Eddystone lighthouse

Eddystone Lighthouse
Place:	England , English Channel
Location:	On a rock 12 nm south of Plymouth
Geographical location:	50 ° 10 '50.6 " N , 4 ° 15' 56.2" W Coordinates: 50 ° 10 '50.6 " N , 4 ° 15' 56.2" W.
Fire carrier height :	49 m
Fire height :	41 m
Identifier :	Fl (2) W.10s
Operating time:	since 1698

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The Eddystone Lighthouse ( English Eddystone Lighthouse ) is a lighthouse off the coast of Cornwall . It is one of the most famous lighthouses in the British Isles and stands about 14 km from the headland of Rame Head on the occasionally flooded Eddystone Rocks . The current lighthouse is the fourth at this point.

The Winstanley Tower (1698–1703)

The first lighthouse was built by Henry Winstanley between 1696 and 1698 . Winstanley had gone to sea as a merchant himself and therefore knew from personal experience the dangers of the Eddystone Shoal. He built an octagonal wooden tower on a small rock. The Admiralty recognized the importance of the sea mark for shipping, so that because of the Palatinate War of Succession, a warship should protect the construction workers. Nevertheless Winstanley was kidnapped in 1697 by a privateer , but he was quickly released again on the orders of Louis XIV , as the lighthouse was also useful for French shipping. Winstanley stayed in the tower during the great storm of 1703 , which destroyed it, killing Winstanley and five other people in the tower.

The Rudyerd Tower (1709–1755)

Thereafter, the rock was leased to a Captain Lovett , who was allowed to collect a customs duty from every ship passing the new lighthouse to be built. He had a new lighthouse built by John Rudyerd by 1709. Rudyerd was a merchant and had no practical experience in building ships or lighthouses, but his conical , wooden tower was completed despite the difficult building site and lasted for more than 40 years. On December 2, 1755, the top of the tower caught fire and could not be extinguished despite attempts by the two lighthouse keepers. The tower finally burned down completely, one of the lighthouse keepers suffered serious injuries while attempting to extinguish the fire, from which he died a few days later.

Smeaton's Tower (1759-1882)

After the first two wooden structures were destroyed by accidents at this point, John Smeaton designed a stone lighthouse. The construction was based on the shape of an oak trunk and consisted of granite blocks mortised together by dovetail joints and secured with waterproof concrete . Construction began in 1756 and was completed three years later. The lighthouse was 18 m high and had a diameter of 8 m at the base, which tapered to 5 m at the top. The lighthouse stood until 1877, when it was discovered that the subsoil had meanwhile been damaged by erosion. The upper parts of Smeaton's tower were demolished and rebuilt as a memorial on the Hoe in Plymouth , the stump of the base still stands next to the fourth tower.

Douglass' Tower (since 1882)

A fourth lighthouse was built in its place. It was built and designed by James Nicholas Douglass , who used improvements developed by Robert Stevenson and tested on the Bell Rock lighthouse . The fourth lighthouse started operating in 1882. 100 years later, operations were automated. The current tower is 49 meters high and its light can be seen 22 nautical miles .

He was the 1991 American Society of Civil Engineers in the List of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks added.

The public beacon management Trinity House is responsible for the operation .