![Bishop Rock Lighthouse SV8006](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Bishop_Rock_Lighthouse_SV8006.jpg)
The Bishop Rock ( kw, Men Epskop) is a
skerry
A skerry is a small rocky island, or islet, usually too small for human habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low sea stack.
A skerry may have vegetative life such as moss and small, hardy grasses. They a ...
off the
British coast in the northern
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
known for its
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mar ...
.
It is in the westernmost part of the
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of the ...
, an
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
off the southwestern tip of the
Cornish peninsula of
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
. The ''
Guinness Book of Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' lists it as the world's smallest
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
with a building on it.
The original iron lighthouse was begun in 1847 but was washed away before it could be completed. The present building was completed in 1858 and was first lit on 1September that year. Before the installation of the helipad, visitors to the lighthouse would rappel from the top (with winches installed at the lamp level and at the base below) to boats waiting away from the lighthouse.
Bishop Rock is also at the eastern end of the
North Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...
shipping route used by ocean liners in the first half of the 20th century; the western end being the entrance to
Lower New York Bay
Lower New York Bay is a section of New York Bay south of the Narrows (the strait between Staten Island and Brooklyn). The eastern end of the Bay is marked by two spits of land, Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and Rockaway, Queens. The waterway b ...
. This was the route that ocean liners took when competing for the Transatlantic speed record, known as the
Blue Riband
The Blue Riband () is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest average speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until after 1910. T ...
.
History
In the late 13th century, when the Isles of Scilly were under the jurisdiction of John de Allet and his wife Isabella, anyone convicted of felony "ought to be taken to a certain rock in the sea, with two barley loaves and a pitcher of water and left until the sea swallowed him up".
The rock was originally recorded as ''Maen Escop'' in 1284 and ''Maenenescop'' in 1302. In
Cornish, ''Men Eskop'' means "Bishop's Stone", whilst ''Men an Eskop'' means "the Stone of the Bishop". The outer rocks to the west of
St Agnes also used to be known as the Bishop and Clerk, but exactly how they acquired these similar names is not known for certain.
[ A possible explanation is that the shape of the rock is similar to a bishop's ]mitre
The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...
.
East of Bishop Rock are the Western Rocks and the Gilstone Reef, where Admiral Shovell's flagship HMS ''Association'' was wrecked in the great naval disaster of 1707. Shovell's remains were repatriated to England by order of Queen Anne shortly after their initial burial in the Isles of Scilly.
The earliest recorded wreck on the rock itself was in 1839, when the brig ''Theodorick'' struck in rough misty weather on 4September. She was out of Mogodore for London carrying a general cargo. In the early hours of , the 600-tonne paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...
''Brigand'', a packet boat
Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th ...
, which was en route from Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
to St Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, struck the rock with such force that it stove in two large bow plates. The rocks then acted as a pivot, and she swung round and heeled into the rock port side, crushing the paddle-wheel and box to such an extent that it penetrated the engine room. She drifted over seven miles in two hours, before sinking in 90m. All the crew were saved.[ In 1901 a ]barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...
named ''Falkland'' struck the rock, her main yard hitting the lighthouse itself.
Lighthouse
An 1818 report by the Surveyor-General of the Duchy of Cornwall
The Duchy of Cornwall ( kw, Duketh Kernow) is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch obtains possession of the duchy and the title of 'Duke of Cornwall' at ...
on the dangers to shipping in Cornwall proposed that a lighthouse be built, similar to the Eddystone Lighthouse
The Eddystone Lighthouse is a lighthouse that is located on the dangerous Eddystone Rocks, south of Rame Head in Cornwall, England. The rocks are submerged below the surface of the sea and are composed of Precambrian gneiss. View at 1:50000 ...
, upon Bishop Rock, given its location as the westernmost rock of the Isles of Scilly. The plan was considered by the government and building was expected soon, as the engineer John Rennie the Elder
John Rennie FRSE FRS (7 June 1761 – 4 October 1821) was a Scottish civil engineer who designed many bridges, canals, docks and warehouses, and a pioneer in the use of structural cast-iron.
