Old Lower Lighthouse
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The Old Lower Lighthouse is a disused 19th century
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 ...
on the
Isle of Portland An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...
,
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
, southern
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It is located along the eastern side of
Portland Bill Portland Bill is a narrow promontory (or bill) at the southern end of the Isle of Portland, and the southernmost point of Dorset, England. One of Portland's most popular destinations is Portland Bill Lighthouse. Portland's coast has been notorio ...
. The lighthouse, including its boundary walls and coastguard house, became
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 ...
in September 1978. Working alongside the Old Higher Lighthouse from 1716, the lower lighthouse has subsequently been rebuilt twice, once in 1789 (when it became the first working lighthouse to have its light intensified by lenses and again in 1869. The lighthouse seen today was built in 1869 and has been the home of the Portland Bird Observatory since 1961.


History


Original operation as a lighthouse

The surrounding coast of Portland, namely Portland Bill and Chesil Beach, have been notorious for the many vessels that became shipwrecked in the area over the centuries. After years of local petitions to Trinity House, the organisation agreed for a lighthouse to be built at Portland Bill. George I granted the patent in 1716. That year it was announced that Trinity House had 'caus'd to be erected two round Light-Houses of Stone upon Portland, in the County of Dorset, distant about two Thirds of a Mile from the Bill of Portland'.London Gazette, Issue 5464, Page 2, 28 August 1716.
/ref> The Old Higher Lighthouse was built at Branscombe Hill, and the other on lower land. Designed as
leading lights Leading lights (also known as range lights in the United States) are a pair of light beacons used in navigation to indicate a safe passage for vessels entering a shallow or dangerous channel; they may also be used for position fixing. At night ...
to guide ships between Portland Race and the Shambles sandbank, they shone out for the first time on 29 September 1716. Initially, both were fire lights. Although they had been privately built, Trinity House took over responsibility for the lights on finding them poorly maintained, in 1752. In 1789, Trinity House hired the Weymouth builder William Johns to demolish and rebuild the lower lighthouse. The new lighthouse, 63 feet high and built of Portland stone, was then installed with six Argand lights and
spherical reflector A curved mirror is a mirror with a curved reflecting surface. The surface may be either ''convex'' (bulging outward) or ''concave'' (recessed inward). Most curved mirrors have surfaces that are shaped like part of a sphere, but other shapes are ...
s, together with a new lens system created by Thomas Rogers. (Rogers had been experimenting with incorporating lenses into the windows of lighthouse lanterns, and this was the first time that his lenses had been installed in a practical setting. Though they only remained in place for a few years, they represent the beginning of something that would later become standard practice: the application of
dioptric Dioptrics is the branch of optics dealing with refraction, similarly the branch dealing with mirror A mirror or looking glass is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of ...
technology to a lighthouse. In 1824 the lights in both towers were renewed and improved by Trinity House; whilst the High Light was made revolving at this time, the Lower Light remained stationary but with 'its power and magnitude ..considerably increased'. In 1869 Trinity House had both lighthouses rebuilt to allow for further improvements to be made; at the same time they were each provided with a large (first-order) fixed optic, designed and built by
James Chance James Chance, also known as James White (born James Siegfried, April 20, 1953), is an American saxophonist, keyboard player, and singer. A key figure in no wave, Chance has been playing a combination of improvisational jazz-like music and pun ...
. At the turn of the 20th century, Trinity House made plans to build a new lighthouse at Bill Point to replace both current lighthouses. The new lighthouse was completed in 1905, and the original two lighthouses were then auctioned.


Establishment of bird observatory

During the Great War the lighthouse was the "Longstone Ope Tea Gardens". The lighthouse then saw several ownership changes,Official information board situated inside the bird observatory and was used as a family home for some of this time. After World War II, the lighthouse was empty and derelict. During the 1950s, the studying of
bird migration Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by ...
was becoming established on Portland. Many ornithologists were visiting the island and Portland Bill. Through the generosity of Miss Helen Brotherton and her family, the ornithologists were able to make the lighthouse their permanent base. In March 1961 the conversion and repair work had been completed, and the observatory was officially opened by
Sir Peter Scott Sir Peter Markham Scott, (14 September 1909 – 29 August 1989) was a British ornithologist, conservationist, painter, naval officer, broadcaster and sportsman. The only child of Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott, he took an interest in ...
, as Portland's Bird Observatory and Field Centre. The observatory later became a registered charity. It caters for naturalists of all persuasions and offers hostel-style accommodation.


See also

*
List of lighthouses in England This is a list of lighthouses in England. It includes lighthouses which are no longer in use as a light but are still standing. It also includes some of the harbour and pier-head lights around the country. Details of several lighthouses and li ...


References


External links


Portland Bird Observatory and Field Centre official website
{{authority control 1716 establishments in England Lighthouses completed in 1716 Towers completed in 1716 Bird observatories in England Grade II listed buildings in Dorset Grade II listed lighthouses Isle of Portland Lighthouses in Dorset Lighthouses of the English Channel Observation towers in the United Kingdom 19th-century architecture in the United Kingdom Towers in Dorset