Morant Point Lighthouse

Morant Point Lighthouse
Morant Point Lighthouse.
Morant Point Lighthouse
Location Morant Point, Saint Thomas, Jamaica
Coordinates [1]
Year first lit 1841
Foundation Concrete[2]
Construction Cast iron[2]
Tower shape Conical
Focal height 115 feet (35 m))[3]
Characteristic three white flashes every 20s[3]
Admiralty number J5282[3]
NGA number 13860[3]
ARLHS number JAM-004[3]

Morant Point Lighthouse is on the easternmost tip of Jamaica.[2]

Erected in 1841 by Kru men from Africa (who were among the free Africans brought to Jamaica in the period following emancipation), it is the oldest lighthouse on the island[2] and the first cast iron lighthouse built in the Western Hemisphere.[3]

It consists of a 30 m (100 ft) iron tube, cast in London in 1841, which has a diameter of 5 m (18 ft) at the base and 3 m (11 ft) at the cap[4] with lantern and gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands.[3] To protect against surf during hurricanes, a semicircular masonry wall has been built around the seaward side of the base of the lighthouse.[3]

It was designed by Alexander Gordon and built by George Grove, later a leading writer on music.[3]

It is listed by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust as a historic monument, being 'of considerable interest to historians of industrial technology'.[2]

It is maintained by the Port Authority of Jamaica, an agency of the Ministry of Transport and Works.[3]

See also

Gallery

References

  1. ^ UK Directorate of Overseas Surveys 1:50,000 map of Jamaica (12 sheets), 1958-1973.
  2. ^ a b c d e Morant Point Lighthouse, Jamaica National Heritage Trust, 2005.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rowlett, Russ (2008-10-20). "Lighthouses of Jamaica". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/jam.html. 
  4. ^ Morant Point Lighthouse, Frans Eijgenraam, 2000.

External links