North Foreland
North Foreland[1] is a chalk headland on the Kent coast of southeast England, specifically in Broadstairs.
With the rest of Broadstairs and part of Ramsgate it is the eastern side of Kent's largest peninsula, the Isle of Thanet. It presents a bold cliff to the sea, 15 miles north of South Foreland, and commands views over the southern North Sea.
LB&SCR H2 class 4-4-2 no. 422 (later no. B422, 2422, and 32422) was named North Foreland after this landmark.
Lighthouse
Early history
There was probably some sort of a beacon at an earlier period but the first distinct intimation concerning a lighthouse on the North Foreland is in the year 1636 when
It seems that the lighthouse erected by Sir John consisted merely of a house built with timber lath and plaster on the top of which a light was kept in a large glass lantern for the purpose of directing ships in their course. This house was burnt down by accident in the year 1683 after which for some years use was made of a sort of beacon on which a light was hoisted. But near the end of the same century a strong octagonal structure of flint was erected on the top of which was an iron grate quite open to the air in which a good fire of coals was kept blazing at night.
18th century
About the year 1732 the top of this lighthouse was covered with a sort of lantern with large sash windows, and the fire was kept bright by bellows with which the attendants blew throughout the night. This contrivance is said to have been for the purpose of saving coals but it would seem more probable that it was in order to preserve the fire from being extinguished by rain. However the plan did not work well and great injury resulted to navigation as many vessels were lost on the sands from not seeing the light, and so little was it visible at sea that mariners asserted that they had often in hazy weather seen the Foreland before they could discover the light. They added that before the lantern was placed there and when the fire was kept in the open air the wind kept the fire in a constant blaze which was seen in the air far above the lighthouse. Complaints of this sort were so loud and frequent that the governors of Greenwich Hospital sent Sir John Thomson to examine and make arrangements on the subject. He ordered the lantern to be taken away and things to be restored to nearly their former state, with the light to continue burning all the night until daylight.[4]
Towards the end of the 18th century the North Foreland Lighthouse underwent some considerable alterations and repairs. In 1792, under the supervision of
19th century
In 1832
At the same time the tower itself was modernised: two keepers' cottages were built alongside and the interior of the tower (which had previously contained rooms on several storeys) was completely gutted.
In 1880 the light characteristic was changed from fixed to
20th century
The lamp continued to be upgraded through the first part of the twentieth century: a triple mantle burner was installed in 1904, and its place was taken by a ‘Hood’ 100mm petroleum vapour burner in 1923.
During the
By the late 1980s North Foreland Lighthouse was operating as an area control station, with an augmented crew of keepers monitoring (in addition to North Foreland itself) eleven other major aids to navigation (including light vessels in the
North Foreland lighthouse was the last Trinity House manned lighthouse in the UK but was automated in a ceremony presided over by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1998.[16] Dermot Cronin and Tony Homewood were the last Principal Lighthouse Keepers that manned North Foreland lighthouse.[17] The actual last manned lighthouse, owned by the Lancaster Port Commission was Walney Light, automated in 2003.[18]
Present day
The lighthouse remains operational and is monitored and controlled by Trinity House from its Planning Centre at Harwich. The 1860 optic is still in use with a modern light source displaying a group-flashing characteristic.[13]
A painting of the lighthouse by Elwin Hawthorne is in the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum in Bournemouth.[19]
Currently, the cottages around the lighthouse can be rented as holiday accommodation. In
Battles
Two
- The Battle of the Gabbard, 2–3 June 1653, in the First Anglo-Dutch War.
- The St. James's Day Battle, 25–26 July 1666, in the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
Radio station
A coastal radio station was established adjacent to the light house in 1901. Its call sign was 'GNF'. The transmitting function was later moved about a mile inland, although the medium wave receiving aerial remained operational until closure in 1991.[21]
See also
References
- ^ TR 39860 69616 51°22′30″N 1°26′42″E / 51.37490°N 1.44510°E
- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Southeastern England". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- ^ North Foreland Lighthouse Trinity House. Retrieved 3 May 2016
- ^ a b c d "The Penny Magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge". Charles Knight. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d e f g Woodman, Richard; Wilson, Jane (2002). The Lighthouses of Trinity House. Bradford-on-Avon, Wilts.: Thomas Reed. pp. 114–118.
- ^ "Lighthouse management : the report of the Royal Commissioners on Lights, Buoys, and Beacons, 1861, examined and refuted Vol. 1". 1861. p. 33.
- ^ Timbs, John (1859). The Year-book of Facts. London: W. Kent & Co. p. 44.
- ^ "Lighthouse management : the report of the Royal Commissioners on Lights, Buoys, and Beacons, 1861, examined and refuted Vol. 2". 1861. p. 79.
- ^ London Gazette, Issue 22401, Page 2544, 6 July 1860
- ^ "Lighthouse Illumination by Magneto-Electricity". The Dublin Builder. 15 August 1864. p. 14.
an agreement was made for a trial at the South Foreland, but it was not till the of December that this experiment at an actual lighthouse was commenced... M. Reynaud, the Director-General of the French Lighthouses, inspected the light on April 20, 1859; it was visited by most of the members of the Royal Commission of Lights, Buoys, and Beacons, including myself, three days afterwards, and on the same day Professor Faraday wrote a report to the Trinity House. The opinions expressed were so far favourable that the Elder Brethren desired a further trial of six months, during which time the light was to be entirely under their own control, Mr. Holmes not being allowed interfere in any way. The light was again kindled on August 22
- ^ Colston, Belinda; Fielding, Nicole; Blakeley, Ron (Winter 2013). "north Foreland Conservation". Flash (20): 6. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
- ^ London Gazette, Issue 24871, Page 4322, 6 August 1880
- ^ a b c "North Foreland Lighthouse". Trinity House. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
- ^ "Time Characteristics of Tungsten Filament Lamps for Signals , Signs and Beacons". The Illuminating Engineer. 28: 120. April 1935.
- ^ Douglas-Sherwood, Gerry (2004). "Radar Jamming at North Foreland Lighthouse" (PDF). World Lighthouse Society Newsletter. 2 (2). World Lighthouse Society: 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2006. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
- ^ Anon (26 November 1998). "Lights out for the last keepers". BBC News UK. BBC. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
- ^ "Light goes out on maritime history". The Independent. 26 October 1998. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
- ^ "Port of Lancaster". History. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ "North Foreland Lighthouse, Broadstairs, Kent". Art UK. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
- ^ https://www.achurchnearyou.com/search/?lat=51.38&lon=1.43 Church of England parish map (ecclesiastical parish) finder.
- ^ "Northforeland Radio Callsign "GNF"". Retrieved 6 January 2019.