Black Nore Lighthouse (also known as Blacknore Point Lighthouse) at
Portishead, Somerset
Portishead () is a coastal village on the Severn Estuary, 8 miles (12 km) to the west of Bristol, but within the unitary authority, unitary district of North Somerset, which falls within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of So ...
, England, was built in 1894.
It is a Grade II
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
Description
The metal white-painted lighthouse was built by
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 ...
to guide shipping in the
Severn Estuary
The Severn Estuary ( cy, Aber Hafren) is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England and South Wales. Its high tidal range, approximately , means that it has been at the centre of discussions in t ...
as it made its way in and out of
Bristol Harbour
Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It is the former natural tidal river Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was prevented from going out per ...
. Before the light was decommissioned the lens array (a rotating
fourth-order 250 mm biform optic) flashed twice every ten seconds.
History
The light was first lit on 19 April 1894. Up until
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the lighthouse was lit by gas, supplied from the gas main and stored in adjacent tanks.
To begin with it displayed an
occulting light
A light characteristic is all of the properties that make a particular navigational light identifiable. Graphical and textual descriptions of navigational light sequences and colours are displayed on nautical charts and in Light Lists with the cha ...
(eclipsed twice in quick succession every twenty seconds) with a visible range of . The rotating optic was installed in 1908 when the
light characteristic
A light characteristic is all of the properties that make a particular navigational light identifiable. Graphical and textual descriptions of navigational light sequences and colours are displayed on nautical charts and in Light Lists with the cha ...
was changed to group flashing (twice every ten seconds). Its drive mechanism was wound daily by the Ashford Family, on whose land it was built, until 1941 when the light was converted to automatic electric operation.
In 2000 the winding and drive mechanisms were replaced by electric motors.
Decommissioning and preservation
After it was judged to be no longer needed for navigational purposes, the light was decommissioned on 27 September 2010. Set to be demolished,
the structure was instead sold to a trust for preservation at a cost of £1 in October 2011. The official handover took place the following January,
and later that year the lenses (which had been removed along with other equipment as part of the decommissioning) were returned to the lantern on a ten-year loan from Trinity House.
See also
*
List of lighthouses in England
This is a list of lighthouses in England. It includes lighthouses which are no longer in use as a light but are still standing. It also includes some of the harbour and pier-head lights around the country.
Details of several lighthouses and li ...
References
External links
Black Nore Lighthouse Trust*
{{Authority control
Lighthouses completed in 1894
Lighthouses in Somerset
Grade II listed buildings in North Somerset
Portishead, Somerset
Grade II listed lighthouses