Old Higher Lighthouse

Old Higher Lighthouse
Portland Bill High

The Old Higher Lighthouse in 2007.
Dorset
Location Isle of Portland
Dorset
England
United Kingdom
Coordinates 50°31′20″N 2°27′23″W / 50.522273°N 2.456346°W / 50.522273; -2.456346Coordinates: 50°31′20″N 2°27′23″W / 50.522273°N 2.456346°W / 50.522273; -2.456346
Year first constructed 1716 (first)
Year first lit 1869 (current)
Deactivated 1869 (first)
1906 (current)
Construction stone tower
Tower shape massive cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern attached to 1-storey keeper’s house
Markings / pattern white tower
Height 12 metres (39 ft)
ARLHS number ENG-108
Managing agent The Old Higher Lighthouse[1]

The Old Higher Lighthouse is a disused 19th-century lighthouse on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, southern England. It is situated on the west side of Portland, and at the higher part of Portland Bill, known as Branscombe Hill. The lighthouse is Grade II Listed.[2][3]

History

The surrounding coast of Portland, namely Portland Bill and Chesil Beach, have been notorious for the many vessels that became shipwrecked in the area over the centuries.[4][5] After years of local petitions to Trinity House, the organisation saw a lighthouse at the Bill as being necessary. George I granted Trinity House's patent in 1716.[4][5][6]

Two lighthouses were built at Portland Bill – this one at Branscombe Hill, and the other, the Old Lower Lighthouse, on lower land.[5] The two lighthouses shone out for the first time on 29 September 1716.[4] In 1788 Trinity House had Argand lamps installed within the higher lighthouse – the first lighthouse in England to be fitted with them.[7] In 1869 they had both lighthouses rebuilt.[4][7]

At the turn of the 20th-century, Trinity House put forward plans for a new lighthouse at Bill Point, to replace both current lighthouses.[7][4][8] The new lighthouse was completed in 1905,[5] leaving the original two lighthouses to be auctioned.[5][9]

In 1923 the lighthouse was purchased by the doctor, pioneer of birth control and Portland Museum founder Marie Stopes as a summer residence.[10] During World War II, the Royal Observer Corps used the lighthouse tower as a lookout.[11] During the early 1960s the lighthouse was run as a restaurant.[12]

The property's latest owners bought the lighthouse in 1981 and refurbished the entire property. The lighthouse's paraffin store was converted into a holiday let. With a total of four cottages within its grounds, both the Branscombe Lodge Cottage and Stopes Cottage remain available as holiday lets.[13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Portland Bill High The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 5 June 2016
  2. ↑ "Old Higher Lighthouse Stopes Cottage | Portland Bill | | Dorset And Somerset | Self Catering Holiday Cottage". Sykescottages.co.uk. 1 November 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  3. ↑ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1203104)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Portland Bill". trinityhouse.co.uk. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Portland – Three Lighthouses Walk". dorsetlife.co.uk. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  6. ↑ Legg, Rodney (1999). Portland Encyclopaedia. Dorset Publishing Company. p. 68. ISBN 978-0948699566.
  7. 1 2 3 "Portland Year Book". ancestry.com. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  8. ↑ "Portland Year Book". ancestry.com. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  9. ↑ Mackenzie, Roy (1999). Portland: A Topographical and Historical Gazetteer. p. 23.
  10. ↑ http://www.oldhigherlighthouse.com/history.html
  11. ↑ Historic England. "Monument No. 1413281". PastScape. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "675690". geoffkirby.co.uk. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  13. ↑ "History". Old Higher Lighthouse.
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