Portland Bill Lighthouse

Portland Bill Lighthouse and the former visitor centre.

Portland Bill Lighthouse is a functioning lighthouse on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. The lighthouse is located at the very south of the island, warning coastal traffic off of Portland Bill. The lighthouse and its boundary walls are Grade II Listed and have been since May 1993.[1]

As Portland's largest and most recent lighthouse, the Trinity House operated Portland Bill Lighthouse is distinctively white and red striped, standing at a height of 41 metres (135 ft). The tower is approximately 114 feet, and the lantern section at 21 feet. The foundations are 7 feet deep and 6 feet thick. The lighthouse took two years and three months to build, and was completed by 1906 and first shone out on 11 January 1906.[2]

Both Portland Bill and Chesil Beach are the locations of many wrecks of vessels that failed to reach Weymouth or Portland Roads. Portland Bill Lighthouse guides vessels heading for Portland and Weymouth through these hazardous waters as well as acting as a waymark for ships navigating the English Channel.[3]

History

Portland Bill Lighthouse and the surrounding area from the sea

For centuries Portland Bill, the promontory at Portland's southernmost point, has been considered one of the English Channel's most dangerous hazards. Aside from the promontory jutting out into the channel, the Portland Race and Shambles sandbank make the conditions around the Bill even more hazardous. The Portland race can run up to 10 knots in spring tidal streams, and are created when the tide and current clash round the Bill Point. The Shambles is a sandbank situated south-east of the Bill, which extends across two miles. The depth of the sandbank has been recorded as reaching as little as 11 feet in two places during low tide. As evidence suggests, the Romans would light beacon fires at the Bill, on Branscombe Hill, to warn passing vessels. These beacons would also be lit on Verne Hill, but as both locations suffered from a lack of adequate fuel, they were not always lit.[4] Originally the two original lighthouses Old Higher Lighthouse and Old Lower Lighthouse operated as a pair. They were constructed in 1716, and continued to warn ships of the dangerous coast until 1906, when both were decommissioned following the establishment of the present lighthouse.

By the beginning of the 20th century both lighthouses had become obsolete, and were not able to accommodate the latest equipment necessary. A particularly violent storm in 1901 saw 14 vessels wrecked within Portland's vicinity, and this sparked further reason for changes to be made to the lighthouses at the Bill. As such Trinity House decided to build a new, single lighthouse at Bill Point. On 17 June 1903, Messrs J. Lano, H. Sansom, R. Pearce, F. J. Barnes, and Robert White appointed a Committee by a meeting of Commoners to treat with the Corporation of Trinity House for the acquisition of one acre, 66 poles of land at the Bill, for a new lighthouse.[5] A meeting was soon organised at the George Inn to discuss the plans for the lighthouse. One issue with the selected location for the lighthouse was that it was common land. By October 1903 an agreement with compensation was made, in return for the loss of the public land. During that same month a convoy of contactors' carts and traction engines established themselves on the site, and the lighthouse's foundations were dug deep into the rock. The stone to provide building material for the lighthouse was quarried almost on the spot.[6] These surrounding quarries at Portland Bill had been quarried for centuries until they were abandoned by the early years of the 20th century, following the lighthouse's construction.[2]

The builders contracted to construct the lighthouse was Wakeham Bros of Plymouth. By the middle of 1905 their work was finished, with the completion of the high tower. Afterwards Chance & Co of Birmingham arrived with the lantern, and this was hoisted to the top of the tower. The revolving lenses were set-up to float on mercury. This resulted in a two and a half metre candlepower beam, from a vapourised oil burner, which was able to reach a distance of 18 miles on a clear night. The tower's stonework was rendered, and then painted in red and white livery, while the scaffolding was gradually removed. The bright design of the lighthouse has remained the tourist symbol of Portland ever since. In total the cost of the lighthouse reached £13,000, including coastguard accommodation. The two keepers Taylor and Comben moved from the old Lower Lighthouse to the new lighthouse at this time. From that point the Old Lower and Old Higher Lighthouses became disused. The new lamp shone for the first time on 11 January 1906.[7] A year after the construction of the lighthouse, the contractors Wakeham Brothers would erect the Clock Tower of Easton Gardens on Portland.[8]

The island did not gain mains electricity until 1930, as the local council continued to believe that the local gas works would finally become financially worthwhile. By 1930 an agreement had to be made, to bring across an electric supply generated from Weymouth. However the £25,000 scheme did not reach Portland Bill and the lighthouse until 1938.[9] In 1961, the Old Lower Lighthouse became a bird observatory,[10] while the Old Higher Lighthouse became the home of Marie Stopes in 1923, and today has become a holiday let.[6]

The lighthouse was swathed in scaffolding and polythene when undergoing a facelift during 1990.[2] It was demanned on 18 March 1996, and all monitoring and control of the station was then transferred to the Trinity House Operations & Planning Centre in Harwich.[3]

