Bass Rock facts for kids
| Meaning of name | Uncertain |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bass Rock (top) off the North Berwick coast |
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| OS grid reference | NT602873 |
| Coordinates | 56°05′N 2°38′W / 56.08°N 2.64°W |
| Physical geography | |
| Island group | Islands of the Forth |
| Area | 3 hectares (7 acres) |
| Highest elevation | 107 metres (351 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | Scotland |
| Council area | East Lothian |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
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The Bass Rock, also called the Bass, is a famous island in the Firth of Forth in eastern Scotland. It is about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the coast, near North Berwick. This island is a tall, steep rock formed by a volcano, reaching 107 meters (351 feet) high. It is home to a huge group of gannets.
No one lives on the Bass Rock today. But long ago, a Christian hermit (someone who lives alone for religious reasons) lived there. Later, it became an important castle. After a period called the Commonwealth, the castle was used as a prison. The island has belonged to the Hamilton-Dalrymple family since 1706. Before that, the Lauder family owned it for almost 600 years. The Bass Rock Lighthouse was built on the rock in 1902, and you can still see the remains of an old chapel there.
The Bass Rock appears in many stories and books. These include Catriona by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Lion is Rampant by Ross Laidlaw, and The New Confessions by William Boyd.
Contents
Geography and Geology of Bass Rock
The Bass Rock is a volcanic plug. This means it is the hard rock that filled the vent of an ancient volcano. This rock formed during the Carboniferous period. A famous geologist named James Hutton was one of the first to realize it was an igneous intrusion (rock formed from cooled magma).
The Bass Rock is one of several islands off the East Lothian coast. Other nearby islands include Craigleith, the Lamb, Fidra, and Eyebroughy. These islands also formed from volcanic activity. The Isle of May can be seen to the northeast.
The Bass Rock stands over 100 meters (328 feet) high. It is part of the Firth of Forth Islands Special Protection Area. The Bass Rock is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest because of its large gannet colony. Some people call it "the Ailsa Craig of the East" because it looks similar to another famous rock in western Scotland. It is also similar in shape to North Berwick Law, a hill on the mainland. Other volcanic formations like it can be found in Edinburgh, such as Arthur's Seat, Calton Hill, and Castle Rock.
You can see the Bass Rock from many places. It is visible from southern and eastern Fife, most of East Lothian, and high points in the Lothians and Borders, like Arthur's Seat and the Lammermuir Hills.
Human History of Bass Rock
The island was a quiet place for early Christian hermits. It is said that Saint Baldred lived there around 600 AD.
Early Owners and Settlement
The first recorded owners of the Bass Rock were the Lauder family. Legend says that King Malcolm III gave them the island. The Lauder family's coat of arms even shows a gannet sitting on a rock!
A Scottish writer named Hector Boece described the rock in the 1400s. He called it "a wonderful crag, rising within the sea." He also said it was "unwinnable by human cleverness" and had "caves, as useful for defending men as if they were built by skilled work."
The Lauder family built a castle on the island a long time ago. Sir Robert de Lawedre, an ancestor of the family, was a friend of William Wallace. His tombstone from 1311 was found in North Berwick. In 1406, King Robert III sent his son, Prince James (who later became James I), to the Bass Rock castle for safety. This was before the prince sailed to Europe. Later, King James I trusted Sir Robert Lauder of the Bass very much.
In 1497, King James IV visited the castle. King James VI also visited in 1581. He liked the island so much that he offered to buy it, but the owner, George Lauder, did not want to sell.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, there was enough grass on the island for about 100 sheep to graze.
The Bass Rock Castle
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The Lauder family built their castle not far from the only place to land on the island. The castle had strong walls that followed the shape of the rock. It also had round towers where the rock stuck out. The tops of the walls had battlements, which are gaps for defenders to shoot through.
The main entrance to the castle was through a two-story building. The castle was built from local rock. The buildings were probably built at different times. Inside the walls, there was a tower that served as a main stronghold and living area. This part of the castle was taken down in 1902 to provide stone for the lighthouse.
A well at the top of the Bass Rock provided fresh water for the people living there. Today, the foghorn is in that spot.
St Baldred's Chapel
Halfway up the island, you can see the ruins of St Baldred's Chapel. This chapel was built on or near a cave where Saint Baldred lived. Although the Lauder family owned most of the Bass Rock, this part belonged to the Church until 1316.
The Lauder family rebuilt the chapel several times. A document from 1493 says the chapel was "newly established" then. In 1542, John Lauder helped with the reconsecration of the chapel. After the Protestant Reformation, the church on the Bass Rock no longer needed readers.
The Bass Rock Prison
In the 1400s, King James I sent some of his political rivals to the Bass Rock. Many members of the Clan MacKay were also held there. For example, Neil Bhass MacKay was imprisoned there at age 14 in 1428 as a hostage. He later escaped after King James was killed in 1437.
