Skerryvore

Skerryvore, the chief rock of a reef which lies 10 miles SW. of Tyree and 24 W. of Iona. This reef, which stretches 8 miles west-south-westward, is composed of compact gneiss, worn smooth by the constant action of the waves, and was long a terror to mariners, having caused the loss of one ship annually for forty years previous to 1844. The Northern Lighthouse Commission had long intended the erection of a lighthouse on Skerryvore, the only point of this dangerous reef which could afford the needful foundation; but the difficulty of landing on the rock, from the immense force (3 tons to the superficial foot) with which the Atlantic waves beat upon it, caused the delay of the scheme till 1838. The design and superintendence of the building were entrusted to Alan Stevenson, who followed generally the mode adopted by his father, Robert Stevenson, in the construction of the Bell Rock Lighthouse, and completed his work in 1844. The lighthouse is $138\backslash frac\{1\}\{2\}$ feet high; at the base 42, and at the top 16 feet in diameter. The light, a revolving one, can be seen at a distance of $18\backslash frac\{1\}\{2\}$ nautical miles. The cost of erection was £86,977. See A. Stevenson's Account of the Skerryvore Lighthouse (Edin. 1848).