View source for Northern Lighthouse Board

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}

[[File:NLB HQ.JPG|thumb|right|250px|The board's headquarters in George Street, Edinburgh. The nameplate on the door gives the traditional name of 'Commissioners of Northern Lights'.]]

The '''Northern Lighthouse Board''' ('''NLB''') is the [[general lighthouse authority]] for [[Scotland]] and the [[Isle of Man]]. It is a [[non-departmental public body]] responsible for [[ocean|marine]] [[navigation]] aids around coastal areas.

==History==
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Erection of Lighthouses Act 1786
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title            = An Act for erecting certain Light Houses in the northern Parts of Great Britain.
| year                  = 1786
| citation              = [[26 Geo. 3]]. c. 101
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 27 June 1786
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = [[Merchant Shipping Repeal Act 1854]]
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = repealed
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = 
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
{{Location map+|UK Scotland|width=250| caption=The first four lighthouses required by the Northern Lighthouse Board|relief=1|
 places=
   {{location map~|UK Scotland|mark=Legenda latarnia.svg|label = Kinnaird Head| lat = 57.69822| long= -2.00334|marksize=15|label_size=100 }}
   {{location map~|UK Scotland|mark=Legenda latarnia.svg|label=Mull of Kintyre| lat = 55.31043| long=-5.80346|marksize=15|label_size=100 }}
   {{location map~|UK Scotland|mark=Legenda latarnia.svg|label=North Ronaldsay| lat = 59.38528| long= -2.36861|marksize=15|label_size=100 }}
   {{location map~|UK Scotland|mark=Legenda latarnia.svg|label=Eilean Glas| lat = 57.85759| long = -6.64282|marksize=15|label_size=100 }}
}}
The NLB was formed by an [[act of Parliament]], the '''{{visible anchor|Erection of Lighthouses Act 1786}}''' ([[26 Geo. 3]]. c. 101), as the '''Commissioners of Northern Light Houses''', largely at the urging of the lawyer and politician [[George Dempster of Dunnichen|George Dempster]] ("Honest George"), to oversee the construction and operation of four Scottish lighthouses: [[Kinnaird Head]], [[North Ronaldsay]], [[Scalpay, Outer Hebrides|Scalpay]] and [[Mull of Kintyre#Lighthouse|Mull of Kintyre]], for which they were empowered to borrow up to £1,200. Until then, the only major lighthouse in Scotland was the coal [[brazier]] mounted on the [[Isle of May#Lighthouses|Isle of May]] in the [[Firth of Forth]], together with some smaller lights in the Firths of the [[River Tay|Tay]] and [[River Clyde|Clyde]]. None of the major passages around Scotland, which led through dangerous narrows, were marked.

The commissioners, whose first president was the [[Lord Provost of Edinburgh]], [[Sir James Hunter Blair, 1st Baronet|Sir James Hunter-Blair]], advertised for building estimates, but there were no takers. They received an offer of help from Ezekiel Walker of [[King's Lynn]], who had developed a [[parabolic reflector]] for the [[Old Hunstanton Lighthouse|Hunstanton Lighthouse]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Hillen|first=Henry J.|title=History of the Borough of King's Lynn|url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofborough02hill#page/460/|access-date=19 July 2015|volume=II|year=1907|page=461|publisher=Norwich : East of England Newspaper Co.}}</ref> and sent [[Thomas Smith (engineer)|Thomas Smith]], who was making his name in street lighting in Edinburgh and had offered help, to England to learn from him. Smith soon returned and instructed an Edinburgh architect to prepare the plans for four lighthouses.

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Erection of Lighthouses Act 1788
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title            = An Act to render more effectual an Act passed in the Twenty-sixth Year of His present Majesty's Reign, intituled, "An Act for erecting certain Light Houses in the Northern Parts of Great Britain."
| year                  = 1788
| citation              = [[28 Geo. 3]]. c. 25
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 11 June 1788
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = [[Merchant Shipping Repeal Act 1854]]
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = repealed
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = 
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
The £1,200 was spent before the first light at Kinnaird Head was finished, and a further act of Parliament, the '''{{visible anchor|Erection of Lighthouses Act 1788}}''' ([[28 Geo. 3]]. c. 25), was required which allowed them to start to receive half the lighthouse dues set to be levied on shipping, before all the lights were finished. By the end of 1787 the first light had been installed. At the Mull of Kintyre everything had to be transported by pack horse from [[Campbeltown]], 12 miles away, but it was lit by October 1788. To get to Scalpay in the [[Outer Hebrides]] and North Ronaldsay in the [[Orkney Isles]] needed boat trips across rough waters for Smith and Mills, the stonemason, but all the same the job was completed by October 1789, to widespread praise. The [[Light dues|dues]] which had originally been set at two [[shilling]]s per ton of cargo in the 17th century, were now reduced to one penny per ton.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Allardyce|first1=Keith|last2=Hood|first2=Evelyn M|title=At Scotland' Edge: A celebration of the lighthouse service of Scotland and the Isle of Man|year=1986|publisher=William Collins Sons & Co|location=Glasgow and London|pages=10–18}}</ref>

