The Skerries Lighthouse was first lit on the highest point of the largest island in

The Skerries, Isle of Anglesey The Skerries () (), coming from the Old Norse word , are a group of sparsely vegetated rocky islets ( skerries), with a total area of about lying offshore from Carmel Head at the northwest corner of Anglesey, Wales. The islands are important ...

after 1716. A patent for the lighthouse was subsequently obtained in 1824. The builder was William Trench, who lost his son off the rocks and died in debt in 1725. He is said to have originally been allowed a pension from the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

, rather than payment from shipping tolls. The ( 3 Geo. 2. c. 36) allowed his son-in-law, Sutton Morgan, to increase the dues charged for shipping and confirmed the patent on the light to Morgan's heirs forever.

History

It was rebuilt around 1759 by Morgan's heirs for about £3,000. The rebuilt lighthouse was a slightly tapering limestone

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

, in diameter and about high. It was lit by a coal

brazier A brazier () is a container used to burn charcoal or other solid fuel for cooking, heating or rituals. It often takes the form of a metal box or bowl with feet, but in some places it is made of terracotta. Its elevation helps circulate air, feed ...

on top of the tower. Morgan Jones, who was twice

High Sheriff of Cardiganshire The office of High Sheriff of Cardiganshire was established in 1541, since when a high sheriff was appointed annually until 1974 when the office was transformed into that of High Sheriff of Dyfed as part of the creation of Dyfed from the amalga ...

, inherited the lighthouse in 1778; he raised the top of the tower by and built an iron

balcony A balcony (from , "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartme ...

with railings enclosing the oil-burning

lantern A lantern is a source of lighting, often portable. It typically features a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle, a oil lamp, wick in oil, or a thermoluminescence, thermoluminescent Gas mantle, mesh, and often a ...

. The lantern was glazed all around with square panes and covered by a

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

Trinity House The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond, also known as Trinity House (and formally as The Master, Wardens and Assistants of the Guild Fraternity or Brotherhood of the most glorious and undivided Trinity and of St Clement in the ...

took over operation of the lighthouse under the Lighthouses Act 1836 ( 6 & 7 Will. 4. c. 79), but not without a fight from the original owners, who wanted to protect their investment from a low takeover price. The final price paid was a little over £440,000 a reflection of the huge revenues that were accruing to the owners via shipping dues of 1d (one "old" penny, of a pound) per ton from every commercial vessel over 5 tons entering Liverpool. Foreign ships and ships sailing in from foreign ports were liable to double this rate. The dues were payable irrespective of whether or not the vessel actually passed within the range of the light or the time of passing. The lighthouse was lavishly restored by James Walker, exhibiting two of his characteristics: a decrease in diameter and a solid parapet (as seen at his Trwyn Du Lighthouse). The stone-built gallery was wide and bracketed out on

corbels In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a bearing weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applie ...

with a

crenellated A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

. A new

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

lantern, in diameter, was glazed with square panes around a dioptric light with mirrors, later replaced by a lens. On the north side of the tower there is a former external doorway exhibiting the Trinity House coat of arms, which now leads to the engine room. The light shines at a height of above the average

high tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

, with an intensity of 1,150,000

candela The candela (symbol: cd) is the unit of luminous intensity in the International System of Units (SI). It measures luminous power per unit solid angle emitted by a light source in a particular direction. Luminous intensity is analogous to radi ...

s. It flashes twice every 10 seconds and can be seen away. In 1903–4, a solid circular tower, about in diameter, was added to the south-west side of the main tower to carry a sector light. This shines at an elevation of above the sea. The light was automated in 1987 and is now controlled from

Holyhead Holyhead (; , "Cybi's fort") is a historic port town, and is the list of Anglesey towns by population, largest town and a Community (Wales), community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales. Holyhead is on Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island ...

. Nearby are

castellated A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals t ...

dwellings having cobbled yards and entrance stairs, along with symmetrically sited privies, a garden, a stone bridge connecting two islets, and a unique stone well-head building. An axial corridor leads from the dwellings to the lighthouse tower's base. The early date of the

lighthouse keeper A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...

s’ cottages makes the buildings of considerable interest. For a number of summers, they have been used by wardens working for the

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

References

Sources

*Hague, D. B., ''Lighthouses of Wales: Their Architecture and Archaeology'', ed. S. Hughes (Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, 1994)

External links

Trinity House
{{Authority control Lighthouses completed in 1759 Lighthouses completed in 1904 Lighthouses in Anglesey 1759 establishments in Great Britain 1904 establishments in Wales Grade II* listed lighthouses Grade II* listed buildings in Anglesey

History

See also

References

Sources

External links