Editing Bass Rock

{{Short description|Island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2014}}
{{Infobox Scottish island
| coordinates = {{coord|56|04|40|N|2|38|25|W|type:isle_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| Image = Bass rock lighthouse.jpg
| ImageCaption =
| location_map = Scotland East Lothian
| caption = Bass Rock shown within East Lothian
| GridReference = NT602873
| area = {{cvt|3|ha|acres|0}}
| area rank = 
| highest elevation = {{cvt|107|m|ft|0}}
| Population = 0
| population rank = 
| main settlement = 
| island group = [[Islands of the Forth]]
| local authority = [[East Lothian]]
| references = <ref>{{citation |publisher=General Register Office for Scotland |date=28 November 2003 |url=http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/occpapers/occasional-paper-10.html |title=Occasional Paper No 10: Statistics for Inhabited Islands |access-date=9 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070525015452/http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/occpapers/occasional-paper-10.html |archive-date=25 May 2007 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name=Smith>{{Haswell-Smith}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/ |title=Get-a-Map |publisher=[[Ordnance Survey]] |access-date=13 May 2008 |archive-date=16 October 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031016154458/http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Scotgaz>{{cite web |url=http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst3875.html |title=Bass Rock |publisher=[[Gazetteer for Scotland]] |access-date=29 September 2007 |archive-date=20 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220230704/http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst3875.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}
The '''Bass Rock''', or simply '''the Bass'''<ref>M'Crie, Miller, Anderson, Fleming & Balfour (1847). ''The Bass Rock.'' Edinburgh</ref> ({{IPAc-en|pron|b|æ|s}}), is an island in the outer part of the [[Firth of Forth]] in the east of [[Scotland]]. Approximately {{cvt|2|km|0}} offshore, and {{cvt|5|km|0}} north-east of [[North Berwick]], it is a steep-sided [[volcanic plug]], {{cvt|107|m}} at its highest point, and is home to a large colony of [[gannets]]. The rock is uninhabited, but historically has been settled by an 8th-century Christian [[hermit]], and later was the site of an important castle, which after the [[Commonwealth of England|Commonwealth period]] was used as a prison. The island belongs to [[Hamilton-Dalrymple baronets|Hew Hamilton-Dalrymple]], whose family acquired it in 1706, and previously to the Lauder family for almost six centuries. The [[Bass Rock Lighthouse]] was constructed on the rock in 1902, and the remains of a chapel survive.

The Bass Rock features in many works of fiction, including Lion Let Loose by [[Nigel Tranter]], ''[[Catriona (novel)|Catriona]]'' by [[Robert Louis Stevenson]], ''The Lion Is Rampant'' by the [[List of Scottish novelists|Scottish novelist]] [[Ross Laidlaw (author)|Ross Laidlaw]] and ''The New Confessions'' by [[William Boyd (writer)|William Boyd]]. Most recently it features prominently in ''[[The Bass Rock]]'' by [[Evie Wyld]], which won the 2021 [[Stella Prize]].

==Geography and geology==
[[File:Bass Rock OS map.png|right|thumb|Map of Bass Rock|262x262px]]
[[File:Bass Rock (Aerial).webm|thumb|262x262px|An aerial view of Bass Rock]]
The island is a [[volcanic plug]] of [[Phonolite|phonolitic]] [[trachyte]] rock of [[Carboniferous]] ([[Dinantian]]) age.<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Bass Rock, The|volume=3}}</ref><ref>Read, W. A. et al. (2002) ''Carboniferous'', page 294 in Trewin, N. H. (2002) ''The Geology of Scotland'', 4th edition, London, The Geological Society.</ref> The rock was first recognised as an [[intrusion|igneous intrusion]] by [[James Hutton]]. [[Hugh Miller]] visited in 1847 and wrote about the rock's geology in his book ''Edinburgh and its Neighbourhood, Geological and Historical: with The Geology of the Bass Rock''.<ref name=Scotgaz/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hughmiller.org/bibliography_g.asp |title=Bibliography |access-date=29 September 2007 |work=Discover Hugh Miller |archive-date=28 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090728084420/http://www.hughmiller.org/bibliography_g.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is one of a small number of islands off the [[East Lothian]] coast including the [[Islands of the Forth]]. To the west are [[Craigleith]], and the [[Lamb (island)|Lamb]], [[Fidra]] and finally to the west of Fidra, the low-lying island of [[Eyebroughy]]. These are also mainly the result of volcanic activity. To the northeast can be seen the [[Isle of May]] off the coast of the [[East Neuk]] of Fife.

Bass Rock stands more than {{cvt|100|m|ft}} high in the Firth of Forth Islands [[Special Protection Area]] which covers some but not all of the islands in the inner and outer Firth. The Bass Rock is a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] in its own right, due to its [[gannet]] colony. It is sometimes called "the [[Ailsa Craig]] of the East".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leithhistory.co.uk/2007/11/29/the-bass-rock/ |title=The Bass Rock |publisher=History of Leith |access-date=20 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705180113/http://www.leithhistory.co.uk/2007/11/29/the-bass-rock/ |archive-date=5 July 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ourscotland.co.uk/forthislands/ |title=Islands in the Firth of Forth |publisher=Scotland from the Roadside |access-date=20 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100127102032/http://www.ourscotland.co.uk/forthislands/ |archive-date=27 January 2010 |df=dmy}}</ref> It is of a similar age (c.340 million years), geological form and [[petrology]] to nearby [[North Berwick Law]], a hill on the mainland <ref name=Scotgaz/> and to [[Traprain Law]]. There are related volcanic formations on the adjacent island of Craigleith and within nearby [[Edinburgh]], namely [[Arthur's Seat]], [[Calton Hill]] and [[Castle Rock, Edinburgh|Castle Rock]].

