Egypt Point: Difference between revisions

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[[File:Egypt Point 2.JPG|right|thumb|250px|Egypt Point.]]
[[File:Egypt Point, IW, UK.jpg|300px|thumb|Egypt Point]]
{{county|Hampshire}}
'''Egypt Point''' is the northernmost point of the [[Isle of Wight]], [[Hampshire]]'s great south island. It was one of Queen Victoria's favoured places during her time on the island.<ref name="Information Britain">{{cite web|url=http://www.information-britain.co.uk/county71/townguideEgypt%20Point|title=A guide to Egypt Point|publisher=Information Britain|access-date=2009-08-11}}</ref>


'''Egypt Point''' is the northernmost point of the [[Isle of Wight]] in [[Hampshire]].  The point is at {{getmapecho|SZ484966}}, reached by the townscape of [[Cowes]], between Cowes and [[Gurnard]].
[[File:Hurst Castle , Little Lighthouse - geograph.org.uk - 1721746.jpg|left|thumb|150px|Original optic, on display at Hurst Castle]]
Egypt Point lies in between the town of [[Cowes]] and the village of [[Gurnard, Isle of Wight|Gurnard]].


Queen Victoria spent much of her final years on the Isle of Wight and Egypt Point was one of her favourite places during her time on the island.<ref name="Information Britain">{{cite web|url=http://www.information-britain.co.uk/county71/townguideEgypt%20Point|title=A guide to Egypt Point|publisher=Information Britain|accessdate=2009-08-11}}</ref>
Between 1897 and 1989 a lighthouse was maintained at the point by [[Trinity House]]. It flashed white every ten seconds, with a range of 10 nautical miles.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Saxby Wryde |first1=J. |title=British Lighthouses: Their History and Romance |date=1913 |publisher=T. F. Unwin |location=London |page=330}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=T. Nigel |last2=Ingram-Brown |first2=Robert |title=Brown's Nautical Almanac |date=1985 |publisher=Brown, Son & Ferguson |location=Glasgow |page=726}}</ref> Initially lit by paraffin, in 1925 it was converted to run automatically on acetylene; then in 1969 it was converted to run on electricity.<ref>{{cite web |title=Egypt Point Lighthouse |url=http://www.worldwidelighthouses.com/Lighthouses/English-Lighthouses/Privately-Owned/Egypt-Point |website=Worldwide Lighthouses |access-date=23 February 2019}}</ref> In 1989 the 'changing requirements of the Mariner' led to the light being decommissioned.<ref>[https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-lighthouse-egypt-point-cowes-isle-of-wight-uk-52217688.html Plaque on lighthouse.]</ref> Though the light no longer functions, the structure remains a seamark for yachtsmen. In 1997 ownership was transferred from Trinity House to the local Council.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Birchell |first1=Capt. A. C. |title=Lighthouses for Tourists |journal=Sea Breezes: The Magazine of Ships and the Sea |date=January 1998 |volume=72 |issue=625 |page=12}}</ref>


Between 1897 and 1989 a lighthouse operated on the point, which lighthouse remains a seamark for yachtsmen.<ref name="lighthouse details">{{cite web|url=http://www.lighthousedepot.com/lite_explorer.asp?action=display_details&LighthouseID=4411|title=Egypt Point Lighthouse|publisher=Lighthouse Depot|accessdate=2009-08-11}}</ref>
Egypt Point derives its name from a nearby gypsy encampment from the 16th century.<ref>[http://www.cowes.co.uk/Walks-from-Cowes.aspx Cowes Town Guide] Retrieved 16 February 2014</ref> It is now a popular vantage point for the annual Round the Island Race which starts and ends at Cowes.


The name of the point is said to derive from a nearby gypsy encampment from the 16th century. The gypsies have gone and Egypt Point is now a popular vantage point for the annual Round the Island Race which starts and ends at Cowes.<ref name="Information Britain"/>
==Location==
*Location map: {{wmap|50.76698|-1.31506}}
*Streetmap: {{map|SZ484966}}
 
==See also==
*[[St Catherine's Point]]


==Outside links==
==Outside links==
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{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


{{Stub|Hampshire}}


[[Category:Headlands of Hampshire]]
[[Category:Isle of Wight]]
[[Category:Isle of Wight]]

Latest revision as of 13:54, 17 January 2023

Egypt Point

Egypt Point is the northernmost point of the Isle of Wight, Hampshire's great south island. It was one of Queen Victoria's favoured places during her time on the island.[1]

Original optic, on display at Hurst Castle

Egypt Point lies in between the town of Cowes and the village of Gurnard.

Between 1897 and 1989 a lighthouse was maintained at the point by Trinity House. It flashed white every ten seconds, with a range of 10 nautical miles.[2][3] Initially lit by paraffin, in 1925 it was converted to run automatically on acetylene; then in 1969 it was converted to run on electricity.[4] In 1989 the 'changing requirements of the Mariner' led to the light being decommissioned.[5] Though the light no longer functions, the structure remains a seamark for yachtsmen. In 1997 ownership was transferred from Trinity House to the local Council.[6]

Egypt Point derives its name from a nearby gypsy encampment from the 16th century.[7] It is now a popular vantage point for the annual Round the Island Race which starts and ends at Cowes.

Location

See also

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Egypt Point)

References

  1. "A guide to Egypt Point". Information Britain. http://www.information-britain.co.uk/county71/townguideEgypt%20Point. 
  2. Saxby Wryde, J. (1913). British Lighthouses: Their History and Romance. London: T. F. Unwin. p. 330. 
  3. Brown, T. Nigel; Ingram-Brown, Robert (1985). Brown's Nautical Almanac. Glasgow: Brown, Son & Ferguson. p. 726. 
  4. "Egypt Point Lighthouse". http://www.worldwidelighthouses.com/Lighthouses/English-Lighthouses/Privately-Owned/Egypt-Point. 
  5. Plaque on lighthouse.
  6. Birchell, Capt. A. C. (January 1998). "Lighthouses for Tourists". Sea Breezes: The Magazine of Ships and the Sea 72 (625): 12. 
  7. Cowes Town Guide Retrieved 16 February 2014