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BBC Seven Wonders Of The Industrial World

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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