Lizard Lighthouse

The first lighthouse at the Lizard point (the most southerly point of Britain) was built by Sir John Killigrew who paid for the construction at his own expense. Though he was willing to build the tower he was unable to finance the maintenance of the tower and intended to to fund maintenance by collecting fees from passing ships. The tower was completed by Christmas 1619 however the shipowners failed to help with the upkeep and mounting costs were bankrupting Killigrew.

James I then set a fee of one halfpenny a ton on all vessels passing the light but this caused so much uproar from the shipowners that it ultimately led to the light being extinguished and the tower demolished. In 1748 Trinity House supported a request by the private entrepreneur Thomas Fonnereau to construct a new light and it was first lit on 22nd August 1752. The construction consisted of two towers with a cottage built between them both. In 1771 Trinity house assumed responsibility for the lights and commenced making improvements to the site by replacing the coal lights with oil lights in 1811. A further 3 cottages were added in 1845 followed by the construction of an engine room in 1874 which made it possible to have a new fog signal and electric power.

In 1903 a new first order optic was fitted to the eastern tower supplied by Chance Brothers of Smethwick near Birmingham. This had a high powered carbon arc light and the western lantern was extinguished and removed. Though the Chance lens is in situ at present (July 2022) it is likely that this will be removed and replaced in the next two years. In 1936 an electric filament lamp was fitted and in 1998 the light was automated and the keepers withdrawn. In July 2009 HRH the Princess Royal officially opened the Lizard Lighthouse Centre made possible with a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund which was used to renovate the engine room which is now an excellent visitor centre for all ages. The Heritage Centre takes regular tours to the lightouse tower and it is possible to climb the steps to the lantern room. Some of the lighthouse keepers accommodation has now been made into holiday cottages

Chance Brothers Lighthouse Chance Brothers Lighthouse
  • Date of lens manufacture

    1875 and 1903

  • Date of lighthouse construction

    1751

  • Country

    United Kingdom

  • Commissioning body

    Trinity House 1771

  • Order of lens

    2nd Order four panel catadioptric

  • Fixed or revolving lens

    Revolving

  • Active/Inactive

    Active

  • Describe the character of light

    Fl 3s 26 nmi (48 km)

  • Describe the lighthouses daymarks

    70 m (230 ft) White twin octagonal towers with balcony and lantern connected by keeper's quarter.

  • Which aspects of the lighthouse (other than the lens) were manufactured by Chance brothers
    ---
  • Describe the history of the lighthouse

    A light was first exhibited here in 1619, built thanks to the efforts of Sir Christopher Dimaline but it was extinguished and the tower demolished in 1630 because of difficulties in raising funds for its operation and maintenance.

    The current lighthouse, consisting of two towers with cottages between them, was built in 1751 by the landowner Thomas Fonnereau; each tower was topped by a coal-fired brazier. Trinity House took responsibility for the installation in 1771. In 1812 the coal burners on each tower were replaced with Argand lamps and reflectors. In each tower a fixed arrangement of nineteen lamps and reflectors was installed. In 1873 the original lamps and reflectors were still in use. That year, because of the number of wrecks still occurring around the Point, the decision was taken to upgrade the lights and provide a fog signal.

    Therefore, in 1874, the site was significantly changed by the building of an engine room to provide electric power, not only for the lights but also for a fog siren. The engine room was equipped with three 10 hp caloric engines by A & F Brown of New York, driving six Siemens dynamo-electric machines, which in turn powered an arc lamp in each tower; (caloric engines were used because there was no nearby source of fresh water for steam power). At the same time a pair of medium-sized (third-order) fixed catadioptric optics were installed, one on each tower, designed by John Hopkinson of Chance Brothers. The siren was in use from January 1878; it sounded (one blast every five minutes) through a 15-foot (4.6 m) horizontal horn which was installed on the roof of the engine house and could be moved depending on the prevailing wind direction. The new electric lights were first lit on 29 March that same year. In 1885 the Siemens dynamos were replaced by a pair of more powerful de Méritens magneto-electric generators.

