthouses, with his brother David, and then with David's son David Alan Stevenson
David Alan Stevenson
David Alan Stevenson was a lighthouse engineer who built twenty six lighthouses in and around Scotland.Born into the famous Stevenson family of lighthouse engineers, son of David Stevenson, brother of Charles Stevenson, and nephew of Thomas Stevenson, he was educated at Edinburgh University...
. He married Margaret Balfour and their son was the writer Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
, who caused him much disappointment by failing to follow the engineering interests of his family.
Thomas Stevenson was a devout and regular attender at St. Stephen's Church in St Stephen's Place, Silvermills
Silvermills
Silvermills once an ancient village, has been part of the Edinburgh New Town since 1809.As the name suggests, the village was centred around a mill for Silver...
, at the north end of St Vincent Street, Edinburgh.
He was involved in regrettable efforts to rubbish the inventions of John Richardson Wigham
John Richardson Wigham
John Richardson Wigham was a prominent lighthouse engineer of the 19th century.-Early life:Wigham was born to a Quaker family in Newington, Edinburgh, Scotland. His father, Henry, operated a mill for the manufacture of shawls. When he was 15 years old he was apprenticed to his brother-in-law...
.
Lighthouses designed by Thomas Stevenson
- Whalsay Skerries (1854)
- Out Skerries (1854)
- Muckle FluggaMuckle FluggaMuckle Flugga is a small rocky island north of Unst in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is often described as the northernmost point of the British Isles, but the smaller islet of Out Stack is actually farther north...
(1854) - Davaar (1854)
- UshenishUshenishUshenish is a headland on the remote east coast of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. There has been a lighthouse on the headland since 1857.-Lighthouse:...
(1857) - South RonaSouth RonaRona , sometimes called South Rona to distinguish it from North Rona, is a small island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, north of Raasay and northeast of Skye. It has a total area of .-Geography and geology:...
(1857) - KyleakinKyleakinThe village of Kyleakin is situated on the east coast of the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides, along the strait of Kyle Akin opposite the northwest Scottish mainland town of Kyle of Lochalsh...
(1857) - OrnsayOrnsayOrnsay is a small tidal island to the east of the Sleat peninsula on the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.-Description:Widely acknowledged as one of the most beautiful tidal islands in Western Scotland, the island provides good shelter to a natural harbour which is overlooked by the...
(1857) - Sound of MullSound of MullThe Sound of Mull is a sound between the Inner Hebridean island of Mull and Scotland. It forms part of the Atlantic Ocean....
(1857) - Cantick Head (1858)
- BressayBressay-Geography and geology:Bressay lies due south of Whalsay, west of Noss, and north of Mousa. At , it is the fifth largest island in Shetland. The population is around 400 people, concentrated in the middle of the west coast, around Glebe, Fullaburn and Maryfield....
(1858) - Ruvaal (1859)
- Corran Point (1860)
- FladdaFladdaFladda is one of the Slate Islands, off the west coast of Argyll and Bute, Scotland.Fladda is an islet in the Sound of Luing, between Luing and Belnahua. The name Fladda originates from the Old Norse for 'flat island'. Fladda has a lighthouse and lighthousekeepers' cottages built in 1860 by...
(1860) - McArthur's Head (1861)
- St Abb's HeadSt Abb's HeadSt. Abb's Head is a rocky promontory at the village of St. Abbs, Berwickshire, Scottish Borders, and a National Nature Reserve administered by the National Trust of Scotland...
(1862) - Butt of LewisButt of LewisThe Butt of Lewis is the most northerly point of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. The headland, which lies in the North Atlantic, is frequently battered by heavy swells and storms.-Lighthouse:...
(1862) - Holborn HeadHolborn HeadHolborn Head is a headland on the north-facing Atlantic coast of Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland. The point of Holborn Head is at . The name Holborn appears Norse in origin, meaning hillfort, and the headland may be the Tarvedunum promotorium noted by Ptolemy...
(1862) - Monach IslandsMonach IslandsNot to be confused with Heysker/Hyskeir or HaskeirThe Monach Islands, also known as Heisker , are an island group west of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland...
(1864) - Skervuile (1865)
- AuskerryAuskerryAuskerry is a small island in eastern Orkney, Scotland. It lies in the North Sea south of Stronsay and has a lighthouse, completed in 1866.-Description:...
(1866) - Lochindaal (1869)
- Scurdie NessScurdie NessScurdie Ness is a headland located on the South side of the River South Esk estuary, Montrose, Angus, Scotland. The River leads from the North Sea into Montrose Harbour and then into Montrose Basin. The headland has also been referred to as Scurdy Ness, Montrose point or Montroseness...
(1870) - Stour Head (1870)
- Dubh ArtachDubh ArtachDubh Artach is a remote skerry of basalt rock off the west coast of Scotland lying west of Colonsay and south-west of the Ross of Mull.A lighthouse designed by Thomas Stevenson with a tower height of was erected between 1867 and 1872 with a shore station constructed on the isle of Erraid...
(1872) - Turnberry PointTurnberry CastleTurnberry Castle is a fragmentary ruin on the coast of Kirkoswald parish, north of Girvan in Ayrshire, Scotland. It is situated on a rock at the extremity of the lower peninsula within the parish.-History:...
(1873) - Chicken RockChicken RockChicken Rock is the southernmost island administered by the Isle of Man and belongs to the parish of Rushen. It lies to the southwest of the Calf of Man south-west of Spanish Head on the Manx mainland ....
(1875) - LindisfarneLindisfarneLindisfarne is a tidal island off the north-east coast of England. It is also known as Holy Island and constitutes a civil parish in Northumberland...
(1877, 1880) - FidraFidraFidra is an uninhabited island in the Firth of Forth, north-west of North Berwick, on the east coast of Scotland.-Geography:...
(1885) - Oxcar (1886)
- Ailsa Craig LighthouseAilsa Craig LighthouseThe Ailsa Craig Lighthouse, located on Ailsa Craig, an island in the Firth of Clyde, just offshore from Girvan, South Ayrshire, Scotland, was completed in 1886, the construction being overseen by Thomas and David Stevenson....
(1886)
See also
- Richard Henry BruntonRichard Henry BruntonRichard Henry Brunton FRGS MICE was the so-called "Father of Japanese lighthouses". Brunton was born in Muchalls, Kincardineshire, Scotland...
"Father of Japanese lighthouses" - John Richardson WighamJohn Richardson WighamJohn Richardson Wigham was a prominent lighthouse engineer of the 19th century.-Early life:Wigham was born to a Quaker family in Newington, Edinburgh, Scotland. His father, Henry, operated a mill for the manufacture of shawls. When he was 15 years old he was apprenticed to his brother-in-law...
Irish inventor and lighthouse engineer