Walter Adamson,

 

The South Rock (Kilwarlin) lighthouse off the county Down coast. Photos of the light with lantern room intact are unfortunately rare

I'm currently working on a book on selected 19th century lightkeepers. It's going quite slowly as other projects / work and family seem to be filling up a lot of my time. The archives at Irish Lights are still closed with little sign of anything coming online, as promised five years ago.

Anyhow, this is the story of Walter Adamson, one of the early keepers on South Rock: -

We do not know a lot about Walter Adamson, and what we do know is mired in a lot of conjecture.

Like Michael Wishart, he was a Scotsman, hailing from the coastal town of Kircaldy in Fife. Family history researchers seem to have leant en masse to the not unreasonable deduction that he married one Mary Lawson in Ceres a few miles further north in 1792, mainly because there is a marriage register entry to that effect at the latter place. However, this ignores the fact that in 1864, Mary Adamson, relict of Walter, died in Cupar. Whereas our Walter never returned from Ireland after he made the move over.

There is a temptation to think that our Walter Adamson may have had some connection to the Bell Rock lighthouse, like Michael Wishart. There was indeed an Andrew Adamson, born 1781, who was a keeper at the newly-built light at the start of the nineteenth century. Walter Adamson was born in 1771 and may have been an older brother.

There is also an intriguing snippet from Bell Rock designer Robert Stevenson to Captain David Taylor (who relieved the Bell Rock) dated 3^rd January 1814, which says:

I reply to your enquiry regarding the relieving of the Lightkeepers at this term. You will carry off Mr Peters the steward who will in all probability be relieved by Mr Wishart as Mr Adamson will reach the South Rock about Friday.

This is a bit frustrating as there is no other reference to Adamson in Stevenson’s letters. But we do know that Walter Adamson was stationed at the South Rock in 1821 and Wishart also started on the South Rock in the same period, so it seems that a connection is likely.

The South Rock, sometimes called the Kilwarlin light after its patron, had been built by Thomas Rogers in 1797 before the Ballast Board took over control of all the sea lighthouses. When they did so, in 1810, they found the lights badly constructed, the keepers poorly paid and the expenses through the roof. In August 1812, a foreman of David Stevenson, possibly Wishart, visited the light and reported unfavourably. Rogers was slowly eased out of his position and George Halpin took over.

South Rock today

Until 1820, the keeper at the South Rock lighthouse lived with his family in the tower, food and supplies being brought out by boat from the quay at Newcastle. The boat which also supplied oil for the lantern made the trip once a week; in 1804 the expense for the boat was 6 shillings in summer and half a guinea in winter.

About 1820 conditions improved and three cottages measuring 20 feet by 15 feet by 8 feet were built ashore beside the New Quay for the three Keepers attached to the station, two to be on duty on the rock while the third was ashore.[1]

In the same article, we are told that Walter’s salary during 1821-22 was £66 15s, which is our first definite sighting of him at South Rock. He would have been 50 years old at the time and would obviously have appreciated the shore dwelling! The South Rock lighthouse incidentally was discontinued on 1^st April 1877 in favour of a light vessel. Despite Thomas Rogers’ obvious failings, the structure still stands strong and is the oldest wave-washed lighthouse in these islands.

Again, we do not know when Walter parted company with the South Rock light, but we know, thanks to the Dublin Almanac that from 1834 to 1843 he was resident at the Howth East Pier light, a beautiful harbour light established by John Rennie in 1818, to the north of Dublin city. There may of course have been another light or lights between the two. As he would have been 70 years old when he finally retired, the posting was a nice reward for his years of service on a very difficult light.

Howth pier lighthouse from 1939. It's rather surprising to see it painted white, rather than the beautiful stone facade we see today

A report by the Ballast Board says that Walter was paid £37 13s 8d superannuation in 1844, the highest of the four keepers in receipt of this allowance, even though his length of service must have been far less than that of Dan Kirwan at Hook Head.

After retirement, Walter retired to Portaferry, not far from the South Rock shore station. He died on 5^th July 1856 aged 85. His wife Jane (not Mary, as per the Ceres widow Adamson) died in 1864, aged 81. Both her death notice and will refer to her as Jane Shaw Adamson.

[1] Jim Blaney, Beam Magazine August 1997