SMALLS LIGHTHOUSE
The Smalls has a fascinating history. The original lighthouse was designed by a musical instrument maker, Henry Whiteside
The Smalls has a fascinating history. The original lighthouse was designed by a musical instrument maker, Henry Whiteside
Completed in 1776 and operational in 1777, it was an octagonal wooden structure built on 8” x 42” oak posts, set in deep holes drilled into the rock and secured with molten lead. The idea was that the fury of the ocean would pass between the pillars beneath the tower, rather than battering against a more substantial structure.
Later, it became apparent that the wooden structure was not strong enough to cope with the hostile conditions that hit this reef on a regular basis, and in 1861 it was replaced by the current structure, based on the design of Smeaton’s Eddystone tower.
It was the second one built on Eddystone, and a fine example of the recent innovations in lighthouse building at that time. It is made of interlocking blocks of cut stone, constructed on shore then deconstructed, shipped out and rebuilt in situ, the blocks fitting so perfectly that no mortar was used in the construction.
Today,the Tower is 41m high and the light can still be seen for 18NM (nautical miles), with a signal of three flashes every fifteen seconds. A more recent addition is the helipad, built above the tower in 1978 and used today by maintenance crews to access the lighthouse. The light became automated in 1987, and it was the first offshore British lighthouse to have a flushing toilet. Trinity House maintain all the offshore lighthouses, using a ship with a small helicopter to drop off maintenance crews and supplies, a testament to the difficulties posed by trying to land people by boat.
It has its fair share of stories, with the original tower being the origin of one of the first stories of a rescue resulting from a message in a bottle. Later a darker tale of tragedy and madness unfolded there as the death of one of the keepers, in the early 1800s, rendered his colleague insane, a fact that resulted in Trinity House changing the manning of offshore lighthouses from 2 to 3 people.
It is also the site of a rare find of a Viking sword guard dating from the 12th century.
