Community / Remote lighthouse becomes listed building
THE REMOTE lighthouse on the Ve Skerries to the west of the Shetland mainland has now become a B-listed building.
Historic Environment Scotland said the automated lighthouse, which was built in 1979, met the criteria of special architectural or historic interest for a number of reasons.
It said following a consultation on the matter that the building was the first lighthouse built in Scotland using the post-tensioning technique in the late 20th century.
It is also the last significant rock station constructed by the Northern Lighthouse Board.
Ve Skerries is also important in helping to give an understanding about how the operation of lighthouses changed by the late 20th century, particularly following mass automation of lights.
It is located on a group of rocks called the Ve Skerries to the west of Papa Stour, while there was also a concrete helipad built nearby to provide access for lighthouse staff.
Many boats and ships have fallen foul of the Ve Skerries – most recently the Coelleira, which grounded there last year. In March 1930 the steam trawler Ben Doran was wrecked on Ve Skerries, with the loss of her entire crew.
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