Old Dungeness Lighthouse
Text Below
|
|
POSITION 50° 54'.77 N O0° 58'.70 E
EARLY LIGHTS
Dungeness lies at the southernmost point of Kent and is an enormous fiat of sand and shingle, treacherous to sailors In one winter gale over 1,000 seamen Iost their lives on the ness. and merchandise to the value of £100.000 was lost with them The steeple of Lydd Church, distinct against the sky, appeared like 'the forme of salle of some taile shippe' and lured many vessels on to the sand in the reign of James 1.
The first mention of a lighthouse at Dungeness was in about 1600 when Trinity House reported against a proposal for a light at Dungeness Point and declined an invitation of the King's Privy Council to erect one. But persistence by the petitioner, Sir Edward Howard or Hayman, who held a Court appointment, met with success. Trinity House withdrew its opposition and Howard received a patent in August 1615 from King James 1 and marked the spot by an open coal fire and was empowered to levy tolls of one penny per ton from all ships passing it during the next 40 years.
Owing to the great difficulty experienced in collecting the dues, Sir Edward made over his rights to William Lamplough. Clerk of the Royal Kitchen. who enlisted the help of the Customs official to collect the money at the ports where they were represented. This roused the indignation of shipowners who could no longer avoid paying the charges and they joined forces eagerly with Trinity. House in 1621 in promoting a BilI in parliament to suppress the lighthouse as "a nuisance to navigation" because of its poor light Candles had replaced the original coal fire, doubtless from the difficulty in transporting coal to such an out-of-the-way spot Parliament. however, would not interfere with the King's grantee but warned Lamplough that a better light must be shown.
Opposition to the lighthouse did not stop with the improvement in the light, however, and the Corporation of Rye, remembering that the original idea of a lighthouse at Dungeness emanated from a townsman of Rye attempted to acquire the lighthouse for itself. Consequently the Corporation attempted to get an Act passed which would vest the interest in the venture in the Mayor and jurats of that town. it being intended to apply the surplus profits towards the reparation of their harbour. The BiI1. however. was never enacted, and Lamplough's patent again resisted attack
LAMPLOUGH'S TOWER 1635
Time, though, had taken its toll and, as the sea receded further. seamen complained of the distance of the lighthouse from the water's edge, so in 1635 the patentee pulled down the then existing tower and built one altogether more substantial nearer to the Point with a coal fire on top
From 1647 to 1660, during the short-lived Commonwealth, a Commission took over the lighthouse work of Trinity. House, because of its Royalist sympathies, and about 1655. for the same reason, the patentee of Dungeness lost ownership of the lighthouse. which caused great difficulties thereafter as to ownership the new patentee was threatened by the Earl of Thanet. then the ground-landlord, with pulling down the structure because of non-payment of rent. The patentee did not pay. but instead appealed to England's Protectorate who considered that it was not a fitting state of affairs that "the safety of many lives and the State's should be left to the will of the Earl of Tbanet" and he granted the owner protection.
After the restoration confusion arose over the title to Dungeness Light. The former owner had forfeited his right to it for adhering to the Crown. and now with the Crown once more in power the "Commonwealth" owner would not leave, alleging a title by purchase
The quality of the light once again came under review and in 1668 Trinity House summoned the patentee to appear before it and insisted that he must provide better illumination.
A coal fire continued to light Dungeness in I746, but the position of the lighthouse was complained of as being misleading; the sea had receded. leaving the tower once again far from the water's edge
SAMUEL WYATT'S TOWER 1792
In 1792 Samuel Wyatt built a tower about 116 ft high - of the same design as Smeaton's lighthouse on Eddystone - which lasted for over 100 years Eighteen sperm-oil lamps then took the place of the coal fire. Robert Stevenson, when inspecting the lighthouse in 1818, found parabolic reflectors in use which had been obtained from Howard, in Old Street. London, in 1802 a rival to George Robinson. then chief suppliers of parabolic reflectors to Trinity House.
During a violent storm on a Christmas Day in the nineteenth century, lightning struck the tower and made a dent in the masonry on the North side. So well was the tower constructed. however, that the damage sustained was not serious.
In 1862. an electric light was installed, thus Dungeness became one of the first lighthouses in England to be illuminated by this means, but this form of lighting was subsequently superseded by a huge oil lamp of 850 candle power surrounded by glass prisms which increased the illuminating power by a hundredfold. In addition, the outer wall of the tower was painted black with a white band to render it more conspicuous in daylight.
Prior to demolition of' Wyatt's tower in 1904, quarters for the lighthouse keepers were built in a circular form around the base of the tower These quarters are still in existence.
THE HIGH LIGHT TOWER 1904
By the turn of the nineteenth century. it was apparent that due to the recession of the sea a new lighthouse was needed In 1901, Messrs. Pattrick & Co. of London, commenced work on a new lighthouse. This circular brick structure, known as the High Light Tower. some 136 feet high and 38 feet in diameter at ground level, was completed early in I904, and was first lighted on the 31st March in that year. The tower was painted externally in black and white bands so that it formed a beacon recognizable by mariners during daylight. Although no longer owned by Trinity' House, this tower still remains at Dungeness.
The 1904 lighthouse now sands more than 500 yards from High Water Mark. It's navigational light was obscured by the nuclear Power Station erected approximately a quarter of a mile to the west of the lighthouse. This necessitated the placing of another light in a cylindrical tower 485 yards to the East incorporating an electric fog signal.
THE PRESENT LIGHTHOUSE 1961
The new lighthouse which was officially opened by H.R.H. The Duke of Gloucester, the former Master of Trinity House, was brought into operation on 20th November, I961. The tower which rises from a white concrete base in the form of a spiral ramp, is capable of automatic operation and was the first one of its kind to incorporate the Xenon electric arc lamp as a source of illumination it is constructed of precast concrete rings 515 high. 6 inches thick and I2 feet in diameter, fitted one above the other, and has black and white bands which are impregnated into the concrete.
A medium frequency radio beacon is also fitted in the new lighthouse to give direction finding information to shipping in the Dover Strait.
An additional point of interest is that since May 1962 the whole tower has been floodlit to assist identification from seaward. This floodlighting has reduced the bird mortality rate at this lighthouse during the migration season
Dungeness Lighthouse was converted to automatic operation in 1991 and is monitored and controlled from the Trinity. House Depot at Harwich
| ESTABLISHED
HEIGHT OF TOWER HEIGHT OF LIGHT ABOVE MEAN HIGH WATER AUTOMATED OPTIC LAMP CHARACTER INTENSITY RANGE OF LIGHT FOG SIGNAL CHARACTER |
1792 (Original Tower)
43 METRES 40 METRES 1991 AGA SEALED BEAM 4 BANKS OF 4 x 200 WATT SEALED BEAM LAMPS WHITE FLASH EVERY 10 SECONDS 1,920,000 CANDELA 27 SEA MILES TRIPLE FREQUENCY SOUNDING 3 TIMES EVERY MINUTE |