Gunfleet Lighthouse
Location | offshore of Frinton-on-Sea Essex England |
---|---|
Coordinates | 51°46′08″N 1°20′30″E / 51.76889°N 1.34167°E |
Tower | |
Constructed | 1850 |
Built by | James Walker |
Construction | screw-pile tower |
Height | 72 metres (236 ft) |
Shape | hexagonal tower with keeper's quarter, balcony and lantern |
Operator | Gunfleet Sands Windfarm[1] |
Light | |
First lit | 1856 |
Deactivated | 1921 |
Gunfleet Lighthouse[2] is a derelict screw-pile lighthouse lying in the North Sea, six miles off the coast at Frinton-on-Sea in Essex, constructed in 1850 by James Walker of Trinity House. George Henry Saunders was the contractor. Walker and Burges were the Engineers.[3] It is 74 feet (23 m) in height and hexagonal in plan; mounted on seven piles forming a steel lattice and originally painted red.[4] It was first lit on 1 May 1856, replacing a light vessel which had been on station there since 1850.[5]
When in use, the lighthouse was staffed by two keepers. They were accommodated in a single-storey dwelling, immediately below the lantern, which was divided into a living room (also used as a kitchen), a bed room and an oil room (in which the fuel for the lamps was stored). The walls and roof were of
The light flashed red once every 30 seconds; it was lit using Argand lamps and reflectors mounted on a revolving triangular frame, with a pane of red glass mounted in front of each reflector. Initially nine lamps and reflectors were used (three groups of three),[7] but the number was later increased to fifteen (three groups of five).[6] It also had a fog bell, which sounded once every ten seconds in bad weather; like the lamp mechanism, it was driven by clockwork.[8]
In 1908 the light was upgraded to flash red once every fifteen seconds;[9] thereafter it was listed as a dioptric light (i.e. equipped with lenses rather than reflectors).[10]
The light and fog signal continued to be listed as active into the 1940s,[11] but by 1951 it had been decommissioned.[12]
It remains in use as an automated weather station by the Port of London Authority,[4] and marks the northern limit of their jurisdiction.[13]
In 1974 an attempt was made to use the lighthouse as a base for the pirate radio station Radio Atlantis but this was thwarted by the authorities.[14]
See also
References
- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Southeastern England". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
- ^ "Day".
- ^ "Gunfleet Lighthouse". Grace's Guide to British Industrial History. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Gunfleet Lighthouse". Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
- ^ "Nautical Intelligence". The Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review. 35 (1): 105. July 1856.
- ^ a b "Light-houses". Van Nostrand's Engineering Magazine. XIV (LXXXVI): 102. February 1876.
- ^ "Lighthouse management : the report of the Royal Commissioners on Lights, Buoys, and Beacons, 1861, examined and refuted Vol. 1". 1861. p. 33.
- ^ "Lighthouse management : the report of the Royal Commissioners on Lights, Buoys, and Beacons, 1861, examined and refuted Vol. 2". 1861. p. 77.
- ^ London Gazette, Issue: 28149, Page:4483, 19 June 1908.
- ^ "Pile Lighthouses. Typical Data". Marine Engineer and Naval Architect. 44: 230. February 1921.
- ^ "British Islands, English Channel and North Sea". List of Lights and Fog Signals (33): 76. 1946.
- ^ Sailing Directions for the East Coast of England. United States Naval Oceanographic Office. 1951. p. 214.
- ^ "Tide Tables and Port Information" (PDF). Port of London Authority. p. 8. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
- ^ "Gunfleet Lighthouse". Offshore Radio Museum. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
External links
- 2005 tour of the lighthouse (including internal photographs) Archived 25 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- More external photographs from 2005 Archived 25 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- Day-trip to Gunfleet Lighthouse
- Media related to Gunfleet Lighthouse at Wikimedia Commons