Lizard Lighthouse

Lizard Lighthouse

Lizard Lighthouse
Cornwall
Location Lizard Point
Cornwall
England
Coordinates 49°57′37″N 5°12′8″W / 49.96028°N 5.20222°W / 49.96028; -5.20222Coordinates: 49°57′37″N 5°12′8″W / 49.96028°N 5.20222°W / 49.96028; -5.20222
Year first constructed 1619 (first)
Year first lit 1751 (current)
Automated 1998
Deactivated 1903 (West tower)
Construction stone tower
Tower shape twin octagonal prism tower with balcony and lantern connected by keeper's quarter
Markings / pattern white tower and lantern
Height 19 m (62 ft)
Focal height 70 m (230 ft)
Current lens 2nd order Catadioptric four-panel rotating lens
Intensity 800,000 candela
Range 26 nmi (48 km)
Characteristic Fl W 3s.
Admiralty number A0060
NGA number 0064
ARLHS number ENG 068
Managing agent Trinity House[1]

The Lizard Lighthouse is a lighthouse at Lizard Point in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, built to guide vessels passing through the English Channel.

History

A light was first exhibited here in 1619,[2] built thanks to the efforts of Sir John Killigrew, but it was extinguished and the tower demolished in 1630 because of difficulties in raising funds for its operation and maintenance.

The current lighthouse, consisting of two towers with cottages between them, was built in 1751. Trinity House took responsibility for it in 1771, and it was automated and demanned in 1998.[3] Originally both towers were lit, but since 1903 only the Eastern Tower has remained in use; the lantern has been removed from the Western Tower.

Opened in 2009 with a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund,[4] the Lizard Lighthouse Heritage Centre is located in the lighthouse engine room, which still features some of the original engines. Interactive exhibits and displays focus on the history of the lighthouse, the life of a lighthouse keeper, and the role of lighthouses in sea safety.

Generator

The lighthouse's former generator is now in the collection of Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum.[5] It carries a plate marked:[5]

L'Electricite magneto - Electrique No.21b. A de meritens, 44 Rue Bournalt Paris. Dte S.G.D.G. on France at L'Etranger
Lizard Lighthouse from sea 
Lizard Lighthouse from land 
Foghorns at the Lizard lighthouse 
The optic 
Generator 

See also


References

  1. ↑ Lizard Lighthouse The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved April 22, 2016
  2. ↑ Pearce, Cathryn (2010). Cornish Wrecking, 1700-1860: Reality and Popular Myth. Boydell & Brewer. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-84383-555-4.
  3. ↑ "Lizard Lighthouse". Trinity House. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  4. ↑ "Lighthouses". Trinityhouse.co.uk. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  5. 1 2 Birmingham Museums Trust accession record 1954S00295
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