Bishop Rock
- See Cortes Bank for the "Bishop Rock" in the Pacific Ocean.
 Bishop Rock Lighthouse (2005) | |
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| Location | Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 49°52′24″N 06°26′41″W / 49.87333°N 6.44472°W |
| Constructed | 1851 |
| Automated | 1992 |
| Height | 44m |
| Light | |
| First lit | 1858 |
| Intensity | 600,000 Candela |
| Range | 24 miles |
| Characteristic | 2 White Group Flashes Every 15 Seconds |
Bishop Rock (Template:Lang-kw) is a small rock at the westernmost tip of the Isles of Scilly (49°52′24″N 06°26′41″W / 49.87333°N 6.44472°W), known for its lighthouse, and listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the smallest island with a building on it in the world.[citation needed]
Containing room for nothing more than the uninhabited 45 metre tall lighthouse, the rock acts as the barrier between Great Britain and the Atlantic Ocean.[citation needed] The original lighthouse was begun in 1847, but was washed away before it could be completed. The present building was completed in 1858 and was first lit on 1 September of that year.
Bishop Rock is also the eastern end of the North Atlantic shipping route used by ocean liners in the first half of the 20th century, the western end being the entrance to Lower New York Bay. The ship with the fastest time (in either direction) between a line of longitude running through Bishop Rock and the end point at the approach to New York Harbor (first Sandy Hook, New Jersey and later Ambrose Light) claimed the "Blue Riband" for the fastest crossing.
Lighthouse
Trinity House surveyed Bishop Rock to build a lighthouse in 1843, and work began in 1847.[1] The engineer in chief, James Walker, decided on a 120 foot tall design consisting of accommodation, and a light on top of iron legs.[1] The light was never lit, since on 5 February 1850 a storm washed the tower away.[1]
In the second attempt, James Walker began building a stone structure in 1851.[1] The site presented a number of difficulties; the paucity of land available area, and the slope of the rock meant that the lowest stone had to be laid below the water level of the lowest spring tides.[2] Despite multiple problems, the tower was completed without loss of life, and the lighthouse shone its first light on 1 September 1858.[2] The total cost for the lighthouse was £36,559.[2]
In 1881, Sir James Nicholas Douglass inspected the tower, and designed renovation to reinforce the structure. The work was completed in 1887.
Difficulty reaching the lighthouse by boat led Trinity House to build a helipad atop the lighthouse in 1976.[3] The tower has been fully automated since 15 December 1992.[4]
The lighthouse was used as a filming location for one of the current BBC One Idents.
Wrecks
In 1901 a barque named Falkland struck the rock, her main yard hitting the lighthouse itself.[5]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Nicholson, Christopher (1995). Rock lighthouses of Britain The end of an era?. Whittles Publishing. pp. 114–115. ISBN 1870325419.
- ^ a b c Nicholson, Christopher (1995). Rock lighthouses of Britain The end of an era?. Whittles Publishing. p. 116. ISBN 1870325419.
- ^ Nicholson, Christopher (1995). Rock lighthouses of Britain The end of an era?. Whittles Publishing. p. 126. ISBN 1870325419.
- ^ Nicholson, Christopher (1995). Rock lighthouses of Britain The end of an era?. Whittles Publishing. p. 127. ISBN 1870325419.
- ^ "BRITISH BARK WRECKED.; Founders Off Scilly Isles -- Part of Her Crew Probably Drowned". New York Times. June 23, 1901. Retrieved 2008-09-24.
External links
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