The Bass does not occupy the skyline of the Firth quite as much as its equivalent in the Clyde, Ailsa Craig, but it can be seen from much of southern and eastern [[Fife]], most of East Lothian, and high points in the Lothians and Borders, such as [[Arthur's Seat]], and the [[Lammermuir]].

==Human history==
[[File:St Baldred&#039;s Chapel - geograph.org.uk - 1189378.jpg|thumb|right|St Baldred's Chapel|262x262px]]
The island was a retreat for an early Christian saint, [[Baldred of Tyninghame|Baldred]], "the Apostle of the [[Lothian]]s".<ref name="COSB">{{cite book | last = Ritchie | first = A E | title = The Churches of Saint Baldred | year = 1880 | location = Edinburgh}}</ref><ref name="PMS">{{cite book | last = Yeoman | first = Peter | title = Pilgrimage in Medieval Scotland | year = 1999 | publisher=B T Batsford & Historic Scotland | location = London & Edinburgh}}</ref><ref>{{cite DNB |wstitle=Baldred (d.608?) |volume=3 |last=Tout |noicon=1 |first=Thomas Frederick}}</ref> Baldred is believed to have founded a monastery at [[Tyninghame]].<ref name="PMS" /> However, at times he retreated to the Bass Rock where he built a small hermitage.<ref name="HCD">{{cite book | last = Stephenson | first = Joseph (trans.) | title = Simeon of Durham's A History of the Church of Durham | year = 1988 | publisher=Llanerch | location = Felinfach }}</ref>

===Settlement===
The earliest recorded proprietors are the Lauder of the Bass family, from whom Sir [[Harry Lauder]] is descended.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lauder |first=Sir Harry |title=Roamin' in the Gloamin' |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.58198 |year=1928 |publisher=J B Lippincott Company |location=London |isbn=978-1-4179-1791-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.58198/page/n31 26]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=M'Crie |first=Thomas |title=The Bass Rock: Its Civil and Ecclesiastic History |url=https://archive.org/details/bassrockitscivil00mcri |year=1847 |publisher=John Greig and Son |location=Edinburgh |author2=Anderson, James |author3=Miller, Hugh |author4=Fleming, John |author5=Balfour, John Hutton |page=[https://archive.org/details/bassrockitscivil00mcri/page/12 12]}}</ref> According to legend, the island is said to have been a gift from King [[Máel Coluim III of Scotland|Malcolm III of Scotland]]. The crest on their heraldic arms is, appropriately, a gannet sitting upon a rock.<ref>Lauder-Frost, Gregory, F.S.A., Scot., 'Lauder Arms', in ''The Double Tressure'', Heraldry Society of Scotland, no.29, 2007, pps:20–30,{{ISSN|0141-237X}}</ref>

The 15th-century Scottish philosopher and historian [[Hector Boece]] gave the following description (original spelling):
{{blockquote|ane wounderful crag, risand within the sea, with so narrow and strait hals [passage] that na schip nor boit bot allanerlie at ane part of it. This crag is callet the Bas; unwinnabil by ingine [ingenuity] of man. In it are coves, als profitable for defence of men as [if] thay were biggit be crafty industry. Every thing that is in that crag is ful of admiration and wounder.<ref>Bellenden's Boece, vol i p 37</ref>}}

The family had a castle on the island from an early date. Sir Robert de Lawedre is mentioned by [[Blind Harry]] in ''[[The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace]]'' as a compatriot of [[William Wallace]], and [[Alexander Nisbet]] recorded his tombstone in 1718, in the floor of the old kirk in [[North Berwick]]: "here lies Sir Robert de Lawedre, great laird of the Bass, who died May 1311". Five years later his son received that part of the island which until then had been retained by the Church because it contained the holy cell of Saint [[Baldred of Tyninghame|Baldred]]. A century later [[Andrew of Wyntoun|Wyntown]]'s ''Cronykil'' relates: "In 1406 King [[Robert III of Scotland|Robert III]], apprehensive of danger to his son James (afterwards [[James I of Scotland|James I]]) from the Duke of Albany, placed the youthful prince in the safe-custody of Sir Robert Lauder in his secure castle on the Bass prior to an embarkation for safer parts on the continent." Subsequently, says [[Patrick Fraser Tytler|Tytler]], "Sir Robert Lauder of the Bass was one of the few people whom King James I admitted to his confidence." In 1424 Sir Robert Lauder of the Bass, with 18 men, had safe conduct with a host of other noblemen, as a hostage for James I at [[Durham, England|Durham]]. J. J. Reid also mentions that "in 1424 when King James I returned from his long captivity in England, he at once consigned to the castle of the Bass, Walter Stewart, the eldest son of [[Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany]], his cousin. The person who received the payments for the prisoner's support was Sir Robert Lauder", whom Tytler further describes as "a firm friend of the King". The second-last Lauder laird, [[George Lauder of the Bass]] died in his castle on the Bass in 1611.<ref>Edinburgh Commissariot Court, Testaments.</ref>

