Lochryan Lighthouse

Lochryan Lighthouse, built in 1847 by Alan Stevenson, and with later additions, is a good example of a mid-19th century lighthouse. It is a 4-stage circular tower that tapers to below the parapet, with a courtyard-plan single storey building surrounding it. The tower is constructed of painted brick and coursed, stugged sandstone ashlar.

The north-east elevation (the main entrance) features a timber gate leading to two timber doors which give access to the flat-roofed first stage of the lighthouse. Small round-arched openings are present at the second and third stages. The fourth stage has flat-moulded corbelling, and there are corbels supporting this stage. A metal circular handrail encircles the tower, and above is a circular light with diamond pattern glazing, now obscured. A domed cupola tops the tower, finished with a ball finial.

The north-west elevation shows a low coped wall to the left, a single-storey central section, and the lighthouse tower to the right. The south-west elevation features the central lighthouse, a recessed blank bay to the left, and a single strip opening to the right. The south-east elevation has two single openings, now infilled, to the right.

Flat roofs are characteristic of the single-storey sections, and there is a tapered corniced stack with a circular can on the south-east elevation. The interior was not inspected in 1999. The lighthouse was built for the Northern Lighthouse Board.

Historical records show the lighthouse clearly on the Ordnance Survey map of 1848 and is described in visitor guides from 1875 and 1928. Further details are in a 1996 publication and a 1999 study of the Stevenson engineers.