Arbroath Harbour - Angus - Scotland

Arbroath's prospects originally revolved around the harbour. The original harbour was constructed and maintained by the abbot within the terms of an agreement between the burgesses and John Gedy, the abbot in 1394 AD.This gave way to a more commodious port in 1725, which in turn was enlarged and improved in 1839, when the sea wall, quay walls and breakwater were added to the old inner harbour, at a cost of £58,000.
Arbroath became a major coastal shipping port and in 1846 there were 89 Arbroath-registered vessels, totalling 9,100 gross tons. In the same year, 599 vessels docked at Arbroath, 56 from foreign ports (mainly Baltic ports) and the remaining 543 employed on the coastal trade. Bark, flax, hemp, hides, oak and fir timber, and guano for manure, groceries from London, and numerous articles of Baltic produce were imported via Arbroath, with manufactured goods (mainly sailcloth) exported.

The Signal Tower at Arbroath was built in 1813 to communicate with the keepers of the Bell Rock Lighthouse. A large copper signal ball was raised daily at the lighthouse between 9 am and 10 am, indicating that all was well. If the weather was foggy, the watch was set again at 1 pm. If they received no signal from the lighthouse, a boat would be sent to the reef.

Whenever a child of a keeper on duty was born, either a pair of trousers or a dress was flown from the Signal Tower to indicate whether it was a boy or a girl!

The buildings attached to the Signal Tower were the original shore station for the keepers’ families. The master of the lighthouse supply tender also had an apartment in this complex.

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