In May 1497 King [[James IV of Scotland|James IV]] visited the Bass and stayed in the castle with a later Sir [[Robert Lauder of the Bass]] (d.bef Feb 1508). The boatmen who conveyed the King from [[Dunbar]] were paid 14 shillings.<ref>Thomas Dickson, ''Accounts of Treasurer'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1877), p. 337.</ref> [[George Lauder of the Bass]] entertained King [[James VI of Scotland]] when he visited the Bass in 1581; the king was so enamoured that he offered to buy the island, a proposition which did not commend itself to George Lauder. The King appears to have accepted the situation with good grace. George was a Privy Counsellor – described as the King's "familiar councillor" – and tutor to the young [[Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales|Prince Henry]].

In 1848 it was reported that there were "about a score and a half" of sheep grazing on the island.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HbERAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22bass+rock%22+100+sheep+to+graze&pg=PA21 | title=Hogg's Weekly Instructor | year=1848 | publisher=J. Hogg }}</ref> By 1870 it was claimed that "twenty-five sheep could be grazed on the grassy top of the rock".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wayback Machine |url=https://apps.snh.gov.uk/sitelink-api/v1/sites/155/documents/3 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20230609131138/https://apps.snh.gov.uk/sitelink-api/v1/sites/155/documents/3 |archive-date=2023-06-09 |access-date=2024-12-15 |website=apps.snh.gov.uk}}</ref>

===Castle===
[[File:Bass Rock Castle Lighthouse 1.jpg|right|thumb|The remains of the castle in 2007, and the lighthouse|262x262px]]
[[File:Fortifications on the Bass Rock (geograph 3331410).jpg|thumb|right|Fortifications on the Bass Rock|262x262px]]
The Lauders built a fortification not far above the island's only landing-place. The slope is crossed by a [[Curtain wall (fortification)|curtain wall]], which naturally follows the lie of the ground, having projections and round [[bastions]] where a rocky projection offers a suitable foundation. The [[parapet]]s are [[Battlements|battlemented]], with the usual walk along the top of the walls. Another curtain wall at right-angles runs down to the sea close to the landing-place, ending in a ruined round tower, whose vaulted base has poorly splayed and apparently rather unskilfully constructed [[embrasure]]s. The entrance passes through this outwork wall close to where it joins the other.

The main defences are entered a little farther on in the same line, through a projecting two-story building which has some fireplaces with very simple and late mouldings. The buildings are of the local [[basalt]], and the masonry is rough rubble; there are, as is so frequently the case, no very clear indications for dating the different parts, which were in all probability erected at different times.

A little beyond the entrance there was a tower that formed a simple keep/bastion and to which had been added a gabled chamber in the 17th century, which, though of restricted dimensions, must have been comfortable enough, with blue Dutch tiles round its moulded fireplace, later very much decayed. The keep and the living quarters within the walls were taken down to provide stone for the lighthouse in 1902.

A [[Water well|well]] at the top of the Bass, where today the [[foghorn]] is situated, provided [[freshwater]] for the island's occupants.

===Chapel===
Halfway up the island stands the ruin of '''St Baldred's Chapel''', which is sited upon a cell or cave in which this Scottish Saint spent some time. Although the Lauders held most of the Bass Rock, this part of it had remained in the ownership of the Church until 1316, when it was granted to the family. The chapel appears to have been rebuilt by the Lauder family several times. A [[papal bull]] dated 6 May 1493, refers to the [[parish church]] of the Bass, or the Chapel of St Baldred, being ''noviter erecta'' (newly established) at that time. On 5 January 1542 [[John Lauder]], son of Sir [[Robert Lauder of the Bass]], was recorded as "the Cardinal's Secretary" representing Cardinal [[David Beaton]] at a reconsecration of the restored and ancient St Baldred's chapel on the Bass. In 1576 it was recorded that the church on the Bass, and that at [[Auldhame]] on the mainland, required no readers, doubtless something to do with the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]].

===Prison===
During the 15th century [[James I of Scotland|James I]] consigned several of his political enemies, including [[Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl|Walter Stewart]],<ref name="Seaton"/> to the Bass. In this period, many members of the [[Clan MacKay]] ended up there, including Neil Bhass MacKay (Niall "Bhas" MacAoidh), who gained his epithet from being imprisoned there as a fourteen-year-old in 1428. He was kept there as a hostage after his father, Aonghas Dubh (Angus Dhu) of [[Strathnaver]] in [[Sutherland]], was released, as security. According to one website
{{blockquote|Following the murder of King James at [[Perth, Scotland|Perth]] in 1437 Neil escaped from the Bass and was proclaimed 8th Chief of the Clan Mackay.<ref name="Seaton"/>}}

