According to records, the original light at Kinnaird Head was established on 1 December 1787. It was installed by Mr Thomas Smith of Edinburgh, who was the father-in-law of Robert Stevenson who succeeded him as Engineer to the Northern Lighthouse Board (Robert Stevenson was grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson). A lantern was set at a height of 120 feet above the sea on a corner of a tower of an old castle in Fraserburgh owned by Lord Saltoun.

Fixed lights only were shown at this stage, produced by arrays of lamps burning whale oil, each of them backed by its own parabolic reflector made up of a multitude of facets of silvered mirror-glass set on a plaster mould. Kinnaird Head was the most powerful light of its time, and contained 17 reflectors arranged in 3 horizontal tiers. In clear weather according to Murdoch Downie's New Pilot of 1791, the light could be seen 12 or 14 miles off.

It operated in that position until 1824 when internal alternations were made to the castle tower to accommodate a new lantern, and additional buildings were constructed for the Lightkeepers. In 1906 the light was converted to incandescent operation. The present light stands within the framework of the original tower.

Two 'firsts' for Kinnaird Head were (a) the first Lighthouse built in Scotland by the Commissioners of Northern Lights (founded in 1786) and (b) the first Radio Beacon in Scotland was introduced in 1929 at Kinnaird Head.

The Museum of Scottish Lighthouses is at the same location.

Photo © Bill Harrison (cc-by-sa/2.0)