Lizard Lighthouse

Lizard Lighthouse

Lizard Lighthouse
Location Lizard Point, Cornwall, England
Coordinates 49°57′37″N 5°12′8″W / 49.96028°N 5.20222°W
Year first lit 1619 (1st); 1751 (2nd)
Automated 1998
Height 19 m (62 ft)
Focal height 70 m (230 ft)
Current lens 2nd Order Catadioptric four-panel rotating lens
Intensity 800,000 Candela
Range 26 nmi (48 km)
Characteristic One White Flash Every 3 Seconds
ARLHS number ENG 068

The Lizard Lighthouse is a lighthouse at Lizard Point in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, built to guide vessels passing through the English Channel.

A light was first exhibited here in 1619,[1] built thanks to the efforts of Sir John Killigrew, but it was extinguished and the tower demolished in 1630 because of difficulties in raising funds for its operation and maintenance.

The current lighthouse, consisting of two towers with cottages between them, was built in 1751. Trinity House took responsibility for it in 1771, and it was automated and demanned in 1998.[2] Originally both towers were lit, but since 1903 only the Eastern Tower has remained in use; the lantern has been removed from the Western Tower.

Opened in 2009 with a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund,[3] the Lizard Lighthouse Heritage Centre is located in the lighthouse engine room, which still features some of the original engines. Interactive exhibits and displays focus on the history of the lighthouse, the life of a lighthouse keeper, and the role of lighthouses in sea safety.

Generator

Generator

The lighthouse's former generator is now in the collection of Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum.[4] It caries a plate marked:[4]

L'Electricite magneto - Electrique No.21b. A de meritens, 44 Rue Bournalt Paris. Dte S.G.D.G. on France at L'Etranger

Gallery

Lizard Lighthouse from sea 
Lizard Lighthouse from land 
Foghorns at the Lizard lighthouse 
The optic 

References

  1. ↑ Pearce, Cathryn (2010). Cornish Wrecking, 1700-1860: Reality and Popular Myth. Boydell & Brewer. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-84383-555-4.
  2. ↑ "Lizard Lighthouse". Trinity House. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  3. ↑ "Lighthouses". Trinityhouse.co.uk. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Birmingham Museums Trust accession record 1954S00295

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lizard Lighthouse.

Coordinates: 49°57′36.7″N 05°12′07.4″W / 49.960194°N 5.202056°W