Bell Rock, or INCHCAPE, a reef of old red sandstone rocks in the German Ocean, 12 miles SE. of Arbroath, and nearly opposite the mouth of the Tay. The reef is 2000 feet long; at high water of spring-tides it is covered to a depth of 16 feet, at low water is partly uncovered to a height of 4 feet; and for 100 yards around, the sea is only 3 fathoms deep. It was formerly a fruitful cause of shipwreck, and, according to tradition, the abbot of Aberbrothock (Arbroath) placed a bell on it, 'fixed upon a tree or timber, which rang continually, being moved by the sea, giving notice to the saylers of the danger.' This tradition has been embodied by Southey in his well-known ballad of The Inchcape Rock. A lighthouse, 120 feet high, designed by Robert Stevenson and Rennie, was erected in 1807-10, at a cost of £61,331.
