Sombrero Island
Old lighthouse, Sombrero, and superintendant's house about 1880.
CC-PD-Mark
Chance Brothers Lighthouse
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Date of lens manufacture
1867
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Date of lighthouse construction
1868
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Country
Anguilla
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Commissioning body
Unknown
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Order of lens
2nd order
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Fixed or revolving lens
Revolving
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Active/Inactive
Active
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Describe the character of light
Fl W 10s
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Describe the lighthouses daymarks
Ruined base is all that remains of the 1868 lighthouse.
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Which aspects of the lighthouse (other than the lens) were manufactured by Chance brothers
Unknown
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Describe the history of the lighthouse
The light guards the Anegada Passage which is the most important sea route into the Carribean from Europe. The first lighthouse on the island was built by an American company that extracted phosphate from the island. It used a 2nd order optic supplied from Chance Brothers of Smethwick near Birmingham and came into operation on 1st January 1868. There appears to be just one old photo of this lighthouse on the internet and it shows a tall cast iron structure with balcony, light and roof with accommodation on some adjacent land. Though the island was claimed by the United States in 1856 in 1867 the U.S. agreed to recognize British soveriegnty of the island. It may well be that Chance Brothers were responsible for the whole lighthouse, bringing it across from the U.K. by boat in kit form as often happened with this type of iron structure, however I have been unable to confirm this. Unfortunately this lighthouse was heavily damaged by Hurricane Donna in 1960 and was replaced by a new lighthouse in 1962. Lighthouse keepers lived on the island until 2001 when Trinity House donated and installed a third new modern light tower.
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Current management body/ ports authority
Anguilla Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources.
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Historical preservation societies/manager/operator
Anguilla Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources.
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Is the site vulnerable to coastal erosion?
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Have you experienced any affects of climate change on the lighthouse?
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Observations on the condition of the lighthouse?
Original lighthouse is only the base.
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Is the site open/closed to the public
Open
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Is the tower open/closed to the public
Closed
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Latitude and Longitude
18°35′11.7″N 63°25′35.4″W
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On-site bookable accommodation available
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Associated web addresses
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Other details
Though I have listed the site as open, it is only accessible by boat.
ARLHS ANG-001; Admiralty J5650; NGA 14712.
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Which resources did you use to research this lighthouses?
Online research. The Lighthouse Work of Sir James T. Chance (APPENDIX)
Chance Lighthouse Destroyed or Ruined
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Date of decommissioning of lighthouse
1962