BBC Seven Wonders Of The Industrial World
http://subscene.com/
Eleven miles off the east coast of Scotland
lurking under the waves lies a treacherous sunken reef.
Over the centuries it claimed thousands of lives
as ships were torn apart by its jagged rocks.
Known as the Bell Rock, its very name instilled terror.
Yet one young man was determined to tame this monster.
His vision to build a lighthouse in the open sea.
l`ve heard of thee, but noweth mine eyes seeth thee.
No one has built a lighthouse in the open sea on a rock
that is submerged for the better part of the day.
Watch the rock.
His calculation regarding the curve to its base here is quite wrong.
lt`s well to remember we`re building a beacon to save lives not lose them.
lt can be done.
Only Robert Stevenson dared imagine a lighthouse on the Bell Rock.
The Bell Rock lies eleven miles out in the north sea.
At high tide this vast sandstone reef is hidden just beneath the waves.
A killer lying in wait.
ln one storm alone seventy ships were lost off the east coast of Scotland.
Now we`ll see if our plans will be fully realised.
lt is the summer of 1800.
Robert Stevenson a young engineer has risked
coming to the rock to complete his plans for a lighthouse.
He has just two hours to complete his survey
before he will be trapped by the rising tide.
These sharp sandstone rocks are like teeth,
they`re able to rip a ship`s hull apart in minutes.
lf you`re close enough to see them it`s too late,
you`re already within the jaws of the monster.
He knows he is attempting the impossible.
No one has ever built a lighthouse on a rock that is submerged beneath the sea.
You must get off the rocks sir, the tide`s against us.
l know what others say about my dreams that this is a folly
but it will become a reality, of that there is no doubt.
No manmade structure has ever survived on the rock.
Even a warning bell erected by local monks giving the Bell Rock
its name was consigned to the deep after just one year.
Stevenson is a junior engineer with the Northern Lighthouse Board.
At thirty he has done well for himself.
He grew up in poverty and is largely self taught.
Mr Stevenson.
A strong religious conviction drives his ambition to build his own lighthouse.
Sit down Mr Stevenson.
His superiors have reluctantly agreed to look at his design,
even though they don`t believe
a lighthouse could possibly stand on the Bell Rock.
Well proceed.
From the er, from the situation and circumstances attending the Bell Rock,
we may suppose that this dangerous sunken reef is the direct
or contributory cause in many cases of ship wreck upon the eastern coast.
l therefore lay before you proposals for a lighthouse built in stone.
The construction of which will withstand all that nature can cast against it.
And how do you propose this stone tower of yours in the middle of the sea?
lt is my understanding that the tides do not allow very much time
on the surface of the rock to carry out building operations.
That is indeed true.
You would have access only for a few hours each day, is that not correct?
Yes it is.
And in bad weather no access at all.
lt can be done.
Well no one has built a lighthouse in the open sea exposed to its full force
on a rock that is submerged for the better part of the day.
The board remains unconvinced, his proposal is radical.
Most lights to warn ships are no more than coal fires.
Every night the Scottish coast is plunged in to darkness.
While lives are being lost bounty hunters wait for their next trophy.
But Stevenson knows from his own experience
that he could build a superior stone tower light.
A beacon which would save hundreds of lives.
And he does have one bold example,
the Eddiston built fifty years earlier by John Smeeten.
l am convinced that Smeeten`s lighthouse on the Eddiston rock is the correct model.
But l have made some improvements.
Smeeten was inspired by the shape of an oak tree.
ln the most fearsome storm he witnessed
how its wide base gave anchor to this narrow trunk.
Now my tower stands a good forty feet taller than the Eddiston,
for the seas are rougher around the Bell Rock.
Mine will also have a superior light,
the Eddiston uses only candles whereas mine will have the latest oil technology.
Of course the commissioners must first agree to build it.
Just last year
as you are all aware seventy ships went down in one single storm.
Either floundering on the rock or striking upon the shore attempting to avoid it.
Mr Stevenson can you give us some estimate
of how much this lighthouse of yours is going to cost?
Yes indeed.
l estimate the cost to be about forty two thousand pounds.
They`re going to turn this down on cost.
Easy to justify here but rather harder to explain to a sailor`s widow.