The commissioners' most famous engineer was [[Robert Stevenson (civil engineer)|Robert Stevenson]], whose sons [[David Stevenson (engineer)|David]], [[Alan Stevenson|Alan]], and [[Thomas Stevenson|Thomas]] followed their father into the profession. The Stevenson dynasty built the majority of the northern lights, in some exceptionally challenging locations. Their lights were some of the engineering masterpieces of their time, notably those at [[Inchcape|Bell Rock]], [[Skerryvore]], and [[Muckle Flugga Lighthouse|Muckle Flugga]].

Between 1876 and 2005 the NLB also maintained [[foghorn]]s at a number of locations. The last (at Skerryvore) was sounded for the last time on 4 October 2005.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

==Operations==
The board is based at its [[Georgian architecture|Georgian]] headquarters building in [[George Street, Edinburgh|George Street]] in the centre of [[Edinburgh]], from where it remotely monitors its network. Technical operations are carried out from a base in [[Oban]], [[Argyll and Bute]], where there are maintenance workshops and facilities for the construction of buoys and beacons. The NLB's vessels are also based here. The Oban depot has been recently modernised.{{when|date=October 2020}}

Under the terms of the [[Scotland Act 1998]], the NLB is [[Devolution in the United Kingdom|not a devolved body]] and thus remains directly accountable to the UK [[Secretary of State for Transport]]. In practice, there is close co-operation with both the [[Scottish Government]] and the [[Isle of Man Government]]. The NLB is funded by pooled [[light dues]] administered by the UK's Department for Transport, and distributed to the NLB, [[Trinity House]], and the [[Commissioners of Irish Lights]].

==Assets==
[[File:Northern Lighthouse Board sign,Edinburgh.JPG|thumb|250px|Sign outside the Board's offices in [[Edinburgh]]]]
[[File:Bell Rock Lighthouse 01.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Bell Rock Lighthouse]]]]
As of 31 March 2024, the NLB operates the following:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nlb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/NLB-Report-and-Accounts-to-31-March-2024-6-February-2025-Final-Signed.pdf |title=Northern Lighthouse Board &mdash; Annual Report and Accounts to 31 March 2024 |publisher=Northern Lighthouse Board |access-date=31 March 2024 }}</ref>
=== Navigational devices ===
; Statutory
:* 208 [[lighthouse]]s, sub-divided as:
:** 65 with a range of over 15 nautical miles 
:** 143 with a range of under 15 nautical miles 
:* 174 [[buoy]]s -Lit
:* 25 unlit beacons - Unlit
:* 29 [[Radar beacon (racon)|radar beacons]]{{NoteTag|Three sites have more than one radar beacon.}}, sub-divided as:
:** 22 on lighthouses
:** 7 on buoys
:* 51 [[Automatic identification system]] units, sub-divided as
:** 28 on lighthouses (and monitoring an additional 1 unit)
:** 20 on buoys
:** 3 Virtual AIS unit

; Contract
:* 2 lighthouses (and 2 in Norwegian waters)
:* 102 buoys
:* 3 radar beacons (and 2 in Norwegian waters)

; Local Authority
:* 1214 light stations 
:* 826 buoy stations

==Vessels==

The NLB operates two lighthouse [[lighthouse tender]]s/[[buoy tender]]s, known by the prefix Northern Lighthouse Vessel, or NLV. {{ship|NLV|Pole Star}} has been in service since 2000 and will in 2025 be replaced by the new '''Pole Star V'''. This vessel is being built in Spain by the Gondän company

The {{ship|NLV|Pharos}} was delivered to the depot in Oban on 31 March 2007.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090919150632/http://www.nlb.org.uk/resources/mvpharos.htm |archive-date=2009-09-19 | url=http://www.nlb.org.uk/resources/mvpharos.htm| title=MV ''Pharos''| publisher=Northern Lighthouse Board| access-date=20 February 2010}}</ref> This is the tenth ''Pharos'', replacing the ninth ''Pharos'' which was sold in September 2006 for use as a Fishery Protection vessel for [[South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands]].

