Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

GRAEMSAY, HOY SOUND LOW LIGHTHOUSE, INCLUDING KEEPERS' HOUSES, BOUNDARY WALLS AND GATEPIERSLB13841

Status: Designated

Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Category
B
Date Added
09/12/1977
Local Authority
Orkney Islands
Planning Authority
Orkney Islands
Parish
Hoy And Graemsay
NGR
HY 24708 6643
Coordinates
324708, 1006643

Description

Alan Stevenson, 1851. Single stage with lantern, circular-plan short tower standing within rectangular-plan court to N of single storey, 7-bay rectangular-plan symmetrical Egyptian-style keepers' accommodation block with coal- and dry stores to left (S). Tower: stugged sandstone ashlar with polished dressings. Base course; wide cavetto band course below cast-iron railings around balcony to lantern. Keepers' block: stugged sandstone ashlar. Base course; blocking course. Massive, tapered, raised door surrounds with band course below cavetto cornice; raised central panel to blocking course above.

TOWER: massive raised door surround with tapered pilasters supporting cavetto cornice with shallow pediment to S side of tower at 1st stage; part-glazed 2-leaf timber-panelled doors; window (blocked ) to N at 1st stage. Boarded door to S side of lantern; small occuli around lantern base; triangular glazing to lantern ; domed roof above.

INTERIOR: not seen, 1998.

KEEPERS' ACCOMMODATION: E (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: window in bay to centre. 2-leaf boarded doors with small-pane fanlights in raised bays flanking. Window in recessed penultimate bays flanking. Window in each raised bay to outer left and right. W (REAR) ELEVATION: window in each of 2 recessed bays to centre. Window in each raised bay to outer left and right. N AND S (SIDE) ELEVATIONS: blank. STORES: single bay dry store with boarded door to E abutting main block to S. Single storey, 2-bay coal stores with 2 evenly disposed boarded doors to N, sited at right angles to dry store, to S of main block.

12-pane timber sash and case windows. Platform roof; tall, tapered stacks with band course and cavetto cornice, grouped 2-4-2; tall cans; cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: not seen, 1998.

BOUNDARY WALLS: court defined by low stugged ashlar sandstone wall with ridged ashlar cope; rubble wall enclosing large rectangular-plan garden around court; square-plan corniced, stugged sandstone ashlar gatepiers to E of keepers' accommodation block; store with 2-leaf boarded doors incorporated into garden wall to S; cast-iron tapered, fluted sundial base in garden.

Statement of Special Interest

Standing at the west end of the island, Hoy Low, as its name suggests, is a good deal shorter than its towering partner which stands on Graemsay's east coast. Its existence, however, is vital as it forms one of a pair of 'leading lights' which, when lined up, provide a safe course through the Sound into Stromness harbour. The light at Hoy Low is described as 'isophase' white every 3 seconds, and despite the tower's relatively low height of 12 meters at an elevation of 17 meters, its range is 15 miles. As at Hoy High, the Keepers' accommodation block is constructed from fine sandstone ashlar and is almost identical, if smaller, in plan and elevation. The east side consists of a row of 4 bedrooms with 2 kitchens flanking a visiting officer's room to the west. Stylistically it bears identical massive door surrounds with cavetto cornices and blocking courses, reminiscent of Egypt or of Assyrian temples. The tall, tapered stacks are grouped identically to those at Hoy High and achieve a similarly dramatic effect. A 2nd World War defensive battery was subsequently erected adjacent to the group. Hoy Low was automated in 1966.

References

Bibliography

Appears on 1st edition OS map (1882); Groome, ORDNANCE GAZETTEER OF SCOTLAND (1892) p 209; R W Munro, SCOTTISH LIGHTHOUSES, (1979) p 255; 3RD S A (1985) p65; K Allardyce and E M Hood, AT SCOTLAND'S EDGE, (1986), p138; L Burgher, ORKNEY, AN ILLUSTRATED ARCHITECTURAL GUIDE (1991), p 80; NMRS Records, DC 8744, DC 8749; KIRKWALL ARCHIVE, D8 G/27.

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

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Printed: 28/03/2024 20:59