Eddystone Lighthouse
Devon, England
The Eddystone Lighthouse is located on the dangerous Eddystone rocks, 9 miles south of Rame Head and represents a feat of engineering in terms of design and construction.
The current lighthouse was built in May 1882. It was founded on the actual body of the reef and was completed in three and a half years. It was designed and built by James Douglass, Engineer-in-Chief of Trinity House and stands at 40 metres high.
In 1982 it became fully automatic, bringing an end to 284 years of Keepers of the Eddystone Light. In August 1999, the electric light in the lantern began to be generated by solar panels. Today, the beam can be seen up to 17 miles away.
This is the fourth famous lighthouse to have been built to mark the dangerous Eddystone Reef. The predecessor to this lighthouse is Smeaton’s Tower, which is now a tourist attraction on Plymouth’s Hoe. Most of the reef is submerged with only three feet of rock visible at high tide.
Text courtesy of Jo Clarke, Plymouth City Council