Arbroath’s Signal Tower Museum has closed its doors in preparation for a £425,000 refurbishment.
The work will include new displays focusing on Arbroath’s maritime heritage, particularly the town’s association with the Bell Rock Lighthouse which marks its bicentenary next year.
The Signal Tower, beside Beacon Green, was built as the shore base for the lighthouse and housed the lighthousekeepers’ families and for the keepers themselves when they were on shore leave.
Its name derives from its other role as a signalling station, passing messages between the lighthouse and the mainland.
Work began on the lighthouse in 1807, to a design by Robert Stevenson, and it was commissioned in 1811.
Two centuries on it still fulfils its original purpose of alerting mariners to the location of the dangerous Inchcape Reef, or Bell Rock, 11 miles off Arbroath.
The structure is the oldest surviving rock lighthouse in the British Isles and has been operated unmanned and automatically since 1988.
Although the museum will be closed during the refurbishment, the public can contact staff by calling 01241 875598 or emailing signal.tower@angus.gov.uk.
Staff plan to run contact sessions for anyone who wishes to donate historic objects or keep up to date with progress on the refurbishment, which is set to finish in spring.