Gunfleet Lighthouse
 Distant view taken in 2010 | |
 | |
| Location | offshore of Frinton-on-Sea Essex England |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°46′08″N 1°20′30″E / 51.76889°N 1.34167°E |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1850 |
| Built by | James Walker  |
| Construction | screw-pile tower |
| Height | 23 metres (75 ft) |
| Shape | hexagonal tower with keeper's quarter, balcony and lantern |
| Operator | Gunfleet Sands Windfarm[1] |
| Light | |
| Deactivated | 1921 |
Gunfleet Lighthouse is a derelict screw-pile lighthouse lying in the North Sea, six miles off the coast at Frinton-on-Sea in Essex, constructed in 1850 by James Walker of Trinity House. George Henry Saunders was the contractor. Walker and Burges were the Engineers.[2] It is 74 feet (23 m) in height and hexagonal in plan; mounted on seven piles forming a steel lattice and originally painted red. [3]
When in use, the lighthouse was manned by two keepers. They were accommodated in a single-storey dwelling, immediately below the lantern, which was divided into a living room (also used as a kitchen), a bed room and an oil room (in which the fuel for the lamps was stored). The walls and roof were of corrugated iron, with wrought iron angle plates. Additional storage space was provided in the 'inverted pyramid' beneath the dwelling, which was accessed by a ladder from the gallery.[4]
The light flashed red once every 30 seconds, using Argand lamps and reflectors mounted on a revolving triangular frame, with a pane of red glass mounted in front of each reflector. Initially nine lamps and reflectors were used (three groups of three),[5] but the number was later increased to fifteen (three groups of five).[4]
Gunfleet lighthouse was deactivated in 1921.[6] It remains in use as an automated weather station by the Port of London Authority,[3] and marks the northern limit of their jurisdiction.[7]
In 1974 an attempt was made to use the lighthouse as a base for the pirate radio station Radio Atlantis but this was thwarted by the authorities.[6]
See also
References
- ^ Gunfleet The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 1 May 2016
- ^ "Gunfleet Lighthouse". Grace's Guide to British Industrial History. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Gunfleet Lighthouse". Retrieved 3 December 2012.
- ^ a b "Light-houses". Van Nostrand's Engineering Magazine. XIV (LXXXVI): 102. February 1876.
- ^ "Lighthouse management : the report of the Royal Commissioners on Lights, Buoys, and Beacons, 1861, examined and refuted Vol. 1". p. 33.
- ^ a b "Gunfleet Lighthouse". Offshore Radio Museum. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
- ^ "Tide Tables and Port Information" (PDF). Port of London Authority. p. 8. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
External links
- 2005 tour of the lighthouse (including internal photographs)
- More external photographs from 2005
- Day-trip to Gunfleet Lighthouse
Media related to Gunfleet Lighthouse at Wikimedia Commons
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