Caldey |
Photo with kind permission of Trinity House. Please note that any items in RED means there is a fuller version relating to this particular name or subject, which can be found in the Main Search index. Position: 51° 37'.86 N 04° 41'.00 W Location: Off Tenby, Pembrokshire Wales (Dyfed) coast No. On Admiralty List of Lights: 4328 Lighthouse Established: 1829 Tower Composition: Limestone and masonry - cavity construction Height of Tower: 32 ft 3 ins (9.8 m) from ground floor to gallery Designer/Builder: Joseph Nelson Focal Height of Light: 213 ft (65 m) above mean high water First Lit: 26th January 1829 Light Characteristic: White and red group flash 3 times every 20 seconds Visible Range on clear night: nominal 14 nautical miles Automated: 1927 Corporation: Trinity House Monarch at time of construction: George IV (1820-1830) History: Caldey Island lies about 3 miles off the south coast of Pembrokeshire facing the town and harbour of Tenby. it is 1½ miles long and less that ¾ mile wide. In 1131 the island was donated to the Benedictine monks from the Abbey of Tiron in France. In 1536 the monks were expelled from the island and it was not until 1906 that an Anglican Benedictine brotherhood bought the island and erected the present monastery. In the early 1920's it was sold to the Order of the Reformed Cistercians. On the summit of the island, not far from the old Priory, stands the lighthouse which was erected by Trinity House in 1829 at a cost of £3,380 11s 7d. On either side of the tower and connected to it are two dwellings which were occupied by the keepers and their families prior to the conversion of the station to automatic unmanned operation in 1927. Caldey lighthouse was the last Trinity House lighthouse to be powered by acetylene gas until its modernisation which was completed in November 1997 when it was converted to mains electricity. |
