Whiteford Lighthouse
Encyclopedia
Whiteford Point Lighthouse is located off the coast at Whiteford Point near Whiteford Sands
, on the Gower Peninsula
, south Wales
.
built in 1865, by the Llanelli
Harbour and Burry Navigation Commissioners to mark the shoals of Whiteford Point, replacing an earlier piled structure of 1854, of which nothing remains. It is the only wave-swept cast-iron tower of this size in Britain. The tower
is 44 feet high and stands just above low-water level. The base is about 24 feet in diameter and rises gracefully to a diameter of 11 feet six inches at lantern level. Around the base of the Lighthouse lies a pitched stone apron.
. These are linked horizontally by walling pieces, using 500 cast-iron plants and bolts. These would have formed a box, probably square or octagonal, which would have been excavated and partially filled with concrete
. The materials were delivered by boat and, work undertaken during low tide.
The structure of the shell is formed from 105 bent and tapered cast-iron plates, each about 32mm thick, with an upstand flange
on each side, and bolted with cast-iron bolts, each weighing 2 lbs. There are eight levels of panel tapering to the sixth 'course'. The first three horizontal joints are covered by iron bands supported on brackets and topped with fillets of concrete.
Throughout the 1870s vertical cracks developed in the plates of the lowest three rings. A local blacksmith
, called Mr Powell, made wrought iron straps, which were then bolted to the flanges on each side of the cracked plates. At the time, the cracks were put down to lateral pressures, arising from the settlement of the inner masonry being composed of rough beach stones and 'bad' mortar
. By 1884, 150 straps had been fitted. The compaction of the fill may have been compounded by movement (swaying) of the tower, reported in 1884 by the lighthouse keeper
to have been 'several inches'. In 1885, the ground around the tower was strengthened with the addition of a concrete skirt 18" deep, bound by a 2" wide iron band, effectively anchoring the skirt to the base of the tower.
The equipment for the Lighthouse is listed in an inventory of 1888 and indicates that provision was made for two lighthouse keepers, although each of the census
returns of 1871, 1881, 1891, and 1901, name one keeper. The working pattern was two weeks at Whitford Lighthouse alternating with two weeks at Llanelli Harbour Lighthouse.
s and reflectors were fitted, one towards the Lynch Pool or south channel, one towards Burry Port
, and one towards Llanelli. In 1876, the Harbour Master set a fourth lamp to shine west along the north channel. The Admiralty
chart of 1887 shows the "Arc of Visibility" of the lights from slightly west of south, through north, to slightly south of east.
The Lighthouse was discontinued in 1920, when responsibility for the light was transferred to Trinity House
, who decided to establish a new beacon at Burry Holms
. However, after pleas from local yachtsmen, the light was relit in the 1980s. This gave an additional point of reference when navigating the waters between the Gower Peninsula
and Burry Port: on dark nights, boat crews often found themselves on top of Whiteford Point before realizing the fact. The cost was £1,300, with £1,000 being funded by the Harbour Commissioners, and the balance by Burry Port Yacht Club. The new light was fully automatic and switched on when daylight faded to a pre-determined level. Two nautical almanacs, published in 1987, Reeds, and Macmillan and Silk Cut, listed the Lighthouse as flashing every five seconds.
After a failure of the solar unit, the light was removed and not replaced. However, the Lighthouse still has navigational value in daylight. The Lighthouse is now owned by Carmarthenshire County Council
.
Harbour and was built in 1803. The architect was Jernegan, and the plates were cast at the Neath Abbey
Ironworks.
Cast-iron was also used for Maryport Lighthouse
, Cumberland
, in 1834. In 1836, the lighthouse at the Town Pier, Gravesend, Kent
, was built from cast-iron. In 1842, two cast-iron leading lights were erected at Aberdeen
, with elegant tapering octagonal towers, and a smooth external face. At Sunderland, another well-known example was built on the pier head in 1856.
The first 'solid' rock or wave-washed cast-iron tower was erected on the exposed Fastnet Rock
in 1854, but this cracked and was replaced by a masonry tower in 1904.
In the middle of the nineteenth century, the engineer Alexander Gordon designed a number of fine cast-iron towers for colonial waters. These were cast at Pimlico
and shipped out to be erected by comparatively unskilled labour. Some still survive in Jamaica
and Bermuda
, and a cast-iron tower at Tiri-tiri, New Zealand
, built in 1920, is one of the last in this material.
Whiteford Lighthouse is the only cast-iron lighthouse in Britain which is wave-washed, although it can be reached at foot at low tide. The remaining handful of lighthouses of this type stand well clear of the water either on harbour piers or reefs.
