Attendance at the 240th anniversary event of the Northern Lighthouse Board
2026/8/27
On Thursday 27th August, Consul General Katsutoshi Takeda attended an event held by the Northern Lighthouse Board’s (NLB) to celebrate their 240th anniversary, and engaged in discussions with the members.
On the day, Mike Bullock, Chief Executive of the Northern Lighthouse Board, and Alastair Beveridge, Chair of the Northern Lighthouse Heritage Trust (NLHT) gave opening remarks, which was followed by a commemorative speech from David Purdie, Professor Emeritus at Hull University and Honourary Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh.
The commemorative speech focused on Scottish poet and novelist Sir Walter Scott’s “Voyage in the Lighthouse Yacht to Nova Zembla and the Lord Knows Where in the Summer of 1814”, during which he inspected lighthouses and facilities on the coasts of Scotland for six weeks alongside Robert Stevenson, renowned lighthouse engineer and fellow commissionerstrustees on an NLB yachtship. It is said that this voyage and the magnificent scenery of the Scottish coasts and islands heavily influenced his future works.
Engineers who came to Japan from Scotland during the Meiji period laid the foundation for Japanese lighthouses, and it is said that the technology and experience they brought to Japan was from the NLB. We are delighted that the exchange between Scotland and Japan related to lighthouses endures to this day, and we look forward to the its continuation.
On the day, Mike Bullock, Chief Executive of the Northern Lighthouse Board, and Alastair Beveridge, Chair of the Northern Lighthouse Heritage Trust (NLHT) gave opening remarks, which was followed by a commemorative speech from David Purdie, Professor Emeritus at Hull University and Honourary Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh.
The commemorative speech focused on Scottish poet and novelist Sir Walter Scott’s “Voyage in the Lighthouse Yacht to Nova Zembla and the Lord Knows Where in the Summer of 1814”, during which he inspected lighthouses and facilities on the coasts of Scotland for six weeks alongside Robert Stevenson, renowned lighthouse engineer and fellow commissionerstrustees on an NLB yachtship. It is said that this voyage and the magnificent scenery of the Scottish coasts and islands heavily influenced his future works.
Engineers who came to Japan from Scotland during the Meiji period laid the foundation for Japanese lighthouses, and it is said that the technology and experience they brought to Japan was from the NLB. We are delighted that the exchange between Scotland and Japan related to lighthouses endures to this day, and we look forward to the its continuation.