Tourist attraction

Arguably Portland's biggest attraction and most photographed feature, the Portland Bill Lighthouse is open to the public, where tours are operated by Trinity House, and the visitor centre, housed in the former lighthouse keeper's quarters, was also a big part of the lighthouse until it was closed in September 2013 due to lack of funding by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council.[11] The visitor centre was a joint project between The Crown Estate, The Corporation of Trinity House and Weymouth and Portland Borough Council. It was officially opened by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT on 14 July 1999, although it had been operational since 1997. However in October 2014 it was announced that Trinity House are working alongside The Crown Estate to create a new lighthouse visitor centre at the lighthouse, themed around Trinity House's maritime history and its responsibilities providing aids to navigation, charitable support and educational services to the mariner since 1514. It is due to open in April 2015.[12]

The tours of Portland Bill Lighthouse are organised by The Crown Estate under licence from the Corporation of Trinity House.[13] Often lasting approximately 45 minutes, visitors are able to climb the 153 steps to the top of the lighthouse on a guided tour with a former Lighthouse Keeper, and view both the inside of the lighthouse and its lamp as well as the surrounding Portland coastline.[14]

The original visitor centre was owned and operated independently from the actual tower lighthouse, and past occasions have seen the lighthouse closed to the public, whilst the centre would remain open. It opened from Easter to the end of September each year, and in 2007 was reported to receive 300,000 visitors a year.[15] The centre featured various displays which provides insight and introduction into Portland's environment & heritage - ranging from geology, Portland stone and the Jurassic Coast. It also featured a shop which stocks various local souvenirs.[16] The nearby Trinity House Obelisk and Pulpit Rock are also popular attractions in the area.

The lighthouse received a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence in 2013.[17]

Lamp and fog signal

Portland Bill Lighthouse uses a 1 Kw Mbi lamp and 4 Panel 1St Order Catadioptric Rotating Lens. The light flashes four times every 20 seconds and has an intensity of 635,000 candelas, with a range of 25 nautical miles. Also having a fog signal for times of bad weather, the signal uses a four-second blast every 30 seconds, with a range of 2 nautical miles.[3] The Type F diaphone was decommissioned in 1996, but restored in 2003 for the benefit of visitors, where it is sounded every Sunday morning as an added attraction on the island but only used in foggy conditions if the lighthouse is out of operation.[18]

The present optic at the lighthouse is unusual due to the arrangement of the panels, where the character gradually changes from one flash to four flashes between the bearings 221°-224° and from four flashes to one flash between bearings 117°-141°.[3]

One of the old lamp holders from Portland Bill lighthouse can be seen at Portland Museum, which is found in the village of Wakeham, close to Church Ope Cove.[2]

In addition to the lamp and fog, in early 2012, the National Coastwatch Institution, at the local Portland Bill Station, had a CCTV camera installed at the top exterior of the lighthouse to monitor the inshore passage around the Bill. The NCI were originally unable to see this area from the station.[19]

References

  1. ↑ "The National Heritage List for England | English Heritage". List.english-heritage.org.uk. 1993-05-17. Retrieved 2013-01-19.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Portland Bill, Portland, Dorset". Geoffkirby.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-11-24.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Portland Bill Lighthouse". Trinityhouse.co.uk. 1996-03-18. Retrieved 2012-11-24.
  4. ↑ Morris, Stuart (1985). Portland: An Illustrated History. Dovecote Press. p. 35. ISBN 978-0946159345.
  5. ↑ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pbtyc/Portland/PYB/Chronology.html
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Branscombe Lodge Cottage, Old Higher Lighthouse, Portland Bill, Dorset". Old Higher Lighthouse. Retrieved 2012-11-24.
  7. ↑ Morris, Stuart (1985). Portland: An Illustrated History. Dovecote Press. pp. 117, 118. ISBN 978-0946159345.
  8. ↑ Morris, Stuart (1990). Portland Camera. Dovecote Press. pp. Photo 65. ISBN 978-0946159796.
  9. ↑ Morris, Stuart (1985). Portland: An Illustrated History. Dovecote Press. p. 129. ISBN 978-0946159345.
  10. ↑ Keith Pritchard. "Portland Bird Observatory - index". Portlandbirdobs.org.uk. Retrieved 2012-11-24.
  11. ↑ http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/10868078.Tourism_Information_Centre_shuts_at_Portland_Bill_lighthouse/
  12. ↑ http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/11543095.Lighthouse_visitor_centre_to_open_at_Portland_Bill_next_Easter/
  13. ↑ "Portland Bill Lighthouse Visitors Centre". Trinityhouse.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-11-24.
  14. ↑ "Portland Bill Lighthouse Visitor Centre was just one of many places to visit in Portland Bill Lighthouse Visitor Centre". Resort-guide.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-11-24.
  15. ↑ http://watershedpr.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/PDF-of-brochure-outlining-project-for-the-Old-Engine-Shed.pdf
  16. ↑ "Portland Visitor Centre". Visitweymouth.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-11-24.
  17. ↑ http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g551714-d1069119-Reviews-Portland_Bill_Lighthouse-Isle_of_Portland_Dorset_England.html
  18. ↑ "Blast from the past (From Bournemouth Echo)". Bournemouthecho.co.uk. 2003-08-27. Retrieved 2012-11-24.
  19. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-17130987

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Portland Bill Lighthouse.

Gallery

Coordinates: 50°30′51″N 2°27′23″W / 50.5141°N 2.4563°W