Eddystone Lighthouse
The Eddystone Lighthouse is a lighthouse that is located on the Eddystone Rocks, 9 statute miles (14 km) south of Rame Head in Cornwall, England. The rocks are submerged below the surface of the sea and are composed of Precambrian gneiss.
An aerial view of the fourth lighthouse. (The stub of the third lighthouse is visible in the background.) | |
| Location | offshore Rame Head, England, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 50°10′48″N 04°15′54″W |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1698 (first) 1709 (second) 1759 (third) 1878–1881 (fourth) |
| Construction | wooden tower (first and second) granite tower (third and current) |
| Automated | 1982 |
| Height | 18 metres (59 ft) (first) 21 metres (69 ft) (second) 22 metres (72 ft) (third) 49 metres (161 ft) (current) |
| Shape | octagonal tower (first) dodecagonal tower (second) tapered cylindrical tower (third) tapered cylindrical tower with lantern and helipad on the top (current) |
| Power source | solar power |
| Operator | Trinity House |
| Fog signal | one blast every 30s. |
| Racon | T |
| Light | |
| First lit | 1882 (current) |
| Deactivated | 1703 (first) 1755 (second) 1877 (third) |
| Focal height | 41 metres (135 ft) |
| Lens | 4th order 250 mm rotating |
| Intensity | 26,200 candela |
| Range | 17 nautical miles (31 km) |
| Characteristic | Fl (2) W 10s. Iso R 10s. at 28 metres (92 ft) focal height |
The current structure is the fourth to be built on the site. The first lighthouse (Winstanley's) was swept away in a powerful storm, killing its architect and five other men in the process. The second (Rudyard's) stood for fifty years before it burned down. The third (Smeaton's) is renowned because of its influence on lighthouse design and its importance in the development of concrete for building; its upper portions were re-erected in Plymouth as a monument. The first lighthouse, completed in 1699, was the world's first open ocean lighthouse, although the Cordouan Lighthouse off the western French coast preceded it as the first offshore lighthouse.