Anvil Point Lighthouse

Anvil Point Lighthouse

Anvil Point Lighthouse
Dorset
Location Swanage
Dorset
England
Coordinates 50°35′30.8″N 1°57′35.3″W / 50.591889°N 1.959806°W / 50.591889; -1.959806Coordinates: 50°35′30.8″N 1°57′35.3″W / 50.591889°N 1.959806°W / 50.591889; -1.959806
Year first constructed 1881
Automated 1991
Construction stone tower
Tower shape cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markings / pattern white tower and lantern
Height 12 m (39 ft)
Focal height 45 m (148 ft)
Original lens 250mm 6 panel fourth order rotating optic
Current lens 1 single tier LED lantern
Intensity 1,080 candela
Range 9 nmi (17 km; 10 mi)
Characteristic Fl W 10s.
Fog signal deactivated
Admiralty number A0496
NGA number 0544
ARLHS number ENG 001
Managing agent

Trinity House[1]

[2]

The Anvil Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse located near Swanage in Dorset.

History

It is built of local stone and was completed in 1881. It was opened by Neville Chamberlain's father, then Minister of Transport. The lighthouse tower is twelve metres tall, the height of the light above the high-water mark is 45 m (148 ft). The light is positioned to give a waypoint for vessels passing along the English Channel coast.

Originally the light was illuminated by a paraffin vapour burner (PVB). During 1960 the lighthouse was modernised and electrified. It was fully automated on 31 May 1991 and is now monitored and controlled from the Trinity House Operations Control Centre at Harwich.[3]

The lighthouse had a 1000 watt filament lamp with an intensity of 500,000 Candela. The lights range was about 19 nautical miles (35 km; 22 mi), but was reduced to 9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi) following a review of aids to navigation in 2010.[4] The old fog signal was a 5 minute cannon. The fog signal was replaced during 1981 by new automatic equipment, but it has now been discontinued. In 2012 with a LED lamp was installed above the rotating Fresnel lens to serve as the main light at Anvil Point; its character is, as it was previously, a white Flash every 10 Seconds. The old lens, though no longer in use, remains in place in the tower.

The lighthouse is near a visitor centre and is sometimes open to the public for tours. This area is an area of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Some of the old buildings have been refurbished as holiday cottages.

See also


References

  1. Anvil Point The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved April 24, 2016
  2. Anvil Point Lighthouse Trinity House. Retrieved April 24, 2016
  3. "Anvil Point Lighthouse". Trinity House. Retrieved 2011-08-27.
  4. "Trinity House 2010 Aids to Navigation Review" (PDF). Trinity House.

External links


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