Whitford Lighthouse is listed by Cadw
as Grade II* as a rare survival of a wave-swept cast-iron lighthouse in British coastal waters, and an important work of cast-iron architecture
and nineteenth century lighthouse design and construction. It is also a Scheduled Ancient Monument
.
The fact that the first known cast-iron British lighthouse (Swansea Harbour, 1803) and one of the last (Whiteford Point, 1865) are close together geographically is of particular significance in a local context
Whiteford Sands
Whiteford Sands is a two mile expanse of beach on the northern side of the Gower Peninsula, south Wales. It is the most northerly beach on Gower and sits on the edge of the Loughor estuary....
, on the Gower Peninsula
Gower Peninsula
Gower or the Gower Peninsula is a peninsula in south Wales, jutting from the coast into the Bristol Channel, and administratively part of the City and County of Swansea. Locally it is known as "Gower"...
, south Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
Description
It is an unusual cast-iron lighthouseLighthouse
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....
built in 1865, by the Llanelli
Llanelli
Llanelli , the largest town in both the county of Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed , Wales, sits on the Loughor estuary on the West Wales coast, approximately west-north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. The town is famous for its proud rugby...
Harbour and Burry Navigation Commissioners to mark the shoals of Whiteford Point, replacing an earlier piled structure of 1854, of which nothing remains. It is the only wave-swept cast-iron tower of this size in Britain. The tower
Tower
A tower is a tall structure, usually taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires....
is 44 feet high and stands just above low-water level. The base is about 24 feet in diameter and rises gracefully to a diameter of 11 feet six inches at lantern level. Around the base of the Lighthouse lies a pitched stone apron.
Construction and maintenance
The Lighthouse sits on 88 wooden piles driven into glacial moraineMoraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
. These are linked horizontally by walling pieces, using 500 cast-iron plants and bolts. These would have formed a box, probably square or octagonal, which would have been excavated and partially filled with concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
. The materials were delivered by boat and, work undertaken during low tide.
The structure of the shell is formed from 105 bent and tapered cast-iron plates, each about 32mm thick, with an upstand flange
Flange
A flange is an external or internal ridge, or rim , for strength, as the flange of an iron beam such as an I-beam or a T-beam; or for attachment to another object, as the flange on the end of a pipe, steam cylinder, etc., or on the lens mount of a camera; or for a flange of a rail car or tram wheel...
on each side, and bolted with cast-iron bolts, each weighing 2 lbs. There are eight levels of panel tapering to the sixth 'course'. The first three horizontal joints are covered by iron bands supported on brackets and topped with fillets of concrete.
Throughout the 1870s vertical cracks developed in the plates of the lowest three rings. A local blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
, called Mr Powell, made wrought iron straps, which were then bolted to the flanges on each side of the cracked plates. At the time, the cracks were put down to lateral pressures, arising from the settlement of the inner masonry being composed of rough beach stones and 'bad' mortar
Mortar (masonry)
Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder...
. By 1884, 150 straps had been fitted. The compaction of the fill may have been compounded by movement (swaying) of the tower, reported in 1884 by the lighthouse keeper
Lighthouse keeper
A lighthouse keeper is the person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Keepers were needed to trim the wicks, replenish fuel, wind clockworks and perform maintenance tasks such as cleaning...
to have been 'several inches'. In 1885, the ground around the tower was strengthened with the addition of a concrete skirt 18" deep, bound by a 2" wide iron band, effectively anchoring the skirt to the base of the tower.
The equipment for the Lighthouse is listed in an inventory of 1888 and indicates that provision was made for two lighthouse keepers, although each of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
returns of 1871, 1881, 1891, and 1901, name one keeper. The working pattern was two weeks at Whitford Lighthouse alternating with two weeks at Llanelli Harbour Lighthouse.
The lamp
Three Argand lampArgand lamp
The Argand lamp is home lighting oil lamp producing a light output of 6 to 10 candlepower which was invented and patented in 1780 by Aimé Argand...
s and reflectors were fitted, one towards the Lynch Pool or south channel, one towards Burry Port
Burry Port
Burry Port is a small town five miles outside the larger centre of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales, lying on the Loughor estuary. The town's population is roughly 8,000 although in the 2001 census there were 4209 residents....
, and one towards Llanelli. In 1876, the Harbour Master set a fourth lamp to shine west along the north channel. The Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
chart of 1887 shows the "Arc of Visibility" of the lights from slightly west of south, through north, to slightly south of east.
