Lynmouth Foreland Lighthouse (also called the Countisbury Foreland Lighthouse, after the nearby village) is located on

Foreland Point Foreland Point is a rocky headland in Devon near Lynmouth, and is the most northerly point along the Devon and Exmoor coast. The highest cliff is above the high tide, although the highest point of the entire headland is near Countisbury (a v ...

; it was originally simply named 'The Foreland Lighthouse'. First lit on 28 September 1900, the

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 ...

was built to assist vessels passing through the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...

, and is a round brick tower painted white.London Gazette, Issue 27237, Page 6260, 12 October 1900.
/ref> The light is above the high tide, and flashes 4 times every 15 seconds; the

optic Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviole ...

('a 1st Order dioptric apparatus, eight panels in two groups of four, revolving on a motor driven mercury float pedestal') was manufactured by Chance Brothers & Co. and is very similar to that installed in

Pendeen Lighthouse Pendeen Lighthouse, also known as Pendeen Watch is an active aid to navigation located to the north of Pendeen in west Cornwall, England. It is located within the Aire Point to Carrick Du SSSI, the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty an ...

the same year. It was rotated by clockwork until 1975. Initially, the light was said to have the power of 56,750 candles; later (its oil lamp having been superseded by a more powerful paraffin vapour burner) the intensity of the light was rated at around 190,000 candlepower. Foreland Lighthouse (geograph 4647630)

In 1906, the lighthouse was provided with an explosive

fog signal A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. W ...

, which sounded once every five minutes and was actuated by an automatic clockwork firing mechanism. This was housed in a hut at the top of the steep steps leading down to the lighthouse, (the hut has since been demolished, along with the adjacent explosives magazine). The explosive signal remained in use until 1958 (a few years later the mechanism was offered 'on permanent loan to any British museum which may be interested'). In its place, a triple-

frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...

electric fog signal was installed, sounding through a stack of thirty

Tannoy Tannoy is a British manufacturer of loudspeakers and public address systems. Founded by Guy Fountain in London in 1926 as the Tulsemere Manufacturing Company, today the company is part of the Music Tribe group of brands. History Tannoy Ltd is ...

speakers built on to the front of the lighthouse tower; because the lighthouse was not yet connected to

mains electricity Mains electricity or utility power, power grid, domestic power, and wall power, or in some parts of Canada as hydro, is a general-purpose alternating-current (AC) electric power supply. It is the form of electrical power that is delivered to h ...

the 3,000 rpm

alternator An alternator is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field with a stationary armature.Go ...

(which simultaneously generated

alternating current Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in whic ...

of the three different frequencies required) was driven by a diesel engine. The fog signal has since been decommissioned. The light was electrified in 1975, when diesel generators were installed. Mains electricity was brought to the lighthouse in 1989, and it was

automated Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...

in November 1994. In 2020 Trinity House submitted a planning application for the removal of the Fresnel lenses (and the more modern emergency light currently bracketed to the gallery railings), and their replacement with a pair of static LED lights (one 'primary', one 'standby') to stand on the old lens pedestal. This is part of their programme to replace all the mercury floated rotating lens systems in their lighthouses with static LEDs. Lynmouth Foreland had always been an unpopular posting among lighthouse keepers, not least because (due to its position on a steep north-facing slope) the isolated compound never sees the sun except during the three months of high summer. The lighthouse keeper's cottage is now a National Trust holiday cottage.

Porpoise Porpoises are a group of fully aquatic marine mammals, all of which are classified under the family Phocoenidae, parvorder Odontoceti (toothed whales). Although similar in appearance to dolphins, they are more closely related to narwhals an ...

and sea birds can be spied from its windows, and deer often shelter in the combe down to the lighthouse.

References

External links

Trinity House

{{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1900 Lighthouses in Devon Grade II listed lighthouses Grade II listed buildings in Devon

See also

References

External links