After almost 600 years, the Lauder family lost the Bass Rock in the 1600s during Cromwell's invasion. In 1671, the castle became a well-known prison. For many years, people who disagreed with the government, especially Covenanters, were sent there. The island was sometimes called the "Patmos of Scotland."
Alexander Shields, a Covenanter preacher, described the Bass as "a dry and cold rock in the sea." He said they had no fresh water and had to bring all their supplies from far away. Many Covenanters, like John Blackadder and John Rae, died on the Bass Rock and were buried in North Berwick.
About 39 Covenanters were imprisoned on the Bass Rock. These included Patrick Anderson, William Bell, John Blackadder, James Fraser, Thomas Hog, Alexander Peden, and John Spreul (apothecary).
The Jacobite Seizure of Bass Rock
An amazing event in the Bass Rock's history happened between 1691 and 1694. Four Jacobite officers, who supported the exiled King James, were imprisoned in the castle. On June 18, 1691, they managed to take over the castle! The soldiers guarding them were outside, busy unloading a coal ship. The guards had to leave on the ship.
When people on the mainland heard the news, Jacobite supporters secretly brought supplies and more men to the Bass Rock by boat. King James, who was in France, even sent two large rowing boats. The Jacobites used these boats to raid the mainland for more supplies. They also used the castle's cannons to stop some passing ships.
The government sent two large warships to attack the castle, but its high position on the steep rock made it impossible to capture. The government then tried to block the island by sea, which made it harder for the defenders to get fresh supplies. Their numbers also dropped as some were caught during raids.
By early 1694, the government was desperate to end the siege. The Jacobite leader, Captain Michael Middleton, arranged a meeting with government representatives. Middleton cleverly made it seem like he had many more defenders and supplies than he actually did. His trick worked! On April 18, 1694, the Jacobite defenders accepted very good surrender terms. They were given their freedom, free transport to France if they wanted, and their helpers on the mainland were released from prison.
The government left the fortress in 1701. On July 31, 1706, Lord Hew Dalrymple bought the Bass Rock for a very small price. His family has owned the island ever since.
The saying "Ding doun Tantallon,— Mak a brig to the Bass" means something is impossible. It refers to trying to knock down the strong Tantallon Castle or build a bridge to the Bass Rock.
Wildlife of Bass Rock
Animals and Reproduction
The Bass Rock is home to over 150,000 northern gannets. It is the world's largest colony of these birds! Naturalists have called it "one of the wildlife wonders of the world." In 2014/15, it was named BBC Countryfile Magazine's Nature Reserve of the Year.
When you look at the rock from the mainland, large parts of it appear white. This is because of the huge number of birds and their droppings. The scientific name for the northern gannet, Morus bassanus, comes from the rock itself. In Scotland, gannets were traditionally called "solan geese."
In the past, people collected gannet eggs and young chicks for food. It is thought that almost 2,000 birds were taken from the rock in 1850. Other birds that live on the rock include guillemots, razorbills, shags, puffins, eiders, and many types of gulls.
The Scottish Seabird Centre in North Berwick has cameras on the island. These cameras are powered by the sun and send live pictures of the seabirds to large screens on the mainland. You can even see the ID rings on the birds' feet! The Seabird Centre also offers boat trips around and to the island.
Plants
The soil on the Bass Rock is fertile. It supports many different plants. One special plant found there is the Bass mallow. This plant is only found on a few other islands, like Ailsa Craig and Steep Holm.
Artistic Influences of Bass Rock
Because of its striking appearance, its history as a prison, and its connection to Scottish history, the Bass Rock has appeared in several fictional works.
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson had a strong connection to the Bass Rock. His cousin, David Stevenson, designed the lighthouse there. Robert Louis Stevenson spent holidays in North Berwick when he was young. He often stayed at Scoughall Farm, where he could see the Bass. Local stories from the area inspired his short story The Wreckers.
Stevenson's 1893 novel Catriona is a sequel to Kidnapped. Both books are set after the Jacobite risings in the mid-1700s. In Catriona, the hero, David Balfour, tries to get justice for James Stewart. But David is kidnapped again and held on the Bass Rock until James's trial is over.
Chapter XIV of the book is called The Bass. It gives a long description of the island, calling it "just the one crag of rock... but great enough to carve a city from." The book describes the sounds of the island: "the calling of the solans [gannets], and the plash [splash] of the sea, and the rock echoes."
Jane Lane
Jane Lane's 1950 novel Fortress in the Forth is a historical story. It is based on the real event where four Jacobite officers took over the Bass Rock castle from 1691 to 1694. They defended the island against the government for almost three years. The book changes some character names but mostly follows the true history. It tells the story through made-up letters and journal entries.
Music and Film
A traditional Scottish bagpipe tune called a pibroch was written by Iain Dall MacAoidh. It is called "The Unjust Incarceration" and remembers Neil Bhass MacKay's imprisonment and escape from the island.
The Bass Rock also appears in the background of the title song in the 1998 Bollywood movie Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.
Images for kids
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The rock up close, showing nesting northern gannets
See also
In Spanish: Roca Bass para niños
