Out Skerries Lighthouse

Out Skerries Lighthouse is on the island of Bound Skerry, on the eastern side of mainland Shetland.

Out Skerries Lighthouse was often referred to as Whalsay Skerries Lighthouse in early records. In 1853 better lighting around the north of Shetland was needed as the Crimean War was imminent. The Royal Navy was concerned about navigation as they moved around the northern section of the North Sea from the Baltic to the North Cape.

In 1854 the Northern Lighthouse Board built a temporary light on Grunay. However, Trinity House insisted that a permanent light should be built on the outlying rock, Bound Skerry. This was against the wishes of the Stevensons. The lighthouse was built of brick, as this material was easier to handle than granite blocks. The walls were 3½ft thick at the base of the tower and shipped over by local boats.

A light showed for the first time from the current lighthouse in 1858. The first-order optic was supplied by Chance Brothers in Birmingham. Out Skerries cost £21,000 to build (the Stevensons had initially proposed a tower on Grunay costing £11,000).

In 1869 Robert Louis Stevenson visited the lighthouse, accompanying his father Thomas Stevenson.

At the beginning of April 1972, a temporary electric light was installed. The old optic was then dismantled and the inside of the tower was stripped including the removal of all floors, wooden stairs and panelling.

Parts of the optic were destroyed on site, but the bullseyes were preserved along with the lens belt. These were later rebuilt and reused at Buchan Ness Lighthouse. The optic was later removed from Buchan Ness Lighthouse and is now in store at the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses.

Final automation took place in December 1972. The main light was converted to Acetylene, with a similar Standby lamp.

Directly opposite is the island of Grunay with its now derelict cottages of the former shore station.