East Vows Beacon, Firth of Forth

East Vows Beacon, built in 1847 by the Northern Lighthouse Board to designs by Alan Stevenson, marks the East Vows, a tide-covered rock approximately 2 kilometers south of Craigforth, a peninsula west of Elie and Earlsferry Harbour on the Fife shore of the Firth of Forth. It also served as a refuge for shipwrecked sailors.

The beacon is an iron structure, 14 meters in height, constructed of six columns of cast iron with horizontal bracing. The columns are topped by a cylindrical open iron cage with a cross on top. An iron platform and ladder within the columns provide access from ground level to the refuge cage. The structure stands directly on bedrock.

The surrounding area includes the town of Elie, which features a bay that provided a protected anchorage. Elie was granted Burgh of Barony status in 1589, limiting its foreign trade, and its harbour declined until the 19th century. Improvements to the harbour were undertaken between 1854 and 1864 under William Baird of Elie, benefitting fishermen and coastal shipping transporting grain and agricultural goods.

Historical records illustrate the danger posed by the East Vows rock, including reports of shipwrecks and loss of life. Following requests from the communities of Elie and Earlsferry between 1843 and 1846, the Northern Lighthouse Board agreed to construct the beacon in December 1846. The foundation was created in May 1847, and the project was completed by September 1847, at a total cost of £483. 13s 10d. The ironwork was supplied by the Shotts Iron Company foundry in Leith. A Notice to Mariners published in January 1848 announced the completion of the red-painted beacon at East Vows Rock and a black buoy marking the nearby Thill Rock. The Ordnance Survey 1st edition map (surveyed in 1853, published in 1855) identifies the beacon as “East Vows Chair of Refuge.”