 Whitby Lighthouse | |
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| Location | Whitby Yorkshire England |
|---|---|
| OS grid | NZ9288310093 |
| Coordinates | 54°28′40.1″N0°34′05.5″W / 54.477806°N 0.568194°W /54.477806; -0.568194 |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1858 |
| Built by | James Walker  |
| Construction | brick tower |
| Automated | 1992 |
| Height | 13 m (43 ft) |
| Shape | octagonal tower with balcony and lantern |
| Markings | white tower and lantern |
| Operator | Trinity House[1][2] |
| Heritage | Grade II listed building[3] |
| Light | |
| Focal height | 73 m (240 ft) |
| Lens | 1st order catadioptric fixed (original), 2nd order six panel catadioptric fixed (current) |
| Intensity | white: 107,000 candela red: 17,100 candela |
| Range | white: 18 nmi (33 km) red: 16 nmi (30 km) |
| Characteristic | Iso WR 10s. |
Whitby Lighthouse is alighthouse operated byTrinity House. It is on Ling Hill, on the coast to the southeast ofWhitby, beyond Saltwick Bay. To distinguish it from thetwo lighthouses in Whitby itself (which protect the town's harbour) it is sometimes known asWhitby High lighthouse (and is referred to as such onAdmiralty charts).[4]
The lighthouse, a white octagonal brick tower, was designed byJames Walker[5] of civil engineersMessrs. Walker, Burgess & Cooper.[6] Foundations were laid on 12 April 1857[6] with construction carried out by local builder William Falkingbridge[5] of Well Close Square, Whitby.[6] Supervising the constructionHenry Norris[5][6] ofJames Walker's firm was engaged asSuperintendent of the Works on behalf ofTrinity House. The light, a 1st Order assembly manufactured byChance Brothers of Smethwick, was first lit on 1 October 1858[5] with costs of construction having run to about £8,000.[6]
Originally, it was one of a pair of towers aligned north-south and known as the twin lights ofWhitby South[5] (the present lighthouse) andWhitby North (since demolished);[7] together they were sometimes referred to as the High Whitby lights.[8] The North Light was of a similar octagonal design to the surviving South Light, but taller at 20.5 m (67 ft) (so that, although the North tower was on lower ground, the two lights were on the same focal plane).[7][5] Their purpose was to show a fixed pair of lights which, when intransit, lined up with Whitby Rock (an offshore hazard to shipping).[9] Each was equipped with aparaffin lamp and a large (first-order) fixedoptic designed byChance Brothers.[9] A pair of single-storey keepers' cottages was attached to each tower.[10]
In 1890, a more efficient lamp (a powerful eight-wick mineral-oil burner)[11] was installed in the South Light, allowing the North Light to be deactivated: anocculting mechanism was also installed, which eclipsed the light once every thirty seconds, and a redsector was added marking Whitby Rock.[12] The North Lighthouse was then demolished (but its lantern and optic both went on to be re-used at a new lighthouse then being built atWithernsea).[13]
On the site of the demolished North Light, buildings were erected to house newfog signalling apparatus[14] (including a compressed air plant powered by twoHornsby horizontal 25-horsepower oil engines).[4] Following trials of different types of signal (conducted atSt. Catherine's Lighthouse in 1901) Trinity House decided to usesirens at Whitby, sounded through a pair of 'Rayleigh trumpets' (named after the scientific adviser at the trials).[15] Over the next decade or more Trinity House went on to install similar equipment in several other lighthouse locations.Whitby Fog Signal (known locally as the 'Hawsker Bull') was operational from 1903 and continued in use until 1987, the equipment having been updated in 1955. The building, which retains the twin roof-mounted 20-fttrumpets, is now a private dwelling, part of which is also used as holiday accommodation.[citation needed]
Whitby High lighthouse was electrified in 1976 (after which the 'Hood'paraffin vapour burner, which had been the active light source up until that point, was donated to theWhitby Museum).[16] The light was automated in 1992; the former lighthouse keepers' cottages are now available to hire by holidaymakers.[17]
| Authority control databases: Geographic |
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