Anvil Point Lighthouse

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Anvil Point Lighthouse
Anvil point lighthouse durlston dorset.jpg
Anvil Point Lighthouse
Anvil Point Lighthouse is located in Dorset
Anvil Point Lighthouse
Dorset
LocationSwanage
Dorset
England
Coordinates50°35′30.8″N 1°57′35.3″W / 50.591889°N 1.959806°W / 50.591889; -1.959806Coordinates: 50°35′30.8″N 1°57′35.3″W / 50.591889°N 1.959806°W / 50.591889; -1.959806
Year first constructed1881
Automated1991
Constructionstone tower
Tower shapecylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markings / patternwhite tower and lantern
Tower height12 m (39 ft)
Focal height45 m (148 ft)
Original lens250mm 6 panel fourth order rotating optic
Current lens1 single tier LED lantern
Intensity1,080 candela
Range9 nmi (17 km; 10 mi)
CharacteristicFl W 10s.
Fog signaldeactivated
Admiralty numberA0496
NGA number0544
ARLHS numberENG 001
Managing agentTrinity House[1] [2]

The Anvil Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse located near Swanage in Dorset, southern England.

History[edit]

The lighthouse is built of local stone and was completed in 1881.[citation needed] It was opened by Neville Chamberlain's father, then Minister of Transport. The lighthouse tower is twelve metres tall, the height of the light above the high-water mark is 45 m (148 ft). The light is positioned to give a waypoint for vessels passing along the English Channel coast.

Originally the light was illuminated by a paraffin vapour burner (PVB). During 1960, the lighthouse was modernised and electrified. It was fully automated on 31 May 1991 and is now monitored and controlled from the Trinity House Operations Control Centre at Harwich.[3]

The lighthouse had a 1,000 watt filament lamp with an intensity of 500,000 Candela. The lights range was about 19 nautical miles (35 km; 22 mi), but was reduced to 9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi) following a review of aids to navigation in 2010.[4] The old fog signal was a 5-minute cannon. The fog signal was replaced during 1981 by new automatic equipment, but it has now been discontinued. In 2012, a LED lamp was installed above the rotating Fresnel lens to serve as the main light at Anvil Point; its character is, as it was previously, a white flash every 10 seconds.[citation needed] The old lens, though no longer in use, remains in place in the tower.

The lighthouse is near a visitor centre and is sometimes open to the public for tours. This area is an Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).[5] Some of the old buildings have been refurbished as holiday cottages.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Anvil Point The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 24 April 2016
  2. ^ Anvil Point Lighthouse Trinity House. Retrieved 24 April 2016
  3. ^ "Anvil Point Lighthouse". Trinity House. Retrieved 2011-08-27.
  4. ^ "Trinity House 2010 Aids to Navigation Review" (PDF). Trinity House. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-01-08.
  5. ^ "About Durlston Country Park".

External links[edit]