Hartland Point |
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° 01'.3 N 04° 31'.4 W Location: North Devon coast - headland in Bude Bay No. On Admiralty List of Lights: 5622 Present Tower Built: 1874 Tower Composition: circular granite Height of Tower: 34 ft (9.22 m) (ground floor to gallery) Designer: James Nicholas Douglass Focal Height of Light: 121 ft 4 ins (37 m) above mean high water First Lit: 22nd October 1874 Light Characteristic: white group flashing every 15 seconds Visible Range on clear night: nominal 20 nautical miles Automated: May 1984 Hartland Point lighthouse guides vessels of all types approaching the Bristol Channel. The station complex was built on a large rock at the tip of the point, by Trinity House in 1874 under the direction of James Nicholas Douglass, its Engineer-in-Chief. However the lighthouse was threatened by the undermining action of the sea to such an extent that rock had to be broken from the cliff head behind the station. This was allowed to fall on to the beach to form a barrier against the waves. Unfortunately this procedure had to be repeated at frequent intervals. Whenever a North Westerly gale coincided with a high spring tide, the rock deposits were washed away. Eventually it became necessary to construct a permanent barrier, which resulted in a substantial sea wall 30 metres long and 6 metres high being constructed in 1925. Prior to automation in 1984 the station was manned by 4 keepers, who lived in dwellings attached to the lighthouse with their families. The dwellings were demolished when the station was de-manned in order to allow for the construction of a helipad next to the tower. Today the lighthouse is monitored from the Trinity House Operations Centre at Harwich in Essex. |
