The Holyhead Breakwater Lighthouse stands on the

Holyhead Breakwater Holyhead Breakwater is situated at the north-western end of Holyhead in Anglesey in North Wales. The Victorian structure, which is long, is the longest breakwater in the United Kingdom. The breakwater, which is accessible in good weather, has ...

outside the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

port of

Holyhead Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

History

The structure, which was completed in 1873, was most likely designed by Victorian civil engineer

John Hawkshaw Sir John Hawkshaw FRS FRSE FRSA MICE (9 April 1811 – 2 June 1891), was an English civil engineer. He served as President of the Institution of Civil Engineers 1862-63. His most noteworthy work is the Severn Tunnel. Early life He was born ...

after he took control of Holyhead harbour works in 1857. The lighthouse was the last major building completed on the breakwater. The three-storey black and white tower, unlike many contemporary lighthouses, is square. It measures on each side, is high and rests above the

high-water mark A high water mark is a point that represents the maximum rise of a body of water over land. Such a mark is often the result of a flood, but high water marks may reflect an all-time high, an annual high (highest level to which water rose that ...

. It has

chamfered A chamfer or is a transitional edge between two faces of an object. Sometimes defined as a form of bevel, it is often created at a 45° angle between two adjoining right-angled faces. Chamfers are frequently used in machining, carpentry, fur ...

angles and a stepped

plinth A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In c ...

set on an oval platform on the breakwater. A square design was chosen because it made the living quarters more comfortable. Much of the original living accommodation inside remains intact. The tower's external features include a roll-moulded string-course projecting above the first floor level. There is also a moulded

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

which supports a walkway around a circular glass-housed light. The tower is surmounted by a

weathervane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

and

finial A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a d ...

. The enclosed

fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the c ...

creates a light with a range of . This lighthouse is considered architecturally important because it forms part of the ambitious Victorian engineering works to create "harbours of refuge" throughout Great Britain. In the 19th century,

packet ship 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 ...

s approaching Holyhead in the fog would be warned by a

bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...

operated from the lighthouse. In the late 1870s, this was supplemented with rockets which would complement the gun fired from the fog warning station on

North Stack North Stack ( Welsh: Ynys Arw, meaning "rugged island") is a small island situated just off Holy Island on the north-west coast of Anglesey. The area has been an important location in the development of traditional climbing in Britain and has s ...

, Anglesey. The lighthouse was manned until November 1961, when it was automated. Among the last keepers in the 1950s were Arthur Burgess and David John Williams. The latter later became a speaker for

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 ...

giving talks on the service. Like most other lights in

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...

, it is now operated from Trinity House's Holyhead Control Centre. Today the upkeep of the lighthouse is the responsibility of Holyhead port authority, which is operated by

Stena Line Stena Line is a Swedish shipping line company and one of the largest ferry operators in the world. It services Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden. Stena Line is a major unit of Ste ...

Gallery

File:HolyheadBreakwaterSeaward.jpg, The Breakwater seaward from the land end File:HolyheadBreakwaterSeaward2.jpg, End of the Breakwater and Lighthouse File:The lower level of the Holyhead Breakwater from the lighthouse - geograph.org.uk - 875456.jpg, Lower level carried the breakwater railway File:LighthouseHolyheadBreakwater.jpg, The Lighthouse File:LighthouseHolyheadBreakwater2.jpg, The light was fully automated in 1961

References

External links

Stena Line
{{Authority control Lighthouses completed in 1873 Lighthouses in Anglesey Grade II listed buildings in Anglesey Grade II listed lighthouses Holyhead 1873 establishments in Wales

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links