[[File:Spreul.jpg|thumb|right|[[John Spreul (apothecary)|John Spreul]] known as Bass John since he was imprisoned on the Bass for six years.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sproule |first1=James |title=Eight Centuries of the Spreull and Sproule families |date=2017 |publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform |location=online |isbn=978-1975670542 |pages=114–128 |url=http://sprowlgenealogy.com/ancient-sprowl-history/eight-centuries |access-date=16 February 2019 |archive-date=16 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190216153320/http://sprowlgenealogy.com/ancient-sprowl-history/eight-centuries/ |url-status=live }}</ref>|365x365px]]
[[File:Bass Rock from the air - geograph.org.uk - 1523275.jpg|thumb|The Bass from the air|262x262px]]
After almost 600 years, the Lauders lost the Bass in the 17th century during [[Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms#Third Civil War|Cromwell's invasion]], and the castle subsequently (in 1671) became a notorious [[gaol]] to which for many decades religious and political prisoners, especially [[Covenanter]]s were sent.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Johnston |first1=John C |title=Treasury of the Scottish covenant |date=1887 |publisher=Andrew Elliot |location=Edinburgh |pages=[https://archive.org/details/treasuryofscotti00john/page/589 589]–593 |url=https://archive.org/details/treasuryofscotti00john |access-date=5 May 2019}}</ref> The island has been called the [[Patmos]] of Scotland.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Porteous |first1=James Moir |title=The Scottish Patmos. A standing testimony to patriotic Christian devotion |date=1881 |publisher=J and R Parlane |location=Paisley |page=[https://archive.org/details/scottishpatmosa00portgoog/page/n13 10] |url=https://archive.org/details/scottishpatmosa00portgoog |access-date=15 February 2019}}</ref> [[Alexander Shields]] the Covenanting preacher, imprisoned on the island, later described the Bass as "a dry and cold rock in the sea, where they had no fresh water nor any provision but what they had brought many miles from the country, and when they got it, it would not keep unspoiled".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shields |first1=Alexander |title=A hind let loose; or, An historical representation of the testimonies of the Church of Scotland, for the interest of Christ : With the true state thereof in all its periods |date=1797 |publisher=Glasgow : Printed by W. Paton for J. Kirk, Calton, the publisher |location=Glasgow |page=[https://archive.org/details/hindletlooseorhi00shie/page/225 225] |url=https://archive.org/details/hindletlooseorhi00shie |access-date=22 December 2018}}</ref> He is reported to have escaped by dressing in women's clothing<ref name="DNB">{{cite DNB |wstitle=Sheilds, Alexander}}</ref> but this occurred from the [[Old Tolbooth, Edinburgh|Edinburgh Tolbooth]] rather than from the island's gaol. 
[[File:The Bass.jpg|thumb|The Bass in the 17th century including the cells of [[Thomas Hog|Hog]] and [[John Blackadder (preacher)|Blackadder]]|262x262px]]
[[James Fraser of Brea]] gave a fuller description including eating fruit from the island's cherry trees.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smellie |first1=Alexander |title=Men of the Covenant |date=1908 |publisher=Andrew Melrose |location=London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/menofcovenant02smeluoft/page/259 259]–264 |volume=2 |url=https://archive.org/details/menofcovenant02smeluoft}}</ref> [[John Blackadder (preacher)|John Blackadder]], and [[John Rae (minister)|John Rae]], died on the Bass and were buried at North Berwick. Blackadder had a [[Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900)|Free Church]] named after him there.

James Anderson lists 39 Covenanting "martyrs" who were imprisoned on the Bass: [[Patrick Anderson of Walston|Patrick Anderson]], [[William Bell (field preacher)|William Bell]], [[Robert Bennet of Chesters]], [[John Blackadder (preacher)|John Blackadder]], [[Sir Hugh Campbell]], [[Sir George Campbell]], [[John Campbell (minister in Ireland)|John Campbell]], [[Robert Dick (salt-grieve)|Robert Dick]], [[John Dickson (minister)|John Dickson]], [[James Drummond (chaplain)|James Drummond]], [[Alexander Dunbar]], [[James Fithie]], [[Alexander Forrester (minister)|Alexander Forrester]], [[James Fraser of Brea|James Fraser]], [[Robert Gillespie (preacher)|Robert Gillespie]], [[Alexander Gordon of Earlston|Alexander Gordon]], [[John Greig (minister)|John Greig]], [[Thomas Hog]], [[Peter Kid]], [[John Law (minister)|John Law]], [[Joseph Learmont]], [[William Lin]], [[James Macaulay (preacher)|James Macaulay]], [[John M'Gilligen]], [[James Mitchell (tobacconist)|James Mitchell]], [[Alexander Peden]], [[Michael Potter (minister)|Michael Potter]], [[John Rae (minister)|John Rae]], [[Archibald Riddell (minister)|Archibald Riddell]], [[Robert Ross (preacher)|Robert Ross]], [[Thomas Ross (minister)|Thomas Ross]], [[Gilbert Rule]], [[George Scot of Pitlochie|George Scot]], [[Alexander Shields]], [[William Spence (schoolmaster)|William Spence]], [[John Spreul (apothecary)]], [[John Spreul (town clerk)]], [[John Stewart (minister)|John Stewart]], and [[Robert Traill (Scottish minister)|Robert Traill]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=M'Crie |first1=Thomas, D.D. the younger |title=The Bass rock: Its civil and ecclesiastic history |date=1847 |publisher=J. Greig & Son |location=Edinburgh |page=[https://archive.org/details/bassrockitscivil00mcri/page/n442 283] |url=https://archive.org/details/bassrockitscivil00mcri |access-date=22 December 2018}}</ref>

[[Charles Maitland, 3rd Earl of Lauderdale|Charles Maitland]] held the Bass for [[James II of England|James VII]] for a brief period after the Scottish Convention declared him to be deposed.

