URPoint Details
Stroma is an island off the northern coast and the most southerly of the islands in the Pentland Firth between the Orkney Islands and Caithness, the north-eastern most part of the mainland. The name is from the Old Norse Straumr-øy meaning "island in the [tidal] stream"
In 1890, a lighthouse was built at Stroma's northern tip, Langaton Point. It was only operational for six years before being replaced and very little is now known about the structure. The unmanned lighthouse originally housed a Trotter-Lindberg lamp which burned petroleum spirit or lythene. The fuel supply was stored in cisterns near the lantern, which was regularly recharged at least fortnightly by the local fishermen or crofters. It was one of the first lighthouses in Scotland to use this type of "scintillating" light.
It was replaced in 1896, possibly on the same site, by a new lighthouse built to a design by David Stevenson as part of a major programme of construction works around northern Scotland. A fog warning system was installed the following year. Stevenson's lighthouse consists of a circular white-painted stone tower standing 23 metres (75 ft) high at an elevation of 32 metres (105 ft) above Mean High
- Type:
- Landmark