West Usk Lighthouse is a
Grade II-listed
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 ...
building on 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 ...
at the mouth of the
River Usk south of the city of
Newport,
South Wales.
History
The
lighthouse was the first to be built by renowned Scottish civil engineer
James Walker in 1821.
Amongst other projects, Walker went on to build another 21 lighthouses. The land around the lighthouse has been
reclaimed as farmland but it stood on an island until 1856. It was decommissioned as an operational lighthouse in 1922.
The lighthouse is currently operating as a hotel. It was featured in July 2008 on an episode of the
Channel 5 television series ''
The Hotel Inspector
''The Hotel Inspector'' is an observational documentary television series which is broadcast on the British terrestrial television station, Channel 5, and by other networks around the world.
In each episode, celebrated hotelier and businesswo ...
'' and in 2020 on the ''
Doctor Who''
twelfth series episode "
Fugitive of the Judoon
"Fugitive of the Judoon" is the fifth episode of the twelfth series of the British science fiction television programme '' Doctor Who'', first broadcast on BBC One on 26 January 2020. It was written by Vinay Patel and current showrunner Chris C ...
".
For hotel guests, a private road off the B4239 (Lighthouse Road) leads to the lighthouse. Alternatively, it may be reached by a walk along the sea wall footpath from the car park of the Lighthouse Inn on Beach Road. The lighthouse is situated next to the Pont-y-cwcw Reen.
The less substantial East Usk Lighthouse, on the opposite bank of the River Usk, is within the
Newport Wetlands wildlife reserve.
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
West Usk Lighthouse
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Lighthouses completed in 1821
Lighthouses in Wales
Landmarks in Newport, Wales
History of Newport, Wales
Culture in Newport, Wales
Grade II listed buildings in Newport, Wales
Grade II listed lighthouses
Coast of Newport, Wales