However, some of the prisoners were there for many minor misdemeanors. In 1678 Hector Allan, a Quaker in [[Leith]] was sentenced to a period on the Rock for "abusing and railing" (i.e. verbally insulting) Rev Thomas Wilkie of North Leith Parish Church. Although this was then commuted to imprisonment in Leith Tolbooth, this seems a harsh punishment.<ref>''Cassell's Old and New Edinburgh''; vol. 6, ch. 25</ref>

An extraordinary chapter in the Bass Rock's history was its seizure by four Jacobites imprisoned in its castle, which they then held against government forces for nearly three years, 1691–1694.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Phillimore |first=R.P. |title=The Bass Rock: its History and Romance |publisher=R.P. Phillimore, North Berwick |year=1911 |url=https://www.electricscotland.com/history/edinburgh/bassrock.pdf |pages=105–116 |access-date=27 June 2020 |archive-date=29 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629053121/https://www.electricscotland.com/history/edinburgh/bassrock.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1688 the Catholic [[James II of England|King James VII]] had been deposed by and replaced by [[William III of England]] and [[Mary II of England]]. During the ensuing years, supporters of exiled King James, known as ‘[[Jacobitism|Jacobites]]’, fought unsuccessful wars of resistance in Scotland and Ireland, where Catholic allegiances were strongest. The Bass Rock's castle was one of the last places in Scotland to be surrendered to William III's new government, being handed over in 1690 by governor Charles Maitland. William III's government then chose it as a prison for its Jacobite opponents. In 1691 four captured Catholic Jacobite officers were imprisoned there. On 18 June 1691, they managed to seize the Bass Rock's castle while the much-depleted garrison was outside its walls for the difficult task of unloading a coal ship on the rocky landing stage. The garrison had no choice but to depart on the coal ship. When news spread on the nearby Scottish mainland, Jacobite supporters made covert boat trips to the Bass Rock with supplies and with men who wished to join the defenders. Word reached King James, exiled in France under the protection of [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]], and ships from France brought supplies, including two large rowing boats from King James. The Jacobites used these boats to mount raids on the mainland for more supplies. They used the castle's cannon to waylay some passing ships. William III's government sent two large warships to bombard the castle but its position high above a sheer rock face made it impregnable. A naval blockade of the Bass Rock was then attempted instead which made access to fresh supplies increasingly difficult for the defenders. Their numbers had fallen since some were captured during raids on the mainland – there had been possibly 20 defenders at most. Furthermore, prospects for the Jacobite cause elsewhere in Britain had become hopeless. However, William III's government was itself in despair at how to end the Bass Rock siege. In early 1694 the Bass Rock prisoners’ leader, Captain Michael Middleton, negotiated a visit by government representatives to discuss a solution. Middleton guessed that his adversaries lacked any means for estimating the number of defenders or their reserves of food, in view of the covert comings and goings to the island by ships from the mainland or from France. Accordingly, he stage-managed the visit to give a deceptive impression of strength on both counts. The ruse succeeded. On 18 April 1694 the Jacobite defenders accepted the very attractive surrender terms which they were offered – freedom, free transport to France if they wished, and release from prison for people who had been caught helping them from the mainland.

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Bass Rock Act 1707
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of Scotland
| long_title            = Ratification in favours of Sir Hugh Dalrymple of Northberwick Lord President of the College of Justice of a Gift of the Island and rock called Bass.
| year                  = 1707
| citation              = 1707 c. 38
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 21 March 1707
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = 
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
The fortress was abandoned by the government in 1701, and on 31 July 1706 the President of the Court of Session, [[Hew Dalrymple, Lord North Berwick]], acquired the Bass by charter, ratified by an act of Parliament, the '''{{visible anchor|Bass Rock Act 1707}}''' in March 1707), for a purely nominal sum, and the island has been ever since in the uninterrupted possession of the Dalrymple family.<ref>{{cite book |last=M'Crie |first=Thomas |title=The Bass Rock: Its Civil and Ecclesiastic History |url=https://archive.org/details/bassrockitscivil00mcri |year=1847 |publisher=John Greig and Son |location=Edinburgh |author2=Anderson, James |author3=Miller, Hugh |author4=Fleming, John |author5=Balfour, John Hutton |page=[https://archive.org/details/bassrockitscivil00mcri/page/46 46]}}</ref>

Its inaccessibility became to mean something impossible with the saying:
{{blockquote|<poem>Ding doun [[Tantallon Castle|Tantallon]],—
 Mak a brig to the Bass.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.electricscotland.com/history/Edinburgh/chap28.htm |title=Tantallon and the Bass |publisher=Electric Scotland |access-date=20 October 2009 |archive-date=29 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829223355/http://www.electricscotland.com/history/edinburgh/chap28.htm |url-status=live }}</ref></poem>}}

