Editing Corsewall Lighthouse

{{Short description|Lighthouse in Scotland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox lighthouse}}
[[File:18920904 Corsewall Lighthouse - message in a bottle.jpg |thumb|upright=1.35 |This 1892 quill-and-ink commemoration of Scottish lighthouse engineers was discovered in 2024.<ref name=BBC_20241109/>]]

'''Corsewall Lighthouse''' is a [[lighthouse]] at [[Corsewall Point]], [[Kirkcolm]] near [[Stranraer]] in the region of [[Dumfries and Galloway]] in Scotland. First lit in 1817, it overlooks the [[North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland)|North Channel]] of the [[Irish Sea]].

Corsewall is defined as the place or well of the Cross.

==History==
In 1814, a Mr Kirkman Finley applied to the Trade of Clyde for a lighthouse on Corsewall Point. The [[Northern Lighthouse Board]] investigated the site and in 1815 decided that a lighthouse should be built at the entrance of [[Loch Ryan]], Galloway. When the engineer and lighthouse designer [[Robert Stevenson (civil engineer)|Robert Stevenson]] undertook an inspection voyage in December 1815, he observed that the lighthouse tower, at {{Convert|30|ft|m}}, and house were under construction.<ref name=":0" />

Corsewall Lighthouse was first lit in 1817. That same year, the Principal Keeper was reported for incompetence after falling asleep while on duty. For a period of time the revolving apparatus of the light had stopped. The Keeper was suspended and demoted becoming an assistant at [[Bell Rock Lighthouse]]. He never again chiefly monitored a lighthouse.<ref name=":0">[http://www.nlb.org.uk/ourlights/history/corsewall.htm Northern Lighthouse Board history of the light] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061002165724/http://www.nlb.org.uk/ourlights/history/corsewall.htm |date=2 October 2006 }}, Retrieved on 24 June 2008</ref>

In November 1970, [[Concorde]] reportedly flew over the lighthouse on a trial flight and shattered panes of glass on the lighthouse. Later flights did not affect it.

In 1994, the light was automated and monitored from the Northern Lighthouse Board in Edinburgh. The lighthouse keepers accommodation has been converted into the Corsewall Lighthouse Hotel.<ref>[http://www.lighthousehotel.co.uk/ Corsewall Lighthouse Hotel], Retrieved on 24 June 2008</ref><ref>{{Cite rowlett|sctsw|accessdate=2016-05-10}}</ref><ref>[http://www.nlb.org.uk/LighthouseLibrary/Lighthouse/Corsewall/ Corsewall] Northern Lighthouse Board. Retrieved 10 May 2016</ref>

In 1892, three engineers who were installing a new light hid a message in a bottle at the lighthouse. The bottle and message were discovered in 2024 while the lighthouse was undergoing refurbishment.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hidden message in a bottle found in lighthouse wall after 132 years|publisher=BBC|date=9 November 2024|URL=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cje0x5j7wgjo }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Scotland|Engineering}}
*[[List of lighthouses in Scotland]]
*[[List of Northern Lighthouse Board lighthouses]]
*[[List of Category A listed buildings in Dumfries and Galloway]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|position=left|Corsewall Lighthouse}}
* [http://www.lighthousehotel.co.uk/ Corsewall Lighthouse Hotel]
* [http://www.nlb.org.uk/LighthouseLibrary/Main/ Northern Lighthouse Board]

{{Lighthouses of the Northern Lighthouse Board}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Lighthouses completed in 1817]]
[[Category:Category A listed buildings in Dumfries and Galloway]]
[[Category:Category A listed lighthouses]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Dumfries and Galloway]]
[[Category:Hotels in Dumfries and Galloway]]
[[Category:Works of Robert Stevenson (civil engineer)]]
[[Category:1817 establishments in Scotland]]
[[Category:Rhins of Galloway]]