    In 1903 there were further changes when a large four-panel rotating optic, manufactured by Chance Brothers, was installed in the eastern tower and both the lantern and light on the western tower were removed (it was announced that this 'new revolving light of very great power' would be 'visible at a distance of between 40 and 50 miles'). In 1908 a new pair of sirens were installed (sounding out to sea through twin 'trumpets' on the roof of the engine house) and a trio of Hornsby oil engines replaced the caloric engines . Soon afterwards an underwater bell was set up two miles south of the Lizard, operated by an electric striker controlled from the lighthouse via a submarine cable.

    A carbon arc lamp continued to provide the light source until it was superseded in 1926 by an electric filament lamp, which enabled a reduction in the number of personnel at the lighthouse from five to three. The new lighting system, designed and installed by the General Electric Company, functioned automatically: a lamp changer was provided which would switch to a reserve electric or emergency acetylene lamp in the event of a bulb or power failure; and an automatic winding device was fitted to the clockwork mechanism that rotated the lenses. Transformers were introduced in the engine room to allow the 40-year-old magnetos to remain in use, along with the Hornsby engines.

    The engines and magneto generators continued in daily use until 1950, when the lighthouse was connected to mains electricity. In that year four Gardner diesel engines were installed, three to run compressors for the fog signal, the other linked to a pair of generators for use in the event of a mains power failure. In March 1954 the lighthouse keeper and assistants were able to put out a fire that was started in the exhaust pits of the engines providing the electric power. The clockwork drive, used to rotate the optic, was replaced with an electric motor in 1972.

    In 1998, Lizard Lighthouse was automated and demanned.[5] The fog horn was decommissioned in 1998 and replaced with an automatic electronic fog signal; at the time it was the last compressed-air fog signal still in use in the United Kingdom. The machinery is still in place and it is still occasionally sounded to mark special occasions. The rotating optic continues in use to this day.

  • Current management body/ ports authority

    Trinity House

  • Historical preservation societies/manager/operator

    Trinity House

  • Is the site vulnerable to coastal erosion?
    ---
  • Have you experienced any affects of climate change on the lighthouse?

    None known

  • Observations on the condition of the lighthouse?

    The lighthouse is in excellent condition.

  • Is the site open/closed to the public

    Open

  • Is the tower open/closed to the public

    Open

  • Latitude and Longitude

    49.95999° -5.202563°

  • On-site bookable accommodation available
    yes
  • Associated web addresses
  • Other details

    https://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/lighthouse-visitor-centres/lizard-lighthouse-visitor-centre

    Lizard Lighthouse Heritage Centre

    The flagship visitor centre reopened in 2009 with interactives, bright displays, historical artefacts and a shop with gifts for all ages

    With the help of a generous grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Trinity House renovated the Engine Room at Lizard Lighthouse, retaining some of the old engines. It also features exhibition material, an audio visual room and a number of interactive displays. The Lizard Lighthouse Heritage Centre was officially opened in 2009 by HRH The Princess Royal.

    The distinctive twin towers of Lizard Lighthouse mark the most southerly point of mainland Britain. See displays depicting Trinity House's history, housed in the original engine room. It was commissioned in 1752. For over 250 years, the lighthouse has provided a welcoming landfall light to vessels crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

    Tours of Lizard Lighthouse are organised under licence from the Corporation of Trinity House.

    Tickets are purchased on the day, from the Lizard Lighthouse and Heritage Centre directly, subject to availability.

  • Which resources did you use to research this lighthouses?
added on July 23, 2022
Made In Smethwick: Lighthouses Around the World

In the 1800s, Chance Brothers & Co glassworks in Smethwick began making the hi-tech lenses that lighthouses use to warn ships of dangerous locations. By 1951, over 2,500 lighthouses around the world were fitted with a Chance lens.

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