Anvil Point Lighthouse

Anvil Point Lighthouse
Location Near Swanage, Dorset, England
Coordinates 50°35′31″N 1°57′36″W / 50.59194°N 1.96000°WCoordinates: 50°35′31″N 1°57′36″W / 50.59194°N 1.96000°W
Year first constructed 1881
Automated 1991
Height 12 m (39 ft)
Focal height 45 m (148 ft)
Original lens 250mm 6 Panel Fourth Order Rotating Optic
Current lens 1 Single Tier LED Lantern
Intensity 1,080 Candela
Range 9 nmi (17 km; 10 mi)
Characteristic White Flash Every 10 Seconds
ARLHS number ENG 001

The Anvil Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse located near Swanage in Dorset. It is built of local stone and was completed in 1881. It was opened by Neville Chamberlain's father, then Minister of Transport. The lighthouse tower is twelve metres tall, the height of the light above the high-water mark is 45 m (148 ft). The light is positioned to give a waypoint for vessels passing along the English Channel coast.

Originally the light was illuminated by a paraffin vapour burner (PVB). During 1960 the lighthouse was modernised and electrified. It was fully automated on 31 May 1991 and is now monitored and controlled from the Trinity House Operations Control Centre at Harwich.[1]

The lighthouse had a 1000 watt filament lamp with an intensity of 500,000 Candela. The lights range was about 19 nautical miles (35 km; 22 mi), but was reduced to 9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi) following a review of aids to navigation in 2010.[2] The old fog signal was a 5 minute cannon. The fog signal was replaced during 1981 by new automatic equipment, but it has now been discontinued. In 2012 with a LED lamp was installed above the rotating Fresnel lens to serve as the main light at Anvil Point; its character is, as it was previously, a white Flash every 10 Seconds. The old lens, though no longer in use, remains in place in the tower.

The lighthouse is near a visitor centre and is sometimes open to the public for tours. This area is an area of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Some of the old buildings have been refurbished as holiday cottages.

References

  1. "Anvil Point Lighthouse". Trinity House. Retrieved 2011-08-27.
  2. "Trinity House 2010 Aids to Navigation Review". Trinity House.

External links