The board turns Stevenson down, but he will not give up his plans.
At home he devises an experiment to prove
that his lighthouse will withstand more violent seas than the Eddiston.
To er, to create the, the kind of wave
that the lighthouse will have to withstand water will be released from this tank
and will flow down this shoot towards the model.
Now the model is built of small wooden blocks
which replicate the stones both in size and in weight.
Are you ready?
The most critical part is the curve of the base.
This must deflect the energy of the wave upwards.
lf Stevenson has miscalculated the lighthouse will collapse.
Thomas away out of the beds.
Elizabeth over here, quickly now, come on.
Stevenson`s plans are shelved, the Bell Rock remains untamed.
Until 1804.
The huge sixty four gun HMS York is wrecked.
All five hundred crew are lost.
There are renewed demands for the Lighthouse Board to take action.
To help the board has invited the most eminent engineer of the day...
...John Rennie.
Even though he has never built a lighthouse.
Would you like to see the plan Mr Rennie.
l have seen Mr Stevenson`s plans and they`re sound enough,
but the details require modification.
How much modification?
Mr Stevenson is quite correct in proposing a stone tower
along the lines of the Eddiston.
But for instance his calculation regarding the curve to its base here is quite wrong.
l shall be able to say more when l`ve inspected the rock.
And er should you so wish possibly embark on the design myself,
thus relieving you of the necessity of employing some junior engineer.
Stevenson has been told that Rennie has come in the capacity of consultant.
The celebrated engineer has yet to confront Stevenson
about his concerns over the curve at the tower`s base.
Mr Rennie has agreed that the Eddiston lighthouse,
while it is a model must be modified for the particular situation here.
Only in small respects.
For example the curve to its tower has withstood the most tempestuous of seas,
and such elegance of calculation must be applied to this design.
The seas are rougher, the rock lies beneath the water,
l have therefore angled the curve of the tower to steeper seventy degrees.
Yes and it will prove to be too steep.
We`ll discuss this further.
lt`s always best l think not to deviate too far from the path of those
who`s shown us the way.
One must adapt.
ln small steps.
But here on the Bell Rock we`re attempting to do something
that`s never been done before.
Quite, and we hope that our tower will rival the Eddiston
which has after all stood for fifty years.
ln this year of our lord 1806 parliament has granted
the commissioners of the Northern Lights permission to build a lighthouse
on the reef known as the Bell Rock off the eastern coast of Scotland.
Mr John Rennie has been named
by the commissioners` chief engineer on the operations,
Mr Robert Stevenson to attend to his orders as his assistant.
The dream Stevenson has held for over seven years is at last to come true,
but with Rennie in control.
And it will be he who supervises the design
and he who dictates the curve to the base.
While Rennie considers the plans Stevenson starts to recruit a crew of masons,
carpenters, smithies and sailors.
Sir. Mr Dove sir.
Ah Mr Dove the Blacksmith.
Yes sir.
You come highly recommended Mr Dove.
Thank you sir.
How many years have you been trained?
Twenty odd years sir.
And l assume that you have...
Ay l dunna doubt the danger of it but er...
...what a thing eh, to have my forge in the middle of the sea.
How many blacksmiths can say they`ve managed that?
Mr Wishart Sir.
Mr Wishart. Mr Wishart do you have any specific skills that you can bring to the?
l`m, l`m, l`m a mason sir.
Mason?
Aye.
So l presume that you`re unafraid of hard manual labour?
Oh not afraid at all sir.
Age?
Sixteen sir.
Can you handle a small boat Mr Scott?
My father brought me up in the sea, he says l`m part fish sir.
ls your father looking for a job?
He`s a prisoner of war sir.
Well, one pound a week Mr Scott and your food and drink.
Can you sign your name?
l can sir.
Please do.
Mr Glen you are a religious man?
l certainly am sir.
And you`ve read the bible, do you read it regularly?
l certainly do sir.
Would you mind putting your signature on the page please Mr Glen.
l`ve been told we`ll be at the rock
for twelve weeks and to prepare for sea sickness.
Not that l sail a lot myself, custom to here at sea promises a little hardship.
But mark my words work on that rock will be dangerous.