==Fauna and flora==
[[File:Morus-Bassanus Bass Rock.jpg|thumb|Northern gannets circling above the Bass|262x262px]]

===Animals===
The island plays host to more than 150,000 [[northern gannet]]s and is the world's largest colony of the species. Described famously by naturalists as "one of the wildlife wonders of the world" (often credited to David Attenborough),<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/is-the-bass-rock-a-wonder-of-the-world-i-m-sure-it-is-says-sir-david-attenborough-1-816593 |title=Is the Bass Rock a wonder of the world? I'm sure it is says Sir David Attenborough |newspaper=[[The Scotsman]] |access-date=16 February 2015 |archive-date=16 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216133756/http://www.scotsman.com/news/is-the-bass-rock-a-wonder-of-the-world-i-m-sure-it-is-says-sir-david-attenborough-1-816593 |url-status=live }}</ref> it was also awarded BBC Countryfile Magazine's Nature Reserve of the Year, following a nomination by Chris Packham, in 2014/15. When viewed from the mainland, large regions of the surface appear white owing to the sheer number of birds (and their droppings, which give off 152,000&nbsp;kg of [[ammonia]] per year, equivalent to the achievements of 10 million [[broiler]]s).<ref>Blackall, T.D. (2007) "Ammonia emissions from seabird colonies" ''Geophys. Res. Lett.'' '''34''', L10801</ref> In fact the scientific name for the northern gannet, ''Morus bassanus'', derives from the rock. It was known traditionally in Scots as a "solan goose". As on other gannetries, such as [[St Kilda, Scotland|St Kilda]], the birds were harvested for their eggs and the flesh of their young chicks, which were considered delicacies. It is estimated that in 1850 almost 2,000 birds were harvested from the rock. Other bird species that frequent the rock include [[common guillemot|guillemot]], [[razorbill]], [[European shag|shag]], [[Atlantic puffin|puffin]], [[common eider|eider]] and numerous [[gull]]s.<ref name=NLB>{{cite web |url=http://www.nlb.org.uk/ourlights/history/bassrock.htm |title=Bass Rock Lighthouse |publisher=[[Northern Lighthouse Board]] |access-date=9 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080502155018/http://www.nlb.org.uk/ourlights/history/bassrock.htm |archive-date=2 May 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The natural history of the rock was written about almost five hundred years ago in [[John Major (philosopher)|John Mair]]'s ''De Gestis Scotorum'' ("The deeds of the Scots"), published in 1521.<ref>Hull, Robin (2007) ''Scottish Mammals''. Edinburgh. Birlinn. p. 29.</ref> Today, the [[Scottish Seabird Centre]] at [[North Berwick]] has solar-powered cameras located on the island which beam back live close-up images of the seabirds to large screens on the mainland, just over a mile away. The images are sharp enough for visitors at the Seabird Centre to read the [[Bird ringing|ID rings]] on birds' feet.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.seabird.org/webcams.asp |title=Webcams |publisher=Scottish Seabird Centre |access-date=20 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091018051845/http://www.seabird.org/webcams.asp |archive-date=18 October 2009 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The Seabird Centre has a range of cameras located on the islands of the Forth and also broadcasts the images live on the internet.<ref name=SSC>{{cite web |url=http://www.seabird.org/ |title=Welcome to the Scottish Seabird Centre |publisher=Scottish Seabird Centre |access-date=16 February 2015 |archive-date=17 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117062048/http://www.seabird.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The centre also has exclusive landing rights to the island from the owner Hew Hamilton-Dalrymple and operates a range of boat trips going around, and landing on, the island throughout the year, weather permitting.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.seabird.org/visitor-information.asp |title=Visitor Information |publisher=Scottish Seabird Centre |access-date=20 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091120173938/http://www.seabird.org/visitor-information.asp |archive-date=20 November 2009 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In mid-June 2022 [[highly pathogenic avian influenza]] (HPAI) was detected in the northern gannets connected to the Bass Rock, at that time the world's largest colony.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.seabird.org/wildlife/avian-flu-on-the-bass-rock-june-2022 | title=Scottish Seabird Centre }}</ref> In 2022 more than 5,000 dead birds were counted on a single day, following a whole-island [[Unmanned aerial vehicle|drone]] survey undertaken by the [[University of Edinburgh]], in a colony that normally had 150,000 birds. Susan Davies, chief executive of the Scottish Seabird Centre, said, "We know many more birds died before and after that. The scale of impact was heartbreaking to see."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/23314865.avian-flu-wake-up-call-fears-rise-scotlands-seabirds/ | title='Wake-up' call as fears rise for thousands of seabirds set to return to Scotland | date=11 February 2023 }}</ref>

===Plants===
The soil is fertile and supports a wide variety of plants. These include the [[Lavatera arborea|Bass mallow]] which is otherwise only found on a few other islands, including [[Ailsa Craig]] and [[Steep Holm]].

==Artistic influences==
[[File:Bass Rock, East Lothian, Scotland arp.jpg|thumb|The rock in close up showing nesting [[northern gannet]]s|262x262px]]
Due to its imposing nature, prison and connection with Scottish history, the Bass has been featured in several fictional works.

