Coquet Island |
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: 55° 20'.0 N 01° 32'.2 W Location: Approximately 1 mile off the Northumbrian town of Amble No. On Admiralty List of Lights: 2780 Lighthouse Established: 1841 Tower Composition: Square castellated stone Height of Tower: 72 ft (22 m) Designer: James Walker Resident Engineer: Nicholas Douglass Focal Height of Light: 83 ft (25.25 m) above mean high water First Lit: September 1841 Light Characteristic: White and red occulting light every 30 seconds Visible Range on clear night: nominal 15 nautical miles Automated: 1990 Corporation: Trinity House Monarch at time of construction: Queen Victoria (1837-1901) History: Coquet Island is a small low tract of green pasture land lying close inshore off the Northumberland coast. In 1841 Trinity House built a very substantial lighthouse on the south western shore at a cost of £3,268. The lighthouse was built to the design of James Walker, the white square tower is of sandstone surrounded by a turreted parapet with walls in excess of one metre thick. The dwelling houses are also an integral part of the fortress-like structure where the keepers appointed to attend the light lived during their periods on duty. The first keeper appointed to Coquet lighthouse was William Darling, elder brother of Grace Darling. He was in fact the second of her brothers to become a keeper in the Trinity House Service. It has been said that it was probably a boat trip to see her brother at Coquet Island in the summer of 1842 that led to a chill which eventually proved fatal to her. Coquet Lighthouse was converted to automatic operation in December, 1990 and is now monitored from the Trinity House Operations Control Centre at Harwich. |