Early years
He was born the younger son of James ...
made an offer to build it. The government did not take up the offer; but Trinity House
"Three In One"
, formation =
, founding_location = Deptford, London, England
, status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity
, purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons
, he ...
surveyed Bishop Rock in 1843 with a view to building a lighthouse, and under their Engineer-in-chief, James Walker, construction work began in 1847.
Walker's first tower
Walker had decided on a design consisting of accommodation and a light on top of iron legs.[ The light was never lit, since on (before the lantern and lighting equipment had been fitted) a storm washed the tower away.][ (A few years later, the lantern that had been intended for this tower was installed instead on another Walker-designed tower: ]Godrevy Lighthouse
Godrevy Lighthouse was built in 1858–1859 on Godrevy Island in St Ives Bay, Cornwall. Standing approximately off Godrevy Head, it marks the Stones reef, which has been a hazard to shipping for centuries.
History
The Stones claimed man ...
.)
Walker's second tower
In the second attempt, James Walker began building a stone structure in 1851.[ The site presented a number of difficulties: the paucity of available land area and the slope of the rock meant that the lowest stone had to be laid below the low water level of the lowest spring tides.][Nicholson, ''op. cit.'', p. 116] The resident engineer was Nicholas Douglass assisted by his sons (first James
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
and then William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
). Despite multiple problems over the seven-year period of construction, the tower was completed without loss of life. It was fitted with a 4-wick oil lamp by Wilkins & Son and a large ( first order) fixed catadioptric
A catadioptric optical system is one where refraction and reflection are combined in an optical system, usually via lenses (dioptrics) and curved mirrors (catoptrics). Catadioptric combinations are used in focusing systems such as searchlights, he ...
optic
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviole ...
by Henry Lépaute, and shone its light for the first time on .[ The total cost of the lighthouse was £34,559.][
]
Keepers' dwellings
As the lighthouse was nearing completion, a set of dwellings were constructed on St Mary's to accommodate keepers' families (and the keepers themselves when they were not on station). The light at the time was manned by a team of four: at any one time, three would be on station in the lighthouse, and the fourth on leave on St Mary's.
Exposed to the elements
Faced with the full force of the Atlantic, Walker's lighthouse proved vulnerable: in heavy weather the tower regularly shook, the vibrations being powerful enough to cause objects to fall from shelves, and even causing the optical apparatus to fracture. The lighthouse had initially been provided with a fog bell; however this was washed away during a storm in January1860. (It was replaced with a larger bell, but not until 1864; the bell was sounded once every ten seconds). Over the years that followed various expediencies were tried to mitigate the effects of heavy weather upon the lighthouse.
During an especially heavy storm in April 1874 the tower was severely and repeatedly shaken by a succession of waves, which shattered the reinforced glass of the lantern and sent cascades of water down through the living quarters. Later that year James Douglass (who had succeeded Walker as Engineer-in-chief at Trinity House) returned to Bishop Rock with a team of men to reinforce the lower section of the tower using broad iron bands, which were bolted through the stonework.
In the winter of 1881 a further series of storms battered the lighthouse, wrenching sizeable blocks of granite away from the structure just above the high water mark. James Douglass was again sent to inspect the tower and he reported that its structural safety had been seriously affected. He began drawing up designs to reinforce the structure by laying massive granite blocks into the rock and dove-tailing them onto the lighthouse.
Douglass's 'strengthening and improvement'
Ultimately, Douglass's plan of renovation for the lighthouse would amount to a near complete rebuilding: it involved fully encasing Walker's tower within new external courses of granite, then removing the old lantern storey and existing internal floors before increasing the strengthened tower's height by a further . At the same time, he sought to diminish the impact of waves upon the tower by making the base section cylindrical, rather than conical. The work began in 1883 under the supervision of Sir James's eldest surviving son, William Tregarthen Douglass; use was made of construction equipment which had become available following completion of the new Eddystone lighthouse
The Eddystone Lighthouse is a lighthouse that is located on the dangerous Eddystone Rocks, south of Rame Head in Cornwall, England. The rocks are submerged below the surface of the sea and are composed of Precambrian gneiss. View at 1:50000 ...