===Robert Louis Stevenson===
[[Robert Louis Stevenson]] had at least one strong connection with the Bass, as his cousin, [[David Alan Stevenson|David Stevenson]], designed the lighthouse there. Amongst his earliest memories were holidays in [[North Berwick]].<ref name="Seaton">{{cite web |url=http://www.northberwick.org.uk/bass.html |author=Seaton, Douglas |title=The Bass Rock |publisher=North Berwick and District Business Association |access-date=20 October 2009 |archive-date=29 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090629071128/http://www.northberwick.org.uk/bass.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He often stayed at [[Auldhame & Scoughall|Scoughall Farm]], whence the Bass can be seen,<ref name="Seaton"/> and local lore is credited as the inspiration for his short story ''The Wreckers''.<ref name="Seaton"/>

''[[Catriona (novel)|Catriona]]'' is [[Robert Louis Stevenson|Stevenson's]] 1893 sequel to ''[[Kidnapped (novel)|Kidnapped]]''. Both novels are set in the aftermath of the [[Jacobite risings]], in the mid-18th century. The first part of ''Catriona'' recounts the attempts of the hero – David Balfour – to gain justice for James Stewart – James of the Glens – who has been arrested and charged with complicity in the [[Appin Murder]]. David makes a statement to a lawyer, and goes on to meet [[William Grant, Lord Prestongrange|Lord Prestongrange]] – the [[Lord Advocate]] – to press the case for James' innocence. However his attempts fail as he is once again kidnapped and confined on the Bass Rock, until the trial is over, and James condemned to death.

The book begins with a dedication to Charles Baxter, a friend of Stevenson, written in his home in [[Western Samoa]] and says:
{{blockquote|There should be left in our native city some seed of the elect; some long-legged, hot-headed youth must repeat to-day our dreams and wanderings of so many years ago; he will relish the pleasure, which should have been ours, to follow among named streets and numbered houses the country walks of David Balfour, to identify [[Dean Village|Dean]], and Silvermills, and [[Broughton, Edinburgh|Broughton]], and Hope Park, and Pilrig, and poor old Lochend – if it still be standing, and the Figgate Whins [the area near [[Portobello, Edinburgh|Portobello]]] – if there be any of them left; or to push (on a long holiday) so far afield as [[Gullane|Gillane]] or the Bass. So, perhaps, his eye shall be opened to behold the series of the generations, and he shall weigh with surprise his momentous and nugatory gift of life.}}
[[File:Dunbar-John Muir beach.JPG|thumb|right|View towards Belhaven Bay (John Muir Country Park) from [[Dunbar]] with [[North Berwick Law]] and Bass Rock in the distance|262x262px]]

Chapter XIV is entitled simply ''The Bass'', and gives a long description of the island, which is described as "just the one crag of rock, as everybody knows, but great enough to carve a city from".
{{blockquote|It was an unco place by night, unco by day; and there were unco sounds; of the calling of the solans [gannets], and the plash [splash] of the sea, and the rock echoes that hung continually in our ears. It was chiefly so in moderate weather. When the waves were anyway great they roared about the rock like thunder and the drums of armies, dreadful, but merry to hear, and it was in the calm days when a man could daunt himself with listening; so many still, hollow noises haunted and reverberated in the porches of the rock.}}

===Bruce Marshall===
Scottish writer [[Bruce Marshall (writer)|Bruce Marshall]] used Bass Rock as the miraculous destination of the "Garden of Eden", a dance hall of dubious reputation in his 1938 novel ''[[Father Malachy's Miracle]]''. The book was the basis for the [[Germans|German]] film ''[[Das Wunder des Malachias]]'' a 1961 black-and-white film directed by [[Bernhard Wicki]] and starring [[Horst Bollmann]], although the film did not specify Bass Rock as the destination of the offending dance hall.

===Jane Lane===
[[Jane Lane (author)|Jane Lane]]’s 1950 ''Fortress in the Forth'' is a historical novel based on the actual 1691–1694 seizure of the Bass Rock castle by four Jacobite officers imprisoned there and their subsequent defence of the island against William III's government for nearly three years. The final page summarises the differences between this fictional account and actual events: the names of the main characters have been changed to justify novelist inventions about their personalities, but otherwise the story largely follows the historical facts. The novel takes the form of invented letters and journal entries by different characters in order to tell the tale. A detailed diagram of the Bass Rock and its castle is supplied to show the locations of places mentioned.

===James Robertson===
The Bass Rock is a key location in ''[[The Fanatic (novel)|The Fanatic]]'' by Scottish author [[James Robertson (novelist)|James Robertson]]. The novel tells the story of a tourist guide in modern-day Edinburgh who becomes obsessed with two characters from Edinburgh's past: Major Thomas Weir, a presbyterian who was eventually executed for incest, bestiality and witchcraft; and James Mitchell, a Covenanter who attempted to assassinate the [[James Sharp (bishop)|Archbishop of St Andrews]]. Mitchell was tortured, imprisoned on the Bass Rock and eventually also executed.

