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Smalls Lighthouse stands on the largest of a group of wave-washed
basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of a ...
and
dolerite Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-grain ...
rocks known as The Smalls approximately west of Marloes Peninsula in Pembrokeshire, Wales, and west of
Grassholm Grassholm ( cy, Gwales or ) or Grassholm Island is a small uninhabited island situated off the southwestern Pembrokeshire coast in Wales, lying west of Skomer, in the community of Marloes and St Brides. It is the westernmost point in Wales ...
. It was erected in 1861 by engineer James Douglass to replace a previous lighthouse which had been erected in 1776 on the same rock. It is the most remote lighthouse operated 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 ...
.


Previous lighthouse


History

The original Smalls Lighthouse was erected at the instigation of John Phillips (a Liverpool merchant and shipowner) between 1775 and 1776, to the plans of Liverpool musical-instrument maker Henry Whiteside. It stood on nine oak pillars, allowing the sea to pass through beneath. The original intention had been to use
cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...
, but this was "soon abandoned for English oak, as being more elastic and trustworthy". Although it suffered from some rocking, it stood for 80 years. The light was provided by eight oil lamps placed in glass-faceted reflectors. These were replaced in 1817 by double the number of lamps, together with silvered
parabolic reflectors A parabolic (or paraboloid or paraboloidal) reflector (or dish or mirror) is a reflective surface used to collect or project energy such as light, sound, or radio waves. Its shape is part of a circular paraboloid, that is, the surface generated ...
, which were far more efficient. During its life a significant number of extra struts were added beyond the original nine. The pillar-based design has since been used successfully in many maritime structures. When Whiteside visited the lighthouse in 1777, he was stranded for a month by gales which showed no sign of abating so that supplies were almost exhausted. He wrote a message to a friend in St. David's placed in a bottle inside a casket with a note to the finder "We doubt not but that whoever takes this up will be so merciful as to cause it to be sent to Thomas Williams, Esq, Trelithin, near St. David's, Wales". Two days later it arrived almost outside the door of the addressee to whom it was duly delivered.


Smalls Lighthouse Tragedy

The old lighthouse brought about a change in lighthouse policy in 1801 after a gruesome episode, sometimes called the Smalls Lighthouse Tragedy. Thomas Howell and Thomas Griffith, the two-person team that managed the lighthouse, were publicly known to quarrel. When Griffith died in a freak accident, Howell feared that if he discarded the body into the sea, authorities might accuse him of murder. As Griffith's body began to decompose, Howell built a makeshift coffin for the corpse and lashed it to an outside shelf. Stiff winds blew the box apart, and the body's arm fell within view of the hut's window. As the winds would blow, gusts would catch the arm and move it in a way that made the appendage appear to beckon. In spite of his former partner's decaying corpse and working the lighthouse alone, Howell was able to keep the house's lamp lit. When Howell was finally relieved of duty, the impact of the situation was so emotionally taxing that his friends did not recognize him. As a result, the governing body changed the lighthouse policy to make lighthouse teams rosters of three people, which continued until the automation of British lighthouses in the 1980s.


In media

In 2011 the Smalls Lighthouse Tragedy was the subject of a BBC radio play called ''The Lighthouse'', written by Alan Harris. The 2016 British film '' The Lighthouse'', directed by Chris Crow, is also loosely based on the incident. The 2019 film ''The Lighthouse'' by the American director Robert Eggers was also partly inspired by the tragedy.


1831 disaster

In 1831 the tower was assaulted by a wave of such proportions that the floor of the keepers' room was torn up and slammed against the ceiling, injuring all the keepers, one so severely that he died. However the damage was repaired and the lighthouse survived another thirty years before it was replaced.


Current lighthouse

The new lighthouse was designed by James Walker, Engineer-in-chief at Trinity House, with Douglass serving as chief engineer. The first stone of the new tower was laid on 26 June 1857, Trinity House having bought out the previous leaseholders in 1836. The tower was completed in 1861. In 1978 a
helideck A helipad is a landing area or platform for helicopters and powered lift aircraft. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked har ...
was erected above the lantern and in 1987 the lighthouse was automated. It is the first wind- and Solar-powered lighthouse in the U.K. Although it has only a 35-watt bulb, with the aid of lenses, this can be seen up to away. It was the first lighthouse in the country to have a flushing toilet installed. The lighthouse's story was presented in the 2006
BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced t ...
programme ''
Coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...
'', Series 1, episode "Bristol to Cardigan Bay".


Captain T. H. Sumner

Smalls Lighthouse is important in the
history of navigation The history of navigation, or the history of seafaring, is the art of directing vessels upon the open sea through the establishment of its position and course by means of traditional practice, geometry, astronomy, or special instruments. Many pe ...
. In 1837 the American Captain Thomas Hubbard Sumner discovered the concept of celestial position lines, the
circle of equal altitude The circle of equal altitude, also called circle of position (CoP), is defined as the locus of points on Earth on which an observer sees a celestial object such as the sun or a star, at a given time, with the same observed altitude. It was discove ...
, as he was approaching Smalls Lighthouse in thick weather; they form the basis of nearly all modern
celestial navigation Celestial navigation, also known as astronavigation, is the practice of position fixing using stars and other celestial bodies that enables a navigator to accurately determine their actual current physical position in space (or on the surface of ...
and were sometimes called Sumner Lines.


See also

*
List of lighthouses in Wales This is a list of lighthouses in Wales. The list runs anticlockwise from north-east to south-east Wales. __TOC__ Active lighthouses In this table, the 'focal height' is the height of the light above water level whilst 'nmi' signifies nautical ...


References


External links


Trinity House
* Includes an analysis of the origins of the name 'The Smalls' {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1861 Lighthouses in Pembrokeshire Islands of Pembrokeshire Uninhabited islands of Wales 1861 establishments in Wales Grade II listed lighthouses Grade II listed buildings in Pembrokeshire