And it will take a strong master to pull us through.
Stevenson enlists sixty men.
On the 17th August 1807 the men prepare to set sail for the rock.
They will be away for two months.
Now that we are all assembled l er,
l`m only to aware of the responsibility l hold for the welfare of these men.
l`m answerable to God and to their wives should any misfortune befall them.
Right lads let`s have you on board now.
Come on Wishart, you`ll be on land before you know it.
lt`s not long before the men discover the wreckage of ships
lost to the rock over the winter months.
My worry is that the men should ever find a body here.
That would do much to lower their morale.
They`re all ready quite convinced that evil spirits live here.
Let`s do this bit here, let`s make a start there, alright.
They can only work during the calm summer months.
Digging with simple pick axes begins immediately.
We, we started the foundations, two feet deep by forty two feet wide.
They must be dug by hand,
you can`t chance gunpowder less we should damage the rock itself.
This will be hard work.
As you can see the picks blunt very quickly.
Mr Dove is constantly employed in sharpening them.
Sharpening the tools on Dove`s forge is vital.
There is no time to waste, in a few hours the rock will sink beneath the waves.
Let us pray men.
Almighty God give us grace, that we may cast away the works of darkness,
and put upon us the armour of light now in the time of this mortal life.
Amen.
To the boat.
For Stevenson moral improvement, technological progress goes hand in hand.
Science dispels the dark superstitions and illuminates the wondrous workings of god.
For the twenty hours each day that the rock is beneath the waves
the men live on a ship safely moored over a mile away.
But rowing there and back is both time wasting and dangerous.
To help this problem work begins on the foundations for the beacon house.
Stevenson has designed
this temporary structure to allow the men to live on the rock.
This rises above high tide level
and will house the barracks in which the men will live
during the course of the works here on the rock.
This is no easy task, nothing survives on this rock.
lf we were to avoid the, the beacon house and its occupants being,
being washed out to sea by the elements we have to dig extremely deep foundations.
Hey, do you know what this stuff`s called?
Fukus Falimatis.
One moment gentlemen if you will, l, l have something to say.
As you will appreciate our work here is regulated by the tides
therefore we must work every hour that the rock is exposed.
For this reason we must be prepared to work on the Sabbath.
We`re er, we`re doing God`s work,
we`re building a light that will save many lives.
l have no doubt that God will bless our endeavours
even to the point of working on his day.
l`ll not be working on the Sabbath l can tell you that.
l can not force the men to work on the Sabbath.
lt`s a matter of conscience.
But unless they come round l will lose a good deal of time.
l`m not happy about it.
No good can come of breaking God`s law.
Mr Stevenson can say what he likes, but each man is responsible for his own soul.
l`ll not be working on the Sabbath.
The following Sunday the men face a hard choice.
The Sabbath was appointed to celebrate thy creating power.
And while the service of humanity calls us to labour, even on this day of rest,
save us from the temptation which might lead us to forget our God,
and the duties which we owe to him.
Amen.
To the boats.
Several of the men refuse to work.
The Lord will punish those who work on his day.
On the 2nd September 1807 God`s retribution appears to arrive swiftly.
Tide`s coming in fast Mr Stevenson.
There`s time yet Mr Dickson.
One of the boats has cut adrift and been swept away on the tide.
And the one small rowing boat left is only big enough for half the crew.
Soon the rock will be under twelve feet of water.
Help, help.
What are we to do Mr Stevenson?
This boat will hold six and there are twelve of us.
Some of us will just have to er hold on to the gunnels Mr Glen.
And freeze in the waters in minutes.
lf we don`t capsize the boat first.
What would you er suggest Mr Glen.
l`m not waiting here.
Mr Stevenson first.
Stevenson records in his diary,
`All this passed in the most perfect silence
and the melancholy solemnity of the group
made an impression never to be effaced on my mind.`
The men were saved shortly afterwards
when unexpectedly the supply boat from the mainland turned up.
Aye it`s time to thank the Lord.
l hope Mr Stevenson has learned a lesson for all our sakes.
A true master would never have left us with nay hope.
Right lads, take the strain.
Checking the beacon lights Mr Glen.
Hold it.
After being stranded on the rock the men are eager to finish the beacon house.
