Halliman Skerries Beacon

Halliman Skerries Beacon, built in 1844-1845, was commissioned by the Northern Lighthouse Board based on plans by the board’s engineer, Alan Stevenson. It marks Halliman Skerries, a group of partially submerged rocky outcrops located around 1 kilometer north of the coast at Covesea, in the Moray Firth. Halliman Skerries Beacon is an iron structure, 14 meters high, built on bedrock. It consists of six columns of cast iron with horizontal bracing, surmounted by a cylindrical open iron cage topped with a cross. This structure provided a place of refuge for shipwrecked mariners, and an iron platform and ladder within the columned structure gave access from ground level to the cage.

The New Statistical Account noted in 1845 that Halliman Skerries had been the site of numerous shipwrecks, with over forty vessels lost in the previous fifty years. The construction of the beacon followed a period of concern and petitioning after the loss of 16 vessels in a November 1826 storm. It was built in conjunction with a lighthouse at Covesea, in response to calls for improved coastal lighting. The iron components were manufactured by the Shotts Iron Company in Leith and transported to Lossiemouth before being taken to the skerries by boat. The completion of both the beacon and the lighthouse was formally announced in April 1846.