Sombrero Lighthouse
| Sombrero Lighthouse | |||
| Sombrero | |||
| Location | |||
| Location: | 18°35’12"N, 63°25’35"W | ||
| Characteristics | |||
| Height: | 50 feet | ||
| Tower shape: | three-stage cylindrical tower with beacon | ||
| Tower marking: | white tower | ||
| Light: | Fl W 10s. | ||
| Focal height: | 92 feet | ||
| Range: | 17 nautical miles | ||
| Light source: | solar power | ||
| Admiralty No.: | J5650 | ||
| History | |||
| Built 1868 / 2001 (current) | |||
| Information | |||
| Owned by: | Government of Anguilla | ||
Sombrero Lighthouse stands on the island of Sombrero, outermost of the isles of Anguilla. The lighthouse marks the Anegada Passage separating Anguilla from Anegada in the British Virgin Islands, which is a major shipping route from Britain and Europe into the Caribbean.
The first lighthouse was erected on Sombrero in 1868. In 1960, Hurricane Donna damaged this lighthouse, with the result that a new lighthouse replaced it in 1962. The lighthouses were manned from 1868 to 2001. In that year, Trinity House donated and installed the current, automated tower, which is a 50-foot round tower, painted white. Anguilla's Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources is responsible for the maintenance of the navigational aids.
History
Sombrero and its rock, lying in the route of shipping from Britain to South and Central America, are a major shipping hazard and in 1848 the Admiralty was asked to install a light on it. On 30 June 1859, the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company's ship Paramatta was wrecked on her maiden voyage on Horseshoe Reef off Anegada,[1] which resulted in another request to the Admiralty. The lighthouse was then built and first exhibited its light on the evening of 1 January 1868.
Interestingly, the lighthouse was built in the same shipyard as had been the Paramatta which foundered on the island: Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, on the banks of the River Lea in Blackwall, Middlesex. The Paramatta was the last ship launched from their Middlesex bank, while the lighthouse was built on the Essex side- the yard occupying premises on either side of the River.[2] In 1871, the lease of the island was sold for £55,000 and then sold again for £110,000 to the New Sombrero Phosphate Company, which led to litigation in Erlanger v. New Sombrero Phosphate Co (1878) 3 App Cas 1218.[3]
From the early 1870s until 1885, a Cornish mining engineer, Thomas Corfield, was Superintendent of Sombrero. His duties included organizing the conveying of the guano to a spot which was convenient for loading the lighters to take the guano to the ships lying off the island, overseeing the construction of derricks and engine houses, and arranging for the laying of the tram lines for the wagons, which were loaded at the quarries. The guano was just piled in dumps near the engine houses and derricks. There was no semblance of a port and no beach.
The black workers were recruited from various islands and lived in wooden huts during their term of service. Stores and various supplies were obtained from a merchant at Philipsburg on nearby Sint Maarten, a Mr Nesbit. The company's schooner, the Logos, brought supplies and also took the black labourers to and from their homes on the other islands.
The superintendent's house was a wooden bungalow near the middle of the island, and around it were grouped the quarters of the technicians, store keepers, and lighthouse keepers, and other wooden buildings. On the side opposite to the main buildings was a small building for the superintendent. There was a wide veranda round the house and he used to live there with his family, except near the hurricane season.[4]
In 1890, the phosphate works on the island were abandoned and by 1893 the lighthouse had come under the authority of the British Board of Trade, later the Department of Transport. Administration of the light was carried out by Trinity House. In 1931, the old light system was changed and improved to 200,000 candle power and the tower received its first major repair when the basement was encased in concrete. On 20 July 1962, after the destruction caused by Hurricane Donna in 1960, the present lighthouse was put into operation and the old tower demolished on 28 July 1962.[5]
Location
The lighthouse is located near the centre of the island, and reaches a height of almost 166 feet above sea level. It protects ships passing from the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea through the Anegada Passage. Full responsibility for the light passed from Trinity House to the Anguillan government on 1 December 2001.[6]
References
- ↑ The Illustrated London News, Vol. 47, no. 1323, p. 17-18.
- ↑ Thames Iron Works Historical Catalogue: Souvenir prepared for the Festival of Empire, Crystal Palace 1911, p.42 and p.111
- ↑ Len Sealy & Sarah Worthington (2008). Cases and Materials in Company Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 81.
- ↑ Notes by Thomas Joseph Corfield - Made July 1957.
- ↑ A Visit to Sombrero by P. Bannis, Government Information Service Bulletin Vol I, No 2, July 1978, which quoted from the writings of Mr. William Hodge in the Sombrero Visitors' Book
- ↑ Written Answers - House of Lords:Anguilla:Sombero Island Lighthouse (21 February 2005)