Lady Isle

Timothy Pont's map of 1604–1608, published in 1654 by Joan Blaeu, marks Lady Isle by that name and indicates that a structure is present on the island, presumably the chapel.[1] In c. 1636 - 1662 Robert Gordon's manuscript map marks the isle as 'Lady Yle' and shows two islands.[2] John Adair in his 1686 A mape of the west of Scotland containing Clydsdail, Nithsdail, Ranfrew, Shyre of Ayre, & Galloway. shows Lady Isle as Mary Isle and indicates a chapel as being located on the island. In 1745 Moll used the name Lady Isle.[3]

Lady Isle with Ailsa Craig beyond

When Edward I of England came to Ayr in 1299 following the burning of the Barns of Ayr, Hermingford, an old chronicler of the period, records that:

a nobleman from Ireland, named Thomas Bysset, arrived at the Isle of Ayr, and they that were dwelling there surrendered themselves to him," and that " he besought the King to grant the possession of it to himself and his heirs in perpetuity. The King granted the request and confirmed it by his own authority.

It is thought that the name Isle of Ayr refers to Lady Isle.[4]

The Geographical Collections relating to Scotland state:

The Lady Isle, which belongs to the Earle of Dundonald by gift from one of the Scottish Kings, lays west from Corsbie about 3 or 4 miles of sea, where is the mines of ane old chapell with an excellent spring of water, abounds with rabels, plenty of all sorts of water foull and whyt fish in good store about it.[5]

Lady Isle is probably first mentioned in the title of William Fullarton of that Ilk, in his Charter under the Great Seal by William III, dated 9 December 1695, which included "the five pound land of Aldtoun containing the little isle, opposite the lands of Corsbie, called the Lady-isl".[5]

A map of the island and associated rocks. Note the rock cut basin in the centre of the island.

The island came into the possession of William Fullarton in 1698 and was purchased by the Marquess of Titchfield in 1805.[6] When the Marquess was elevated to become the Duke of Portland the island was part of the Duke's Fullarton Estate.

An 1828 map of the Fullarton Estate.[7]

One suggestion is that the name "Lady" is actually derived from the Scottish Gaelic word Laidh, meaning a 'ship's course'.[8] Lady Isle has probably always been important to navigators as is shown by the fact that in the 17th century, the Magistrates of Glasgow built two stone pillars on the Isle, and lining them up from the east gave a good anchorage from a north west gale.[5]

William Taylor, a member of a pleasure party from Ayr in the 1890s was hit by lightning during a storm and was killed instantly. He left a wife and three children.[4][9]

In June, 1821, someone set fire to the "turf and pasture", and this act permanently destroyed the island's grazing, with gales blowing much of the island's soil into the sea. It is only slowly recovering. In June 1829, the Isle was let to Mr. William Fullarton of Skeldon, who restocked the Isle with rabbits. Fullarton built a house or lodge of some sort. The building was broken into several times and eventually a family of fishermen from Troon were arrested, tried and given a relatively small fine.[9]

Lady Isle was at one time connected with an ancient ecclesiastical establishment near Adamton, called Lady Kirk, and situated about four miles north of Ayr. As stated, a chapel was built, here dedicated to the Virgin Mary and endowed by John Blair in 1446 with the common land of Adamton.[6] John Adair's map indicates a religious building as being located in the centre of the island and Pont also indicates a structure of some sort, well before any beacons were built. John Adair uses the name Mary Isle for the island, suggesting that this pre-reformation (c.1560s) 'chapel', like so many others, was dedicated to Saint Mary.[1] It is more than likely that the beacons were built using stones from this chapel or 'cell' and no signs now remain of this ecclesiastical structure. When the bird observatory and warden's post was being built, the architect noted that there were signs of some sort of ancient ecclesiastical building on the island.[9]

The 'beacon' used for gaining a safe anchorage.