(which had also been designed by Douglass) the previous year. The stones were cut and dressed off site, to precise dimensions, before being conveyed to the rock by steamer and then individually winched ashore. It took until 1886 for the time-consuming work of integrating the new stonework with the old to be completed, up to the height of the existing structure. Thereafter things moved more swiftly and the tower as a whole was finished in 1887.
New optical and other equipment
Douglass topped his rebuilt tower with a double-height lantern storey, designed to contain a 'biform' optical system designed and built by Chance Brothers (consisting of two identical lamps and lens arrays, one mounted above the other). Each tier consisted of an eight-wick paraffin Paraffin may refer to:
Substances
* Paraffin wax, a white or colorless soft solid that is used as a lubricant and for other applications
* Liquid paraffin (drug), a very highly refined mineral oil used in cosmetics and for medical purposes
* Alkane ...
burner set within a revolving array of extra large hyperradiant Fresnel lens
Hyper-radial or hyperradiant Fresnel lenses are Fresnel lenses used in lighthouses. They are larger than "first-order" lenses, having a focal length (radius) of 1330 mm (52.36 inches). The idea was mentioned by Thomas Stevenson in 1869 and fi ...
es (consisting, on each level, of five pairs of lens panels, displaying two white flashes every minute). In clear weather the lower tier alone was used, with its lamp on half power; in limited visibility (as judged by the clarity of the light visible from St Agnes's Lighthouse, away) both tiers were used with the lamps at full power. The new improved light had a range of ; it was first lit on 25 October 1887. (The old dioptric apparatus was removed and later re-used: at Hurst Point and in the low light at Nash Point
Nash Point ( cy, Trwyn yr As) is a headland and beach in the Monknash Coast of the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales, about a mile from Marcross. It is a popular location for ramblers and hiking along the cliffs to Llantwit Major beach. The l ...
.)
The heavy new optic was turned by a small air engine
A pneumatic motor (air motor), or compressed air engine, is a type of motor which does mechanical work by expanding compressed air. Pneumatic motors generally convert the compressed air energy to mechanical work through either linear or rotary m ...
placed in the pedestal; compressed air was provided from a set of tanks, located in the room below along with a pair of Davey 'Safety' Engines, which drove the compressors. The compressed air could also be used, by day, to drive a small gallery-mounted winch for landing stores.
As part of the new installation, the lighthouse was equipped with an explosive fog signal
A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. W ...
: in foggy weather the keepers regularly had to attach a guncotton
Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and ...
charge together with a detonator
A detonator, frequently a blasting cap, is a device used to trigger an explosive device. Detonators can be chemically, mechanically, or electrically initiated, the last two being the most common.
The commercial use of explosives uses electri ...
to a jib
A jib is a triangular sail that sets ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bows, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. Jibs and spinnakers are the two main types of headsail ...
-type apparatus on the lantern gallery; from inside the lantern they would then raise the jib and fire the charge electrically. The explosive signal remained in use until 1976.
Later developments
In 1902 a new clockwork mechanism was installed to turn the lenses;[Audio transcription by P. Halil of the station's Order Book (1858-1992).](_blank)
/ref> by this time the optic had been modified to float in an annular mercury bath, which enabled it to turn much more freely. Two years later incandescent
Incandescence is the emission of electromagnetic radiation (including visible light) from a hot body as a result of its high temperature. The term derives from the Latin verb ''incandescere,'' to glow white. A common use of incandescence is ...
oil burners replaced the old multi-wick burners; they were upgraded with the installation of 'Hood' incandescent burners in 1922. These remained in service until 1945, when they were replaced with electric lamps (powered by Stuart Turner diesel engined generating sets). A separate small Petter-engined generator provided electricity for the keepers' domestic use from 1955; it replaced a petrol-driven machine which had been installed during the war to power a radiotelephone
A radiotelephone (or radiophone), abbreviated RT, is a radio communication system for conducting a conversation; radiotelephony means telephony by radio. It is in contrast to '' radiotelegraphy'', which is radio transmission of telegrams (mes ...
