Beamer proposal for witch hunt victims is rejected by residents

Plan to rebuild lighthouse in memory of women persecuted over witchcraft claims is shut down

Plans to rebuild a historic lighthouse in Torryburn as a memorial to witch trial victims have been scrapped.

The Fife Witches Remembered group had hoped villagers would get behind plans to reinstate the Beamer beacon in memory of those who were persecuted including local woman Lilias Adie.

Lilias, who died in prison in 1704 while awaiting trial, is buried in the Torryburn mudflats.

Torryburn and Newmills Community Council chairman Alistair McIntosh said: “The community rejected the idea of a 20-foot lighthouse to be built on top of a dod of concrete, potentially increasing the total height to 26 feet and to have the whole thing lit up in the centre of the village, towering above every nearby home.”

He continued: “The community was not against a monument, or the reason for it, but not something like the Beamer Rock lighthouse.

“The general feeling was certainly one of it being forced upon the community.

“The cost quoted was £100,000 to £150,000, which would have to be raised by the community council or another local group.

“This excluded any parking or additional facilities. This did not sit well with the community when we can’t even get our school toilets brought up to a reasonable standard by the council.”

The plans were put to residents at a recent meeting in the local community centre.

Mr McIntosh said 34 people turned up, including 17 villagers, of whom 11 voted to refuse the Beamer proposal.

Kate Stewart, a local SNP councillor and founding member of the Fife Witches Remembered group, admitted the design put forward at the meeting “wouldn’t inspire anybody”.

She added: “Maybe we didn’t present it very well. We didn’t do ourselves any favours.”

The beacon, which guarded the Beamer Rock off the coast of Rosyth for 185 years before being dismantled in 2011 to make way for the Queensferry Crossing, could still be reinstated as a memorial.

Ms Stewart said there were plans to work with artists to create a fitting memorial out of the Beamer at another location.

She added: “There are options along the coast, but it’s not going to be in Torryburn. I can accept what they said about not having the infrastructure, with regards to car parking etc.

“We’d now like to give artists the challenge of transforming it into a fitting memorial – something that will capture people’s imaginations.”

The lighthouse on Beamer Rock was dismantled to make way for the Queensferry Crossing.

Lilias Adie died in prison while awaiting trial.