Engineers repairing a remote Scottish lighthouse were shocked when they found a mysterious message in a bottle hidden within the walls.
However, they were even more surprised to discover that the note was written by the last group of engineers to work on the lighthouse more than 132 years ago.
The hidden letter was discovered in the Corsewall lighthouse, built in 1817 near the village of Kirkolm, on a peninsula overlooking the Irish Sea.
Inside a glass bottle, the crew found a letter written in pen and ink detailing the installation of a new lantern and lens, as well as the names of the engineers and lighthouse keepers.
Ross Russell, the technician who found the bottle, says: “The note was just sensational, I was absolutely amazed.”
‘Being the first person to touch the bottle after 132 years was simply mind-blowing. “It is a once-in-a-lifetime find.”
For now, the letter is in the offices of the Northern Lighthouse Board, which maintains the Corsewall lighthouse, but the team plans to return it to the walls once the renovation is complete.
Along with this letter from the past, Russell and his team plan to place their own message in a bottle for future generations of lighthouse keepers to find.
Engineers working at a remote lighthouse in Scotland were surprised to find a message in a bottle from the last engineers who worked there more than 130 years ago.
The message was found within the walls of the Corsewall lighthouse as engineers prepared to repair the lantern and rotating lens.
In 1892, a team of engineers had just completed a major project to improve Coreswall Lighthouse.
They had made the long journey from Edinburgh to install a more modern lantern and a new Fresnel lens to illuminate the path for passing ships.
But before the walls were permanently sealed, the team sat down to write a note explaining their work for future engineers to discover.
The note reads: ‘Corsewall Light and Fog Signal Station, 4 September 1892.
‘This lantern was erected by James Wells Engineer, John Westwood Millwright, James Brodie Engineer, David Scott Labourer, of the firm of James Milne & Son Engineers, Milton House Works, Edinburgh, during the months of May to September and was relit on Thursday night. September 15, 1892.
‘The following are in charge of the station at this time: John Wilson, director, John B. Henderson, first assistant, John Lockhart, second assistant.
‘The lens and machine were supplied by James Dove & Co. Engineers Greenside Edinburgh and erected by William Burness, John Harrower, James Dods. Engineers from the aforementioned firm.
The message was then rolled inside a glass bottle and sealed with an old cork and twisted wire before being stored safely inside a wall cavity.
The letter was written in 1892 by a team of Edinburgh engineers detailing a project to install a new lantern and Fresnel lens and listing the names of the crew and lighthouse keepers.
Current lighthouse keeper Barry Miller (pictured) says reading the message was like “meeting our colleagues from the past”.
Coreswall Lighthouse stands on the Rhins of Galloway peninsula in western Scotland, where it guides sailors across the mouth of Loch Ryan and the Irish Sea.
Only 132 years later, as a team of modern engineers prepared to repair the same lens, was the note found.
The bottle was so out of reach that the team built a contraption out of rope and a broomstick to retrieve it from its hiding place.
However, the crew agreed that they should wait for the current lighthouse keeper, Barry Miller, to arrive before opening their discovery.
Over the years, the bottle’s cork had expanded and the wire had rusted, meaning the men had to carefully pierce the cork to access the message inside.
Using a makeshift tool made from pieces of wire, Miller was able to safely extract the rolled paper through the narrow neck of the bottle.
Miller, speaking to BBC Scotland News, said his hands were shaking when he retrieved the note.
Miller said: “It was very exciting, it was like meeting our colleagues from the past.” In fact, it was as if they were there.
‘It was like touching them. Like they were part of our team instead of just four of us being there, we were all there sharing what they had written because it was tangible and you could see the style of their writing.’
The message mentioned lighthouse keeper John Wilson (second from left), who appears in this image from the Northern Lighthouse Board archives.
The team (pictured) say they plan to return the message to the wall once the renovations are complete along with their own note for future generations to discover.
Corsewall Lighthouse has provided a vital beacon for sailors navigating the mouth of Loch Ryan and the stormy waters of the Irish Sea for almost 200 years.
A lighthouse keeper lived on site and operated the lantern and rotating lenses from the time of its construction until 1994, when the light was automated.
The lighthouse has since been operated remotely from Edinburgh by the Northern Lighthouse Board.
This company operates over 200 lighthouses in Scotland and the Isle of Man and is responsible for building maintenance.
Mike Bullock, chief executive of the Northern Lighthouse Board, says: “The team of technicians who found the bottle are the direct equivalent of the 19th century engineers who left it there.
“I am sure that James Wells and his colleagues mentioned in the document will be delighted to know that their work continues and that Corsewall Lighthouse is still in operation 132 years later, cared for by professionals with the same passion and dedication.”