St Catherine's Point: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:St catherines lighthouse 2010.jpg|thumb| |
[[Image:St catherines lighthouse 2010.jpg|thumb|[[St. Catherine's Lighthouse]] at St. Catherine's Point]] |
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'''St. Catherine's Point''' is the southernmost point on the [[Isle of Wight]]. It is located close to the village of [[Niton, Isle of Wight|Niton]] and the point where the [[Back of the Wight]] changes to the [[Undercliff]] of Ventnor. |
'''St. Catherine's Point''' is the southernmost point on the [[Isle of Wight]]. It is located close to the village of [[Niton, Isle of Wight|Niton]] and the point where the [[Back of the Wight]] changes to the [[Undercliff]] of Ventnor. |
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St. Catherine's point is often foggy, so it is not the best location for a lighthouse, but as a weather station the location is fairly suitable. The weather station is one of the [[List of coastal weather stations in the British Isles|22 locations]] whose reports are included in the [[Shipping Forecast|BBC Shipping Forecast]]. |
St. Catherine's point is often foggy, so it is not the best location for a lighthouse, but as a weather station the location is fairly suitable. The weather station is one of the [[List of coastal weather stations in the British Isles|22 locations]] whose reports are included in the [[Shipping Forecast|BBC Shipping Forecast]]. |
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==St. Catherine's Lighthouse== |
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'''St. Catherine's Lighthouse''' was built after the wreck of the Clarendon in 1837 to the west of [[Niton, Isle of Wight|Niton]] at the foot of the [[Undercliff]]. The lighthouse is a 27 metre high white tower with another tower built on the front which contains the old fog signal. It is one of the oldest lighthouses in Great Britain, being first established in 1323. It has a range of {{convert|26|nmi|km}}. |
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[[Trinity House]] provides tours of the lighthouse year round. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*[http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/se/st_catherines_point_forecast_weather.html Weather station information at Met Office] |
*[http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/se/st_catherines_point_forecast_weather.html Weather station information at Met Office] |
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*[http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/events_and_leisure/visitor_centres/st_catherines.html St. Catherine's Lighthouse] - official tour information at [[Trinity House]] |
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*[http://www.isleofwightattractions.co.uk/StCatherinesLighthouse.htm Photos and information on St. Catherine's Lighthouse] |
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{{Lighthouses of Trinity House}} |
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[[Category:Headlands of the Isle of Wight]] |
[[Category:Headlands of the Isle of Wight]] |
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[[Category:Nature Conservation Review sites]] |
[[Category:Nature Conservation Review sites]] |
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[[Category:Lighthouses in England]] |
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[[Category:Lighthouse museums in England]] |
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[[Category:Museums on the Isle of Wight]] |
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{{IsleofWight-geo-stub}} |
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Revision as of 05:18, 2 June 2013
St. Catherine's Point is the southernmost point on the Isle of Wight. It is located close to the village of Niton and the point where the Back of the Wight changes to the Undercliff of Ventnor.
On nearby St. Catherine's Down is St. Catherine's Oratory, locally known as the "Pepperpot", a stone lighthouse built in the 1323 by Walter De Godeton. It is Britain's oldest medieval lighthouse.[1]
Reportedly, de Godeton felt guilty for having scavenged wine, destined for a monastery [2] from the wreck of the St. Marie of Bayonne in Chale Bay. He was ordered, on pain of excommunication, to make amends by building this lighthouse. Fires were lit in the lighthouse tower to warn ships at sea of the presence of the coast.
There was an attached chapel at one time, but it has been long demolished. There is a Bronze Age barrow nearby which was excavated in the 1920s.
A replacement lighthouse was begun in 1785. However it was never completed. Locally this half finished building is known as the "salt pot".
St. Catherine's point is often foggy, so it is not the best location for a lighthouse, but as a weather station the location is fairly suitable. The weather station is one of the 22 locations whose reports are included in the BBC Shipping Forecast.
See also
References
- ^ BBC h2g2 - The Pepper Pot
- ^ J.C Medland "Shipwrecks of the Wight".Coach House Publications ltd, 2004