==The commissioners==
[[File:Northern Lighthouse Board Commissioners Flag of the United Kingdom.svg|right|250px|thumb|Commissioners' flag  of the Northern Lighthouse Board]]
[[File:Ensign of the British Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses.svg|250px|thumb|[[Ensign (flag)|Ensign]] of the Northern Lighthouse Board]]

Most of the commissioners have always been ''[[ex officio]]'' appointments. The original commissioners appointed in 1786 were the Scottish law agents of the Crown, the sheriffs of Scotland's coastal counties, and the provosts and lord provosts of Scottish cities and towns with strong mercantile interests. Reform of local government and sheriffdoms have since resulted in changes. Previous commissioners include [[Richard Vary Campbell]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Former Fellows of The Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783 – 2002|url=https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp1.pdf|access-date=2019-01-23|publisher=The Royal Society of Edinburgh|date=July 2006|archive-date=24 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130124115814/http://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp1.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The current Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses, as provided by schedule 8 to the [[Merchant Shipping Act 1995]], are the [[Lord Advocate]] and the [[Solicitor General for Scotland]]; the [[Lord provost|lords provost]] of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen, the conveners of the [[Highland (council area)|Highland Council]] and the [[Argyll and Bute]] Council; the [[sheriff principal|sheriffs principal]] of all the sheriffdoms in Scotland; a Manx representative nominated by the [[Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man]] and appointed by the Secretary of State; and up to five co-opted commissioners.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1995/21/schedule/8|title=Merchant Shipping Act 1995: Schedule 8|publisher=legislation.gov.uk|access-date=29 September 2018}}</ref>

==Flags==
The NLB uses two flags, an [[Ensign (flag)|ensign]] and a commissioners' flag. The commissioners' flag, a plain [[White Ensign]] with a [[Union Flag#The Union Flag before 1801|pre-1801 Union Flag]] in the [[Flag terminology|canton]], defaced with a blue lighthouse in the fly, is the only British flag still in use which incorporates the pre-1801 Union Flag.
<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.fotw.info/flags/gb-lthse.html#cnlc| title=Northern Lighthouse Commissioner's Flag| publisher=Flags of the World| access-date=20 February 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061024030624/https://www.fotw.info/flags/gb-lthse.html#cnlc| archive-date=24 October 2006| url-status=dead| df=dmy-all}}
</ref> This flag is only flown from vessels with commissioners aboard. The ensign is a [[Blue Ensign]] defaced with a white lighthouse in the fly, and is for general use. 

The board's headquarters flies the commissioners' flag, alongside the Saltire and the Isle of Man flag.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.britishflags.net/nlb.html| publisher=britishflags.net| title=Northern Lighthouse Board| url-status=usurped| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080506181247/http://www.britishflags.net/nlb.html| archive-date=6 May 2008| df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of Northern Lighthouse Board lighthouses]] &mdash; current operational NLB lighthouses
*[[List of lighthouses in Scotland]] &mdash; includes lighthouses formerly or never owned by the NLB
*[[Commissioners of Irish Lights]] &mdash; responsible for aids to navigation around all of [[Ireland]]
*[[Trinity House]] &mdash; responsible for aids to navigation around [[England]], [[Wales]], the [[Channel Islands]] and [[Gibraltar]]
*[[Richard Henry Brunton]], the Scottish "father of Japanese lighthouses"

== References ==
; Notes
{{NoteFoot}}

; Citations
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.nlb.org.uk Northern Lighthouse Board]
*[http://www.enschrage.nl/index.html The Scottish Lighthouses]
*[http://www.nlb.org.uk/LighthouseLibrary/Main/ Lighthouse Library]
*[http://ssa.nls.uk/film.cfm?fid=3728 Pharos 1958]
*[http://ssa.nls.uk/film.cfm?fid=3731 Pharos 1963]

{{Lighthouses of the Northern Lighthouse Board}}
{{Department for Transport}}
{{authority control}}

{{coord|55.9527|-3.2014|type:landmark|display=title}}

[[Category:Lighthouses in Scotland]]
[[Category:Lighthouse organizations]]
[[Category:Water transport in Scotland]]
[[Category:Transport in the Isle of Man]]
[[Category:Non-departmental public bodies of the United Kingdom government]]
[[Category:Department for Transport]]
[[Category:1786 establishments in Scotland]]
[[Category:Organisations based in Edinburgh]]