Needles Lighthouse
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Position 50° 39'.70 N O1° 35,42 W
Set in the western approaches to the Isle of Wight, the Needles form a narrow chalky peninsula which rises from jagged rocks to 120m cliffs. These rocks have always been a hazard to ships making their way up the Solent to Portmouth and Southampton Water.
In 1781 merchants and shipowners petitioned Trinity House for a lighthouse. They obtained a patent in Janury 1782 which directed that lights should be:
kept burning in the nightseason whereby seafaring men and marinors might take notice and avoid danger ..... and ships and other vessels of war might safely cruise during the nightseason in the British Cannel.
It was proposed that William Tatnail should, at his own expense, build the 1ighthouse, dwellings and necessary communications roads and provide keepers at the Needles, St. Catherine's Point and Hurst Point. All dues would go to Trinity House who in run would pay Tatsall £960 a year for 21 years; alternatively Trinity House would build the lights.
Negotiations must have failed because it was not until 1785 that Trinity Home erected to the designs of R. Jupp, for 30 years surveyor to the East India Company, three lighthouses at the Needles, St. Catherine's Point and Hurst Point. The Needles tower was lighted on the 29th September !786, As the tower was situated on top of a cliff overhanging Scratehell's Bay, the light which was 144m above sea level was often obscured by sea mists and fogs and was therefore of limited use to mariners.
In 1859 Trinity House planned a new lighthouse to be built on the outermost of the chalk rocks near sea level. It was designed by James Walker and cost £20,000. The circular granite tower has perpendicular sides and is 33.25mm high, of uniform diameter with an unevenly stepped base to break the waves mxd discourage sea sweeping up the tower. The wall varies from 1.07m in thickness at the entrance to 0.61m at the top. Much of the base rock was cut away to form the foundation, and cellars and storehouses were excavated in the chalk.
The light at the Needles has two white, two red and one green sector, with one of the red sectors intensified, these are set out as follows:
| Red intensified sector shore to 300°
White sector 300 ° to 083 ° Red sector 083° to 212° White sector 212° to 217° Green sector 217° to 224° |
marks the St Anthony Rocks marks the approach to the Needles Channel from the west marks the Shingles Bank marks the course through the Needles Channel marks a safe channel past the Heatherwood Rocks and the Warden Ledge |
The Needles Lighthouse was automated in 1994, the keepers left thc lighthouse for the last time on 8th December.
Needles was the last Trinity House lighthouse powered by 100V DC electricity from it's own generators; to enable the automation to be carried out, main power has been supplied via a subsea cable from the Needles Battery, which provides 240V AC power for the new equipment.
The original optic with its arrangements of green and red glass giving the different sectors sectors of light remained after automation but a new three position lamps after was installed with two 1500W 240V main lamps and a 24 volt battery powered emergency lamp.
The supertyphon air driven foil: signal was replaced by two Honeywell ELG 500 Hz directional. fog signals controlled by means of a fog detector The emitmer stacks were mounted at gallery level outside the helipad, structure.
The Needles is monitored and controlled via a cellphone telemetry link from the Trinity House Operations Control Centre at Harwich, Essex.
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ESTABLISHED
HEIGHT OF TOWER HEIGHT OF LIGHT ABOVE MEAN HIGH WATER AUTOMATED OPTIC LAMP CHARACTER INTENSITY RANGE OF LIGHT FOG SIGNAL CHARACTER |
1786 31 METRES 26 METRES 1994 2ND ORDER 700MM FIXED LENS 1000 WATT 240 V WHITE, RED AND OREEN GROUP OCCULTING TWICE EVERY 20 SECONDS (LIGHT 14 SECONDS, ECLIPSE 2 ,SECONDS, LIGHT 2 SECONDS, ECLIPSE 2 SECONDS) RED (INTENSIFIED) 3,950 CANDELA, WHITE 12,300 CANDELA, RED 1800 CANDELA, GREEN 2680 CANDELA. RED [INTENSIFIED) 17 SEA MILES, WHITE 17 SEA MILES, RED 14 SEA MILES, GREEN 14 SEA MILES. SOUNDS TWICE EVERY 20 SECONDS |