Bishop Rock

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See Cortes Bank for the 'Bishop Rock' in the Pacific Ocean.

Bishop Rock (Cornish: Men an Eskob) is a small rock at the westernmost tip of the Isles of Scilly (49°52.3′N 06°26.7′W), known for its lighthouse, and listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the smallest island in the world.

Containing room for nothing more than the uninhabited 45 metre tall lighthouse, the rock acts as the barrier between the British Isles and the Atlantic Ocean. The original lighthouse was begun in 1847, but was washed away before it could be completed. The present building was completed in 1858.

Bishop Rock is also the eastern end of the North Atlantic shipping route used by ocean liners in the first half of the 20^th century, the western end being the entrance to Lower New York Bay. The ship with the fastest time (in either direction) between a line of longitude running through Bishop Rock and the end point at the approach to New York Harbor (first Sandy Hook, New Jersey and later Ambrose Light) claimed the 'Blue Riband' for the fastest crossing.

[edit] Lighthouse

Bishop Rock Lighthouse is operated remotely by Trinity House. A warning to shipping is necessary given the danger posed by the rocks around the islands - Sir Cloudesley Shovell's squadron of ships was lost there in 1707. The lighthouse was designed by James Walker and shone its first light on 1^st September, 1858. In 1881, Sir James Douglass inspected it and made plans to reinforce it; the work was completed in 1887.

[edit] See also

• List of shipwrecks of the Isles of Scilly

[edit] External links

• Trinity House - Bishop Rock

The Isles of Scilly
Inhabited islands in the Isles of Scilly: St Mary's | St Agnes | Tresco | Bryher | St Martin's
Uninhabited islands in the Isles of Scilly: Annet | Bishop Rock | Crim Rocks | English Island | Gugh | Samson | Zantman's Rock
Related topics: Environment of the Isles of Scilly | History of the Isles of Scilly | Transport in the Isles of Scilly