Lighthouses · South West England
Wolf Rock Lighthouse
Wolf Rock Lighthouse — lighthouse in Cornwall, England.
Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 30 min–1 h
- Free entry
- Family-friendly
- Dog-friendly
About
Wolf Rock Lighthouse is a working or historic lighthouse on the United Kingdom coast. Records date its origin to 1869. Designed by James Walker. Constructed primarily of concrete. Managed by Trinity House. Wikidata describes it as: "lighthouse in Cornwall, England". Coordinates: 49.9453°, -5.8083°.
Photo gallery
From the Wikipedia article
Wolf Rock Lighthouse is on the Wolf Rock (Cornish: An Welv, meaning the lip), a single rock located 18 nautical miles (33 km; 21 mi) east of St Mary's, Isles of Scilly and 8 nautical miles (15 km; 9.2 mi) southwest of Land's End, in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The fissures in the rock are said to produce a howling sound in gales, hence the name. The lighthouse is 41 metres (135 ft) in height and is constructed from Cornish granite prepared at Penzance, on the mainland of Cornwall. It took eight years, from 1861 to 1869, to build due to the treacherous weather conditions that can occur between the Cornish mainland and the Isles. The light is visible from Land's End by day and night. It has a range of 23 nautical miles (43 km; 26 mi) and was automated in 1988. The lighthouse was the first in the world to be fitted with a helipad. It is located on the tiny, 130 m2 skerry-type rock.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
Gabrielle of Milford Haven was wrecked on the Wolf Rock in 1394. Her cargo, worth £1000, was washed ashore in Cornwall and collected as wreck.
Architecture
In April 1860, Trinity House applied to the Board of Trade for funds to build a lighthouse on Wolf Rock. Approval was given and Walker, as engineer-in-chief, drew up designs for a 117 ft masonry tower, tapering in diameter from 41 ft at the base to 17 ft at the top. Details of the design followed closely that of other Walker-built lighthouses: the recently completed Bishop Rock and Hanois lights, and the Smalls (which was then nearing completion). While his designs were inspired by Smeaton's third Eddystone Lighthouse, Walker introduced new innovations, not least the use of vertical as well as horizontal dovetail joints (first achieved at Les Hanois at the suggestion of Nicholas Douglass,…
Visiting
The lighthouse continues in operation. Set within the fourth-order revolving optic, its solar-powered lamp has a range of 16 nmi; it flashes once every 15 seconds and is remotely monitored from the Trinity House Planning Centre in Harwich, Essex.
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 49.9453, -5.8083
- Established
- 1869
Sources
- wikidata: Q15543901 (CC0)
- wikipedia: Wolf Rock Lighthouse (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- commons: Phare de Wolf Rock - 2.jpg (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is Wolf Rock Lighthouse?
- Wolf Rock Lighthouse is in South-West England, United Kingdom.
- When was Wolf Rock Lighthouse built?
- Built or established in 1869. Designed by James Walker.
- Who runs Wolf Rock Lighthouse?
- Wolf Rock Lighthouse is operated by Trinity House.
- Is Wolf Rock Lighthouse free to visit?
- Yes, Wolf Rock Lighthouse is free to enter.