Prise du fort Saint Philippe a Minorque 1756

A plan of St Philips Castle and fortifications in the island of Minorca

St. Philip's Castle (Catalan:''Castell de Sant Felip'', Spanish: ''Castillo de San Felipe'', often known as Fort St Phillip) was a fortress guarding the entrance to the port of

Mahón Mahón (), officially Maó (), and also written as Mahon or Port Mahon in English, is the capital and second largest city of Menorca. The city is located on the eastern coast of the island, which is part of the archipelago and autonomous communi ...

. It is located in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Es Castell Es Castell is a small municipality in eastern Menorca in the Balearic Islands, Spain. The town was founded in 1771 by British Col. Patrick Mackellar and was originally called ''Georgetown'' in honour of King George III George III (George W ...

, on the island of

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

. It was rebuilt by British forces in the 1760s, around an earlier Spanish fort, the ''Castell de Sant Felip'', which had been established about 1554. It is best known for its unsuccessful defence on two occasions by the British: during the Siege of Fort St Philip (1756) and the

Invasion of Minorca, 1781 The Franco-Spanish reconquest of Menorca (historically called "Minorca" in English) from the British in February 1782, after the Siege of Fort St. Philip lasting over five months, was an important step in the achievement of Spain in the America ...

. Following the latter event, the castle was partly demolished.

Lighthouse of Sant Carles

With its commanding position overlooking the entrance to Mahon harbour the area around the fort was considered a good location for a

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 ...

, and in 1852 one was built on the Sant Carles point. The light was contained within a 16m masonry tower, rising from a single storey house. The drawback of the site was that it was in the direct line of fire from the military battery based at the castle. The keepers of the lighthouse were warned when firing practice was to take place but they complained that the shells damaged the building and alarmed their families. The situation continued until 1912, when the lighthouse was closed and replaced with a moveable light on a metal

davit Boat suspended from radial davits; the boat is mechanically lowered Gravity multi-pivot on Scandinavia'' file:Bossoir a gravité.jpg, Gravity Roller Davit file:Davits-starbrd.png, Gravity multi-pivot davit holding rescue vessel on North Sea ferr ...

. This was lowered during firing practice, and raised at other times to a give a range of 9.5 nautical miles. In the 1970s the moveable light was replaced by a post light, mounted on a 15m high concrete tower painted with black and white bands, giving an extended range of 13 nautical miles. The old lighthouse was finally demolished in 1917, parts of which being reused in the construction of the new lighthouse at Favàritx.

References

{{Coord, 39, 51, 54, N, 04, 18, 18, E, type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Menorca Castles in the Balearic Islands History of Menorca