The Lighthouse was discontinued in 1920, when responsibility for the light was transferred to Trinity House
Trinity House
The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond is the official General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales and other British territorial waters...
, who decided to establish a new beacon at Burry Holms
Burry Holms
Burry Holms is a small tidal island located at the northern end of the Gower Peninsula, Wales. 9,000 years ago it was up to 12 miles away from the sea and inhabited by nomadic Mesolithic hunters...
. However, after pleas from local yachtsmen, the light was relit in the 1980s. This gave an additional point of reference when navigating the waters between the Gower Peninsula
Gower Peninsula
Gower or the Gower Peninsula is a peninsula in south Wales, jutting from the coast into the Bristol Channel, and administratively part of the City and County of Swansea. Locally it is known as "Gower"...
and Burry Port: on dark nights, boat crews often found themselves on top of Whiteford Point before realizing the fact. The cost was £1,300, with £1,000 being funded by the Harbour Commissioners, and the balance by Burry Port Yacht Club. The new light was fully automatic and switched on when daylight faded to a pre-determined level. Two nautical almanacs, published in 1987, Reeds, and Macmillan and Silk Cut, listed the Lighthouse as flashing every five seconds.
After a failure of the solar unit, the light was removed and not replaced. However, the Lighthouse still has navigational value in daylight. The Lighthouse is now owned by Carmarthenshire County Council
Carmarthenshire County Council
Carmarthenshire County Council is the local authority for the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales, providing a range of services under the control of elected county councillors that include education, planning, transport, social services and public safety...
.
Historical significance
The first known cast-iron British lighthouse was at SwanseaSwansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
Harbour and was built in 1803. The architect was Jernegan, and the plates were cast at the Neath Abbey
Neath Abbey
Neath Abbey was a Cistercian monastery, located near the present-day town of Neath in southern Wales, UK.It was once the largest abbey in Wales. Substantial ruins can still be seen, and are in the care of Cadw...
Ironworks.
Cast-iron was also used for Maryport Lighthouse
Maryport Lighthouse
Maryport Lighthouse is a small Lighthouse located in Maryport, Cumbria, England, formerly run by the UK's General Lighthouse Authority, Trinity House. The original Maryport lighthouse was built in 1796, and was running on Acetylene by 1946. Trinity House took charge of it in 1961. The painter L. S...
, Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
, in 1834. In 1836, the lighthouse at the Town Pier, Gravesend, Kent
Gravesend, Kent
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...
, was built from cast-iron. In 1842, two cast-iron leading lights were erected at Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, with elegant tapering octagonal towers, and a smooth external face. At Sunderland, another well-known example was built on the pier head in 1856.
The first 'solid' rock or wave-washed cast-iron tower was erected on the exposed Fastnet Rock
Fastnet Rock
Fastnet Rock is a small island in the Atlantic Ocean and the most southerly point of Ireland. It lies southwest of Cape Clear Island and from County Cork on the Irish mainland...
in 1854, but this cracked and was replaced by a masonry tower in 1904.
In the middle of the nineteenth century, the engineer Alexander Gordon designed a number of fine cast-iron towers for colonial waters. These were cast at Pimlico
Pimlico
Pimlico is a small area of central London in the City of Westminster. Like Belgravia, to which it was built as a southern extension, Pimlico is known for its grand garden squares and impressive Regency architecture....
and shipped out to be erected by comparatively unskilled labour. Some still survive in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
and Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, and a cast-iron tower at Tiri-tiri, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, built in 1920, is one of the last in this material.
Whiteford Lighthouse is the only cast-iron lighthouse in Britain which is wave-washed, although it can be reached at foot at low tide. The remaining handful of lighthouses of this type stand well clear of the water either on harbour piers or reefs.
Whitford Lighthouse is listed by Cadw
Cadw
-Conservation and Protection:Many of Wales's great castles and other monuments, such as bishop's palaces, historic houses, and ruined abbeys, are now in Cadw's care. Cadw does not own them but is responsible for their upkeep and for making them accessible to the public...
as Grade II* as a rare survival of a wave-swept cast-iron lighthouse in British coastal waters, and an important work of cast-iron architecture
Cast-iron architecture
Cast-iron architecture is a form of architecture where cast iron plays a central role. It was a prominent style in the Industrial Revolution era when cast iron was relatively cheap and modern steel had not yet been developed.-Structural use:...
and nineteenth century lighthouse design and construction. It is also a Scheduled Ancient Monument
Scheduled Ancient Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...
.
The fact that the first known cast-iron British lighthouse (Swansea Harbour, 1803) and one of the last (Whiteford Point, 1865) are close together geographically is of particular significance in a local context