South Bishop Lighthouse

South Bishop Lighthouse

South Bishop Lighthouse from the sea.
Wales
Location South Bishop island
St George's Channel
Wales
United Kingdom
Coordinates 51°51′10″N 5°24′43″W / 51.852714°N 5.411925°W / 51.852714; -5.411925Coordinates: 51°51′10″N 5°24′43″W / 51.852714°N 5.411925°W / 51.852714; -5.411925
Year first constructed 1839
Automated 1983
Construction brick tower
Tower shape cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markings / pattern white tower and lantern
Height 11 m (36 ft)
Focal height 44 m (144 ft)
Current lens 4th Order Catadioptric
Light source solar power
Intensity 60,000 CD
Range 16 nmi (30 km)
Characteristic Fl W 5s.
Fog signal 3 blasts every 45s. (range of 2 nmi (3.7 km))
Admiralty number A5276
NGA number 5596
ARLHS number WAL-024
Managing agent

Trinity House[1]

[2]

The South Bishop Lighthouse is a lighthouse on South Bishop Island (also known as Emsger), a small rock approximately 5 miles (8 km) west of St Davids Head in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

History

Designed by James Walker, it was built on the island in 1839, acting both as a waymark for vessels navigating offshore and as assistance to ships navigating around the island group.

The lighthouse was converted to electric operation in 1959, and in 1971 a helipad was constructed at the site. Finally, the lighthouse was automated and demanned in 1983.

Like many in the UK, it is now monitored from the control centre at Trinity House in Harwich, Essex, England.

It was built in the path of many migrating sea birds, and the brilliance of the light at night often led the birds to dash themselves against the lantern. Many died and, when Trinity House and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds teamed up, they together came to the conclusion to build special bird perches on the side of the lighthouse lantern. After this the amount of deaths decreased considerably.

See also

References

  1. South Bishop The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 2 June 2016
  2. South Bishop Lighthouse Trinity House. Retrieved 2 June 2016


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