The town of Glasgow (c. 1776) set up a pair of beacons on Lady Isle to indicate the position of the anchorage, which was situated to the east or inshore, for the benefit of ships serving its merchants.[10] This information is given on Armstrong's 1775 map.[11] John Thomson's 1828 map marks two 'towers', one where the present 'beacon' stands and the other at the site of the present lighthouse.[12] Herman Moll in 1745 shows no features at all on his map, but marks two islands.[3]

The lighthouse was built on the site of one of the beacons and therefore the remaining 18th-century 'beacon' when aligned with the lighthouse continued to allow mariners to follow a safe course to a sheltered anchorage. Ships of over 220 tons, too large to enter the harbours of Saltcoats [NS24SW 44.00], Irvine [NS33NW 40.00] or Ayr [NS32SW 123.00] could find anchorage in 10 to 14 fathoms [18 to 26m] in an area east of, and covered by Lady Isle [name: NS 275 293].[13]

Lady Isle Lighthouse

Lady Isle Lighthouse in 2009
Location	Lady Isle Troon Ayrshire Scotland United Kingdom
Coordinates	55.527180°N 4.733944°W / 55.527180; -4.733944
Tower
Constructed	1903
Designed by	David Alan Stevenson
Construction	concrete tower
Height	15 m (49 ft)
Shape	cylindrical tower with external spiral stairway
Markings	white tower and lantern, red vertical stripes
Power source	solar power
Operator	Northern Lighthouse Board[14]
Heritage	category B listed building
Light
Focal height	19 m (62 ft)
Range	11 nmi (20 km)[15]
Characteristic	Fl W 2 s

Lady Isle is home to an interesting lighthouse. Established in 1903 the lighthouse is not the standard round tower type but rather consists of a platform built on buttresses with an exterior stairwell. The light is still used as a navigational aid (Fl(4)30s19m8M) and is managed by the Northern Lighthouse Board.[16] An X/S Band racon radar beacon, with S Band emissions restricted to landward is also on the lighthouse.[17] A small wooden storage hut sits beside the lighthouse, rather oddly inscribed Social Security Appeals Tribunal.[18] A large white horizontal cylinder used to hold the gas supply for the lighthouse light which was converted to electricity during the refurbishment and solarisation in around 2004.[19] Regarding the approach to the island, mariners have to beware the drying rock all around the island up to 2 cables to the northeast (see the map).[20]

Roseate tern in flight.

Lady Isle is owned by the Marquess of Ailsa and was for many years leased out as a bird sanctuary with a bird observatory and warden's post built and run by the Scottish Society for the Protection of Wild Birds (SSPWB). Common terns and Arctic terns used to nest here and roseate terns had been observed on many occasions.[21] The observatory carries a sign saying that it was built In memory of Johnny Warren, honorary warden Lady Isle Sanctuary Troon who died 24 May 1958.[22]

Lady Isle is said to have been Britain's first seabird reserve.[23] The Scottish Natural Heritage has designated the island as a Wild Bird Sanctuary under the Protection of Birds Act 1954 and as an Area of Special Protection, together with Horse Isle off Ardrossan.[19][24] Scart rock off the island is named from the Scots for a cormorant.[25] Mr. Donald J. Cameron, was the architect for the SSPWB and he informed their Secretary that there were signs of some sort of ancient ecclesiastical building on the island.[9]

A freshwater well or spring lies in a rock cut basin in the middle of the island. This may be entirely natural or partly so, as place name and other evidence suggests that a chapel once existed here and a supply of freshwater would have been essential. Sheep were once grazed here and they would have required a good supply of freshwater, as would the rabbits which still survive (1993).[9] Two elder bushes were growing over the well / spring during the 1993 Scottish Wildlife Trust visit.

An Ordnance Survey trig point has been placed on the island, just in front of the bird observatory, indicating the 6 m height point. This Trig point is a truncated square concrete pyramid, generally known as a Hotine Pillar. On the top is a brass plate with three arms and a central depression is fixed. A benchmark is set on the side, marked with the letters "O S B M" (Ordnance Survey Bench Mark) and the reference number. Within the trig point are concealed mountings for a specialized theodolite, which can be temporarily mounted on the trig point for measurements to be taken.[18]

On 24 September 2000 a small group of Trig point enthusiasts visited the island as part of a quest to visit one trig point of every height in metres in Scotland, making 749 in total.[22]