Corsewall Lighthouse
Encyclopedia
Corsewall Lighthouse is a lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....

 at Corsewall Point, Kirkcolm near Stranraer
Stranraer
Stranraer is a town in the southwest of Scotland. It lies in the west of Dumfries and Galloway and in the county of Wigtownshire.Stranraer lies on the shores of Loch Ryan on the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland...

 in the region of Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It was one of the nine administrative 'regions' of mainland Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government etc. Act 1973...

 in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. First lit in 1817, it overlooks the North Channel
North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland)
The North Channel is the strait which separates eastern Northern Ireland from southwestern Scotland...

 of the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...

. The definition of the name Corsewall is the place or well of the Cross.

History

In 1814, a Kirkman Finley applied to the Trade of Clyde for a lighthouse on Corsill Point. The Northern Lighthouse Board Engineer investigated and made the decision that a light at the entrance of Lochryan in Galloway and also one on the Point of Ayre
Point of Ayre
The Point of Ayre is the northernmost point of the Isle of Man. It lies at the northern end of Ramsey Bay north of the town of Ramsey. The point can be accessed by the A16 road from Bride....

 in the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

, would be the most beneficial. Robert Stevenson
Robert Stevenson (civil engineer)
Robert Stevenson FRSE MInstCE FSAS MWS FGS FRAS FSA was a Scottish civil engineer and famed designer and builder of lighthouses.One of his finest achievements was the construction of the Bell Rock Lighthouse.-Early life:...

, inspected in December of that year and soon the 30ft tower and house were in the first stages of construction.

Corsewall Lighthouse was exhibited in 1817 but that year, the Principal Keeper at Corsewall was reported for incompetence after falling asleep on duty as the revolving apparatus of the light had stopped for a certain period. They suspended him and he was to never chiefly monitor a lighthouse again and was demoted as an assistant at Bell Rock.

In November 1970, Concorde
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...

 reportedly flew over the lighthouse on a trial flight and shattered panes of glass on the lighthouse. Later flights did not affect it.

Corsewall Lighthouse was automated in 1994 and is now only loosely monitored from the Northern Lighthouse Board's offices in Edinburgh. Although the light is still operated by the Northern Lighthouse Board
Northern Lighthouse Board
The Northern Lighthouse Board is the General Lighthouse Authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man. It is a non-departmental public body responsible for marine navigation aids around coastal areas.-History:...

, since automation in 1994 the rest of Corsewall Lighthouse has been converted into the four-star Corsewall Lighthouse Hotel.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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