Holyhead Mail Pier Light

Holyhead Mail Pier Light
Caergybi
Salt Island

Holyhead Mail Pier Light
Wales
Location Holyhead
Anglesey
Wales
United Kingdom
Coordinates 53°18′51″N 4°37′12″W / 53.314198°N 4.619870°W / 53.314198; -4.619870Coordinates: 53°18′51″N 4°37′12″W / 53.314198°N 4.619870°W / 53.314198; -4.619870
Year first constructed 1821
Deactivated inactive
Construction stone tower
Tower shape broad tapered cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markings / pattern unpainted tower, black lantern, greenish lantern dome
Height 15 metres (49 ft)
ARLHS number WAL-053

Holyhead Mail Pier Light on Salt Island, Anglesey, is an inactive lighthouse which was built by the civil engineer John Rennie in 1821. It is probably the second oldest lighthouse in Wales, after Point of Ayr Lighthouse and is the last of three lighthouses located on the island.[1]

There is a matching tower in Howth, Ireland, also designed by Rennie, for the other terminal of the Irish packet steamer. The lighthouse is of national significance as one of John Rennie's surviving works. He was one of the most eminent engineers of the world’s first Industrial Revolution. Of particular importance, in a Welsh context, is the early date of the lighthouse lantern, which was originally lit by gas. Before the conversion to electricity a gas works was located on the island to power the lighthouse, the piers and even part of Holyhead itself. The works were constructed at a cost of £130,000, an astronomical sum at the time.

The tower survives intact and has beautifully curving gallery railings, similar to those at Bardsey Lighthouse. It is no longer in use, although it is used as a navigation reference for sailors.[1][2][3]

See also


References

  1. 1 2 Douglas Bland Hague (1994). Hughes, Stephen, ed. Lighthouses of Wales: Their Architecture and Archaeology. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. pp. 1–. ISBN 978-1-871184-08-2.
  2. ↑ Holyhead Mail Pier The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 1 June 2016
  3. ↑ Holyhead Mail Pier Light Lighthouse Explorer. Retrieved 1 June 2016

Sources

D. B. Hague (1994). Lighthouses of Wales Their Architecture and Archaeology. S. Hughes(editor). Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. ISBN 1-871184-08-8. 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Salt Island Lighthouse.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/30/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.