Llanddwyn Island Lighthouse

Tŵr Mawr Lighthouse

Tŵr Mawr lighthouse
Wales
Location Ynys Llanddwyn
Anglesey
Wales
United Kingdom
Coordinates 53°08′07″N 4°24′56″W / 53.135165°N 4.415574°W / 53.135165; -4.415574Coordinates: 53°08′07″N 4°24′56″W / 53.135165°N 4.415574°W / 53.135165; -4.415574
Year first constructed 1845
Deactivated 1975
Construction stone tower
Tower shape massive conical tower and roof
Markings / pattern white tower
Height 11 metres (36 ft)
Focal height 25 metres (82 ft)
Range 7 nautical miles (13 km; 8.1 mi)
Admiralty number A5210.1
ARLHS number WAL-057
Managing agent

Llanddwyn Island National Nature Reserve [1]

[2]
Twr Bach Lighthouse

This beacon is older than Twr Mawr lighthouse
Location Ynys Llanddwyn
Anglesey
Wales
United Kingdom
Coordinates 53°08′03″N 4°24′46″W / 53.134238°N 4.412894°W / 53.134238; -4.412894
Year first constructed early 1800s
Year first lit 1975
Automated 1975
Construction stone tower
Tower shape conical tower with light on the top
Markings / pattern white tower
Height 5 metres (16 ft)
Focal height 12 metres (39 ft)
Light source solar power
Characteristic Fl WR 2.5s.
Admiralty number A5210
NGA number 5528
ARLHS number WAL-046
Managing agent Llanddwyn Island National Nature Reserve [3] [4]

Tŵr Mawr lighthouse (meaning "great tower" in Welsh), on Ynys Llanddwyn on Anglesey, Wales, marks the western entrance to the Menai Strait.

History

The 1873 tower is tapered in a style characteristic of Anglesey windmills. It is 33 feet (10 m) high and 18 feet (5.5 m) in diameter. It may have been constructed by an Anglesey stone mason, and it is possible that the tower itself was originally used as a windmill.

The lantern and fittings cost £250 7s 6d, including the adaptation of an "earlier tower". The north-east door is flanked by small windows, and the two floors above also have small windows, but the top does not. The conical roof is slated and has a flagpole. The present lantern window is about 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) by 2 feet (0.61 m). The optic, silver-plated reflector and Fresnel lens are dated 1861 and were used into the 1970s. The lantern was originally lit by six Argand lamps with reflectors.

A smaller, conical tower, with a domed top, can be found to the south-east, and may be an earlier structure. The walls are 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m) in radius and 3 feet (0.91 m) thick, with a door to the north-west, and show signs of cracking to the rubble-filled walls on the west.

Neither tower is shown on the chart of Lewis Morris, dated 1800, but they both appear on the Ordnance Survey 1818-1823 2 inches/mile map. They both probably originated as unlit markers. The cottages nearby have been used as craft workshops, and the local community here once serviced pilot-boats and lifeboats.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Twr Mawr The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 1 June 2016
  2. ↑ Twr Mawr Light Lighthouse Explorer. Retrieved 1 June 2016
  3. ↑ Twr Bach The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 1 June 2016
  4. ↑ Twr Bach Light Lighthouse Explorer. Retrieved 1 June 2016


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