South Bishop Lighthouse

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South Bishop Lighthouse
South Bishop East.jpg
South Bishop Lighthouse from the sea.
South Bishop Lighthouse is located in Wales
South Bishop Lighthouse
Wales
LocationSouth Bishop island
St George's Channel
Wales
United Kingdom
Coordinates51°51′10″N 5°24′43″W / 51.852714°N 5.411925°W / 51.852714; -5.411925Coordinates: 51°51′10″N 5°24′43″W / 51.852714°N 5.411925°W / 51.852714; -5.411925
Year first constructed1839
Automated1983
Constructionbrick tower
Tower shapecylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markings / patternwhite tower and lantern
Tower height11 m (36 ft)
Focal height44 m (144 ft)
Current lens4th Order Catadioptric
Light sourcesolar power
Intensity60,000 CD
Range16 nmi (30 km)
CharacteristicFl W 5s.
Fog signal3 blasts every 45s. (range of 2 nmi (3.7 km))
Admiralty numberA5276
NGA number5596
ARLHS numberWAL-024
Managing agentTrinity House[1] [2]
HeritageGrade II listed building Edit this on Wikidata

The South Bishop Lighthouse is a lighthouse on South Bishop Island (also known as Emsger), a small rock approximately 5 miles (8 km) west of St Davids Head in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

History[edit]

Designed by James Walker, it was built on the island in 1839, acting both as a waymark for vessels navigating offshore and as assistance to ships navigating around the island group.

The lighthouse was converted to electric operation in 1959, and in 1971 a helipad was constructed at the site. Finally, the lighthouse was automated and demanned in 1983.

Like many in the UK, it is now monitored from the control centre at Trinity House in Harwich, Essex, England.

It was built in the path of many migrating sea birds, and the brilliance of the light at night often led the birds to dash themselves against the lantern. Many died and, when Trinity House and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds teamed up, they together came to the conclusion to build special bird perches on the side of the lighthouse lantern. After this the number of deaths decreased considerably.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ South Bishop The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 2 June 2016
  2. ^ South Bishop Lighthouse Trinity House. Retrieved 2 June 2016

External links[edit]