Bell Rock Lighthouse


Book Description

A lavishly illustrated history of the iconic Bell Rock lighthouse which has stood as an industrial ‘wonder of the world’ since its completion in 1811.




An Account of the Bell Rock Lighthouse


Book Description

Bell Rock, a small outcrop lying just below the roiling waves of the North Sea, had long been the site of smashed ships and doomed sailors, with an estimated 6 shipwrecks per year as the 18th century drew to a close. With the need for navigational warning, Robert Stevenson took command of the planning and construction of what would become the legendary Bell Rock Lighthouse. In his Account, Stevenson details the monumental task of building a structure to stand up to the ferocity of the open ocean, using revolutionary engineering and construction techniques, on a rock only visible a few hours a day at low tide.




Sentinels of the Sea


Book Description

Lighthouses have always unsettled and attracted in equal measure, highlighting the triumphs and failures in humanity's battle with the forces of nature. Taking as its heroes the lighthouses themselves, Sentinels of the Sea describes the engineering genius that allowed their construction on even the smallest of rock outcrops and the innovations that made the lights so powerful and reliable. Intricate, elegant architectural plans and elevations, and evocative period drawings and photographs showcase the innovative designs and technologies behind fifty historic lighthouses built around the world from the 17th to the 20th century. R.G. Grant's engaging and authoritative text chronicles the incredible feats of engineering and endurance that brought these iconic, isolated towers into being, the advances in lens technology that made the lights so effective, and the everyday routines of the lighthouse keepers and the heroic rescues that some performed. Packed with extraordinary stories of human endeavour, desperate shipwrecks, builders defying the elements and heroic sea rescues, the book also reveals the isolation and vulnerability of the dedicated lighthouse keepers.




The Lighthouse Stevensons


Book Description

For centuries the seas around Scotland were notorious for shipwrecks. Mariners' only aids were skill, luck, and single coal-fire light on the east coast, which was usually extinguished by rain. In 1786 the Northern Lighthouse Trust was established, with Robert Stevenson appointed as chief engineer a few years later. In this engrossing book, Bella Bathhurst reveals that the Stevensons not only supervised the construction of the lighthouses under often desperate conditions but also perfected a design of precisely chiseled interlocking granite blocks that would withstand the enormous waves that batter these stone pillars. The same Stevensons also developed the lamps and lenses of the lights themselves, which "sent a gleam across the wave" and prevented countless ships from being lost at sea. While it is the writing of Robert Louis Stevenson that brought fame to the family name, this mesmerizing account shows how his extraordinary ancestors changed the shape of the Scotland coast against incredible odds and with remarkable technical ingenuity.




Rock Lighthouses of Britain


Book Description

When waves higher than the vessels that sail upon them smash against the half-submerged rocks at the extremities our coastline, the whole ocean becomes a raging foam which continues to claim the lives of unwary navigators. Man's struggle to build a permanent and durable structure such as a lighthouse on these sites is a story that cannot fail to stir the emotions of anyone who enjoys tales of endeavour, ingenuity and dogged determination. In this second edition of his book, Christopher Nicholson vividly describes the construction and history to the present day of some of the world's most famous lighthouses. Book jacket.




Seashaken Houses


Book Description

Lighthouses are striking totems of our relationship to the sea. For many, they encapsulate a romantic vision of solitary homes amongst the waves, but their original purpose was much more utilitarian than that. Today we still depend upon their guiding lights for the safe passage of ships. Nowhere is this truer than in the rock lighthouses of Great Britain and Ireland which form a ring of twenty towers built between 1811 and 1904, so-called because they were constructed on desolate rock formations in the middle of the sea, and made of granite to withstand the power of its waves. Seashaken Housesis a lyrical exploration of these singular towers, the people who risked their lives building and rebuilding them, those that inhabited their circular rooms, and the ways in which we value emblems of our history in a changing world.




For the Safety of All


Book Description

Lighthouses punctuate Scotland's coastline - a stoic presence on the edge of the landscape. In For the Safety of All, Donald S Murray explores these lighthouses through history, storytelling and the voices of the lightkeepers.







There Was A Light


Book Description

Available for the first time as a traditional paperback, this revised and updated edition contains new and archival interviews with those closest to Chris Bell and the Big Star circle: their friends, family, former bandmates—even fans, exes, classmates, and coworkers. “Bell’s and Big Star’s existence was short, but the wealth of stories and quotes here provides a healthy sustenance for the truth seekers. A top-notch biography.” —San Francisco Book Review The varied cast of voices—many from the band’s hometown of Memphis—comprises all the members of Big Star, including Chris Bell, the iconic Alex Chilton, Andy Hummel, and Jody Stephens. In the following decades after its 1975 breakup, the obscure group somehow reached and inspired some of rock’s most important bands, including R.E.M., the Replacements, Yo La Tengo, Teenage Fanclub, Beck, and Wilco. With Chris Bell at the center of the Big Star universe, this book carefully reveals the production of the band’s masterful 1972 debut LP, #1 Record, for Ardent/Stax Records. Despite stellar reviews, the record suffered abysmal sales. Soon after, toxic personality conflicts and turmoil tore the band apart while Bell battled drug abuse and depression. There Was A Light then delves into Big Star’s second and third albums, while recounting Bell’s second act as a struggling solo musician and born-again Christian. During several trips to Europe, he produced ambitious recordings and pitched himself to record labels—even crossing paths with Paul McCartney. From this fertile era arose Bell’s lone solo album, the posthumously released I Am the Cosmos—his swan song and masterpiece. There Was A Light details the pop culture phenomenon that made Big Star legendary and divulges how its staunch fanbase saved the band from obscurity. “... an encyclopedic compendium…illuminating Bell’s life from a thousand angles.” —Memphis Flyer




The Relative Hills of Britain


Book Description

How many hills are there in Britain? Has anyone climbed them all? Where is there for hill walkers to go in the south of England? What is a hill anyway? The answers to these and other questions will be found in The Relative Hills of Britain. This book dispenses with the common assumption that a hill must be at least 2000ft high to be worth climbing. Instead it concentrates on listing all the hills that are relatively high compared to the surrounding land, rather than compared to sea level. This approach leads to some interesting results: for example, the highest points in the Cotswolds and Chilterns, Campsies and Quantocks are all included, as well as the main summits on numerous Scottish islands, whereas well- known mountain summits such as Cairn Gorm, Bowfell and Carnedd Dafydd do not qualify. As well as being an invaluable reference work for all walkers, this book contains a fascinating collection of not too serious facts and figures about the Marilyns, as these relative hills have been called. The book is illustrated by a set of photographs and a large number of very clear maps, which make it easy to locate all the hills in each region.