Two, three heave.
The day arrives to raise its legs.
One, two, three, heave.
We can now really fasten the legs of the beacon.
lf we leave this task half complete the sea will wash away our work.
We must achieve this in one, today.
And one, two, three, heave, steady.
And one, two, three, heave.
Hold it.
Come on keep it coming Scott.
Hold it lads, hold it there.
Legs in place Mr Glen.
Raising the beacon`s legs marks their first victory over the rock
and the end of their first year`s work.
To the beacon.
May it still be standing when we return next year.
The men have little faith in Stevenson`s beacon surviving the winter storms.
And even less faith in Stevenson as their master.
During the winter months work will continue on the mainland.
Sixty stone cutters follow Stevenson`s detailed instructions.
Cutting one tonne blocks of hard Aberdeen granite.
Gentlemen, my light`s the most powerful yet devised,
will benefit from discoveries made by the French inventor Argon.
The press come to see Stevenson`s technological expertise in light design.
Now, he noted that if you place a glass tube over a flame
the convection current so created will cause it to burn brighter.
Like so.
Now if l place a reflector behind l can focus these rays of light
in to one intense beam.
Now as you see here l have arranged these reflectors in to a rotating array.
l want the Bell Rock light to be so distinctive
that sailors will know exactly what lies beneath its penetrating glare.
So to this end l have placed red glass in front of some of the reflectors.
Mariners will then see an alternating red and white flash,
and we will have a demonstration.
No light has yet been conceived so bright.
Not even the Eddiston can compete.
ln the Spring Stevenson and his men return to the rock,
they will soon learn if the beacon has survived the winter storms.
There it is.
She stands, the beacon stands.
The day arrives for the foundation stone to be shipped to the rock.
Bassey the horse carries the first stone that will be needed for the lighthouse.
Steady lads.
They must take great care.
Each stone takes months to cut and they must be laid in order.
lf one is damaged work will be delayed for the rest of the year
while they wait for a replacement.
Careful.
Watch the rock.
Mr Henderson raise it.
Come on up you go, up you go, that`s it now lads.
Rennie returns to the rock for this auspicious occasion.
Let us pray.
May the great architect of the universe bless this stone,
and may it remain long after our eyes have ceased to behold it.
Amen.
Hip, hip, hip.
Hooray.
Hip, hip, hip.
Hooray.
Hip, hip, hip.
Hooray.
The beacon house is now complete and ready for Rennie`s inspection.
The main barracks Mr Rennie which houses fifteen men.
Gentlemen.
The er, the walls are lined with moss to provide some protection from the elements.
And the legs are supported by our faith in the Lord.
Those who suffer sickness will the be the first to benefit from our new home.
Below us our provisions and above us a small room for my use.
That night Stevenson takes a seasick and sceptical Rennie back to the mainland.
l have already expressed my thoughts to Mr Stevenson
and my doubts regarding this beacon.
He believes that this fragile barracks will provide protection
against the North Sea.
l disagree profoundly.
l fear it will only expose the workers to even greater peril.
l think if Mr Rennie had experienced for himself how close we came to disaster
that day the boat broke free then he would appreciate
what a haven the beacon will be.
With the beacon as a refuge the men now hope they will be safe on the rock.
Help. Help.
Scott, Scott.
Wake up man for God`s sake.
Scott, Scott, Scott, Scott.
For God`s sake Scott.
Stevenson records in his diary the young man Scott
was a great favourite in the service and his loss is universally regretted.
And it sprang back to the surface and capsized the boat.
l was told he was knocked senseless by the ring of a buoy.
The men called loudly to him
but the strong currents carried him away, and he disappeared.
They that go down to the sea in ships, and occupy their business in great waters.
These men see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep.
Young Scott`s father being a prisoner of war
and there being no bread winner l thought to offer his place to his younger brother.
Work is the best remedy for grief.
lt is well to remember we`re building a beacon to save lives, not to lose them.
Mr Stevenson should remind himself of that fact
and reflect on what price he is prepared to pay.
Steady with it.
Three days later fourteen year old Alexander Scott is back in the same boat
that killed his brother.
Keep it higher.
On you go.
lt is the end of the second year`s work
and just three courses of stone have been laid.
