Holyhead Breakwater Lighthouse

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Holyhead Breakwater Lighthouse

Anglesey

Holyhead Breakwater (3).jpg
The Lighthouse on Holyhead Breakwater
Location
Location: 53°19’51"N, 4°37’9"W
Characteristics
Height: 62 feet
Tower shape: Square tower
Tower marking: White tower with a broad
black band in the
upper part, white lantern
Light: Fl (3) G 10s.
Focal height: 69 feet
Range: 14 nautical miles
Light source: Mains power
History
Built 1873
Information
Owned by: Trinity House

The Holyhead Breakwater Lighthouse stands on the Holyhead Breakwater outside the Port of Holyhead, Anglesey.

History

The structure, which was completed in 1873, was most likely designed by Victorian civil engineer John Hawkshaw after he took control of Holyhead harbour works in 1857.[1] The lighthouse was the last major building completed on the breakwater.[2]

The three-storey black and white tower, unlike many contemporary lighthouses, is square.[1] It measures 22¼ feet on each side, is 63 feet high and rests 70 feet above the [[Ordinary high-water mark.[2] It has chamfered angles and a stepped plinth set on an oval platform on the breakwater.[1] A square design was chosen because it made the living quarters more comfortable.[2] Much of the original living accommodation inside remains intact.[2]

The tower's external features include a roll-moulded string-course projecting above the first floor level. There is also a moulded cornice which supports a walkway around a circular glass-housed light. The tower is surmounted by a weathervane and finial.[1] The enclosed fresnel lens creates a light with a range of 14 miles.[1][2] This lighthouse is considered architecturally important because it forms part of the ambitious Victorian engineering works to create "harbours of refuge" throughout Great Britain.[1]

In the 19th century, packet ships approaching Holyhead in the fog would be warned by a bell operated from the lighthouse. In the late 1870s, this was supplemented with rockets which would complement the gun fired from the fog warning station on North Stack, Anglesey.[3]

The lighthouse was manned until November 1961, when it was automated. Among the last keepers in the 1950s were Arthur Burgess and David John Williams. The latter later became a speaker for Trinity House giving talks on the service.[2] Like most other lights on Anglesey and in Caernarfonshire, it is now operated from Trinity House's Holyhead Control Centre.[1] Today the upkeep of the lighthouse is the responsibility of Holyhead port authority, which is operated by Stena Line.[2]

Gallery

Outside links

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References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Hague, D. B. edited by S. Hughes (1994). Lighthouses of Wales, Their Architecture and Archaeology. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. ISBN 1-871184-08-8. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Denton, A., & Leach, N. (2008). Lighthouses of Wales. Landmark Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84306-459-6. 
  3. Renton, Alan (2001). Lost Sounds: The Story of Coast Fog Signals. Dundurn Group. p. 185. ISBN 1870325834. 
Lighthouses of Anglesey

AmlwchHolyhead BreakwaterHolyhead Mail PierLlanddwynPoint LynasSkerriesSouth StackTrwyn Du

Lighthouses of Trinity House

Great Britain:
Anvil PointBamburghBardseyBeachy HeadBerry HeadBishop RockBull PointCaldey IslandCoquetCromerCrow PointDungenessEddystoneFarneFlamboroughFlatholmGodrevyHartland PointHilbre IslandHolyheadHurst PointGuile Point EastHeugh HillLizardLongshipsLongstoneLowestoftLundy NorthLundy SouthLynmouth ForelandMonkstoneMumblesNab TowerNash PointNeedlesNorth ForelandPendeenPeninnisPoint LynasPortland BillRound IslandRoyal SovereignSkerriesSkokholmSmallsSouth BishopSouth StackSouthwoldSt Anthony'sSt BeesSt Tudwal'sSt Anns HeadSt CatherinesStart PointStrumble HeadTater DuTrevose HeadTrwyn DuWhitbyWolf Rock

Channel Islands and Gibraltar:

CasquetsEuropa PointLes HanoisSark