The Baltimore Beacon is a white-painted stone
beacon positioned high above the channel between the mainland and
Sherkin Island
Sherkin Island, historically called Inisherkin (), lies southwest of County Cork in Ireland alongside other islands of Roaringwater Bay. It had a population of 111 people at the time of the 2016 Census, and measures long by wide. The isl ...
near the entrance to the harbour at
Baltimore, County Cork, Ireland.
The structure is approximately high and in diameter at the base, and is situated on the top of a cliff, itself in height.
It is built of
rubble stone into a tapered conical shape with a red-painted spherical metal finish on the top.
It constitutes part of a series of lighthouses and beacons dotted around the Irish coast to assist in marine navigation.
The beacon is locally known as "
Lot's Wife",
after the
Biblical
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
woman turned into a
pillar of salt. The beacon has become a recognizable part of Baltimore's landscape, and one of the area's defining landmarks.
The structure is featured on photographs and paintings of Baltimore.
Southern Star newspaper's column with news from Baltimore and the area was titled "From Baltimore Beacon".
Local businesses adopted the beacon as a part of its name, with a notable example of Baltimore's now defunct Beacon Park Hotel. The feature is an attraction for tourists and day trip visitors, and "there is no end of people who get engaged",
and even married there.
History
The beacon was built in 1848 after it had been noticed that an older warning beacon existing at the entrance of the Baltimore Harbour went into ruin.
The wreck of a 17-century ship
HMS Looe lies at the base of the beacon cliff.
The decision to declassify the beacon as a navigational tool caused confusion in the 2010s as to who is the actual owner and as such should maintain the beacon, and in particular re-paint it in white.
See also
*
Lighthouses in Ireland
References
External links
Irish National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Pete's Irish Lighthouses
General Lighthouse Authorities of UK and Ireland - Aids to Navigation Review 2010 - 2015Report of the Sea and Inland Fisheries - 1881see note on the need for a light at Baltimore harbour among other details
Baltimore Town- tourist information
K513 - Baltimore Beacon- photograph and information
Baltimore, Co. Cork - Wikishire
The Algiers Inn pub Baltimore history- shipwreck history
{{Irish lighthouses
Baltimore, County Cork
Beacon towers