(enabling direct verbal communication with ships, the shore and other nearby lighthouses). The electric installation was upgraded (with the provision of Lister diesel generator sets) in 1973.
Difficulty reaching the lighthouse by boat led Trinity House to build a helipad on top of the lighthouse in 1976.[Nicholson, ''op. cit.'', p. 126] That same year a supertyfon fog horn was installed with sounders arranged around the gallery.
On 15 December 1992 the tower became fully automated;[Nicholson, ''op. cit.'', p. 127] the lower half of the biform optic remained in use following automation, but the top half was removed and put on display (it is currently in the National Maritime Museum Cornwall
The National Maritime Museum, Cornwall is located in a harbourside building at Falmouth in Cornwall, England. The building was designed by architect M. J. Long, following an architectural design competition managed by RIBA Competitions.
The ...
). An electric fog signal replaced the supertyfon at this time, sounding a long followed by a short tone every 90seconds; its use was discontinued in 2007.
On the 144th anniversary of the destruction of James Walker's original iron tower (), a storm caused severe damage to the gunmetal
Gun metal, also known as red brass in the United States, is a type of bronze; an alloy of copper, tin and zinc. Proportions vary but 88% copper, 8–10% tin, and 2–4% zinc is an approximation. Originally used chiefly for making guns, it has la ...
entry doors, which had to be replaced; they too became an exhibit at the National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the United ...
in Falmouth.
Structure
Bishop Lighthouse is often referred to as "King of the lighthouses" and it is indeed a very impressive structure. With a height of the lighthouse is the equal tallest in England, together with Eddystone Lighthouse.
Expenditure on the lighthouses at Bishop Rock, include:
The first iron lighthouse: £12,500[Bishop Rock Lighthouse]
Trinity House. Retrieved 22 April 2016
The second granite lighthouse: £34,559 (equivalent to £ in )
The third improved lighthouse: £64,889 (equivalent to £ in )
Total cost: £111,948
The interior of the light house consists of the following (as described in 1911): Below and inside the lighthouse are 10floors with spiral staircase to the 2nd floor with a door (made from gun metal (likely bronze) and installed in 1887) that leads down an external metal (likely bronze) ladder to climb down to the large exterior base. From the base another metal ladder provides access to a stone staircase to the waterline.
Prior to automation, the floors of the lighthouse were occupied as follows in 1911 ''(with later changes of use noted in italics)'':
* 1st floor – Water tank (providing fresh water for lighthouse keepers)
* 2nd floor – Entrance room with metal door leading to exterior ladder to base below
* 3rd floor – Store room, with window ''(later contained fuel tanks for the generators)''
* 4th floor – First oil room, with oil tanks formerly used to light the lamp ''(later the engine room)''
* 5th floor – Second oil room, with window ''(later the 'amenity room')''
* 6th floor – Living room for lighthouse keepers, with window ''(later the kitchen)''
* 7th floor – Bedroom for lighthouse keepers, with window
* 8th floor – Store room ''(later the living room)''
* 9th floor – Service room
* 10th floor – Lantern
Culture and Media
In December 1946
Events January
* January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held.
* January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...
the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
sent two radio reporters, Edward Ward and Stanley Coombs, to Bishop Rock as part of a programme of round-the-world Christmas messages, a format that had already been used before the
. Gale-force winds and heavy seas prevented their return for almost a month, and food supplies for the five men in the lighthose began to run out. A lifeboat was able to reach the lighthouse on 16 January 1947 and the two reporters were lowered into the boat by rope while the sea was still rough.
The rock is the subject of a short orchestral descriptive work by the late
''. The lighthouse was also featured in the 2010
...