Stevenson is well behind schedule
but the weather forces him to head back to the mainland.
Swing it round gently lads.
l expect much, much more
and all we have are a few courses of stone to show for two years work.
Well, the budget is set, there`s no more money after this season and the next,
and l will inform Mr Stevenson of that fact.
Forced to wait through the long winter months
Stevenson is anxious to get back to work.
Last season we managed eighty hours building work.
Eighty hours in a whole year.
l can`t afford to lose another second.
But Stevenson`s problems are far from over.
The weather begins to worsen.
Oh gently sweet often upon thy green brace,
flow gently l`ll sing thee a song in they place.
We were lucky to be spared.
Thanks must go to Mr Stevenson.
Aye and his hardy beacon.
The hardy beacon restores the men`s faith in Stevenson.
From now on all agree to work on the Sabbath.
The work continues smoothly,
the curve to the base takes shape to Rennie`s instruction.
Here we are.
The lads have done well Mr Stevenson.
But to head off any further interfering visits from the Chief Engineer
Stevenson writes a continuous chain of letters asking his advice on everything.
He considers no matter too trivial.
What kind of putty for the windows.
What types of locks for the doors.
Rennie dutifully replies to all eighty two long detailed letters
with equally long detailed answers.
Answers which Stevenson increasingly ignores.
Here you are, lunch
Breathe deeply Wishart.
Get some water.
Get that bloody water.
You`re alright Mr Wishart, you`re all right son.
Mr Wishart`s legs were badly crushed.
l am informed that amputation will not be necessary.
Fortunately but he won`t be working again.
So attached is Wishart to our lighthouse
that he`s asked that he might be made keeper.
l`ve promised to put a word in for him.
22nd August, 1809,
Stevenson calls a halt to the season`s work as the weather closes in.
Let`s pray.
lf l take the wings in the morning...
During the winter months Stevenson`s own faith is put to the ultimate test.
ln January he loses his twins to whooping cough.
Two weeks later his youngest daughter Janet also dies from the disease.
Mr Rennie has um been kind enough to send us a letter.
l am truly sorry for the affliction you have lately sustained in your family,
an affliction as a parent l well know and l sincerely sympathise with you.
We are here only in a state of probation to prepare for another and a better world.
And therefore we ought to submit with Christian resignation.
Work is man`s only consolation in times like these.
Stevenson`s lighthouse has caught the public imagination.
Many travel great distances to marvel at the achievement.
His lighthouse now stands at nearly a hundred feet high.
Towards the end of the summer the last stone is sent to the key side.
Bassey has carried all two and a half thousand stones.
There`s a storm coming.
The storm is the most violent yet to hit the rock.
The men take refuge in the beacon.
Once inside they find one of the men is missing.
Somebody must have seen him.
The storm lasted for another seven hours before they could begin the search.
Henderson, Henderson.
Charles Henderson`s body was never found.
The loss of Henderson has cast a deep gloom on us all.
The day finally arrived.
Stevenson and his men assembled on deck
to see the twenty four great lanterns lit for the first time.
The lighthouse was finished.
And the Lord went before them by day in a power of cloud to lead them the path
and by night the pillar of fire to give them light.
Three cheers for Mr Stevenson.
Hip, hip, hip.
Hooray.
Hip, hip, hip.
Hooray.
Hip, hip, hip.
Hooray.
l am told that few weeks passed by without a puff
or two in Mr Stevenson`s favour in the Edinborough newspapers.
l have the distinct impression he believes himself
responsible for the entire design of the Bell Rock lighthouse.
l mean had the fellow not followed my instructions
regarding the curve to its base we`d all be looking at a heap of stones.
The controversy rumbled on for years
as to who was the true designer of the Bell Rock lighthouse.
But there was no question who had actually built it.
Stevenson kept his promise
and made Wishart one of the first keepers of the Bell Rock.
Robert Stevenson went on to build many more lighthouses
and found a dynasty of engineers.
Three of his sons, two grandsons and a great grandson became lighthouse builders.
Today the Bell Rock Lighthouse still stands
The oldest offshore lighthouse anywhere in the world
And because of it the Bell Rock claims no more lives.
http://subscene.com/