===Music===
A [[pibroch]] was written by Iain Dall MacAoidh (MacKay), commemorating Neil Bhass' imprisonment and escape from the island, entitled "The Unjust Incarceration".<ref name="Seaton" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pibroch.com/services.html |title=Peter Kapp Bagpiper |access-date=20 October 2009 |archive-date=31 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081231102455/http://www.pibroch.com/services.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
It also featured as the cover photograph of the 1967 album "Gateway To The Forth" by [[Jimmy Shand]] & his Band.<ref>Discogs album entry – https://www.discogs.com/master/746324-Jimmy-Shand-And-His-Band-Gateway-To-The-Forth {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019022637/https://www.discogs.com/master/746324-Jimmy-Shand-And-His-Band-Gateway-To-The-Forth |date=19 October 2021 }}</ref>

===Film===
The Bass Rock appears as background in the title song sequence of the 1998 [[Bollywood]] film ''[[Kuch Kuch Hota Hai]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/wealth-of-fans-to-locate-1-623013 |title=Wealth of fans to locate |work=[[The Scotsman]] |date=28 September 2002 |access-date=27 December 2015 |archive-date=2 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102235518/http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/wealth-of-fans-to-locate-1-623013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/culture/film/ticket-tout-fears-over-bollywood-star-1-849939 |title=Ticket tout fears over Bollywood star |work=[[The Scotsman]] |date=8 August 2002 |access-date=27 December 2015 |archive-date=2 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102235518/http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/culture/film/ticket-tout-fears-over-bollywood-star-1-849939 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Scottish islands}}
* [[List of islands of Scotland]]
*[[List of places in East Lothian]]
*[[Canty Bay]]

==Further reading==
* ''The History of Scotland'', by [[Patrick Fraser Tytler]], Edinburgh, 1866, vol.III, pps:187 -190.
* ''The Bass – Early notices'' by John J. Reid, in ''Proceedings of the [[Society of Antiquaries of Scotland]]'', 1885.
* ''Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland 1357 – 1509'', edited by Joseph Bain, F.S.A.,(Scot), Edinburgh, 1888, vol. iv, number 942, 3 February 1424.
* ''The Bass Rock and its Story'' by [[Louis Auguste Barbé|Louis A. Barbé]], Glasgow & Edinburgh: William Hodge & Co, 1904.
* ''North Berwick, Gullane, Aberlady and East Linton District'', by R.P.Phillimore, North Berwick, 1913, p.&nbsp;40.
* ''The Berwick and Lothian Coasts'' by Ian C. Hannah, London & Leipzig, 1913.
* ''The Bass Rock in History'' in Transactions of the East Lothian Antiquarian & Field Naturalists' Society, 1948, vol.4, p.&nbsp;55.<ref>{{cite web |title=THE BASS ROCK IN HISTORY |url=https://eastlothianantiquarians.org.uk/files/2018/02/1948-ELAFN-Soc-Transactions-Vol-IV.pdf#page=56 |website=ELAFN |access-date=17 February 2019 |archive-date=17 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190217142225/https://eastlothianantiquarians.org.uk/files/2018/02/1948-ELAFN-Soc-Transactions-Vol-IV.pdf#page=56 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''The Lauders of the Bass'' by G. M. S. Lauder-Frost, F.S.A.,(Scot), in ''East Lothian Life'', Autumn 1996, issue 22, {{ISSN|1361-7818}}
* ''[https://www.electricscotland.com/history/edinburgh/bassrock.pdf The Bass Rock: its History and Romance]'' by R.P. Phillimore. R.P. Phillimore & Co., North Berwick 1911

==Notes==
{{Reflist|33em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Bass Rock}}
{{Americana Poster}}
* [http://jirislama.com/index.php/en/photoblog/trips-and-pictures/146-bass Bass Rock Gannetry – wildlife wonder of the world]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090629071128/http://www.northberwick.org.uk/bass.html History of the island]
* [http://www.nlb.org.uk/ourlights/history/bassrock.htm NLB History of Bass Rock Lighthouse]
* [http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst3875.html Article from The Gazetteer for Scotland]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060206032238/http://www.seabird.org/home.asp Webcams at Scottish Seabird Centre Website]
* [http://digital.nls.uk/slezer/engraving.cfm?sl=56 Bass Rock from the East in 1693] by [[John Slezer]] at National Library of Scotland
* {{Cite Nuttall |wstitle=Bass Rock |short=x}}
* {{cite news |last1=MacLeod |first1=Murdo |title=Scotland's Bass Rock: world's largest colony of northern gannets – in pictures |date=21 April 2021 |work=The Guardian |location=London, United Kingdom |issn=0261-3077 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2021/apr/21/scotlands-bass-rock-worlds-largest-colony-of-northern-gannets-in-pictures |access-date=2021-04-21}}

{{Islands of the Forth}}
{{Prisons in Scotland}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Islands of the Forth]]
[[Category:Landforms of East Lothian]]
[[Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Mid and East Lothian]]
[[Category:Castles in East Lothian]]
[[Category:History of East Lothian]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in East Lothian]]
[[Category:Volcanic plugs of Scotland]]
[[Category:Carboniferous volcanoes]]
[[Category:Seabird colonies]]
[[Category:Defunct prisons in Scotland]]
[[Category:North Berwick]]
[[Category:Prison islands]]