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Start Point lighthouse including the well house and keepers cottage
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Devon , England
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1836
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1836
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1993
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masonary
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conical
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white
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3rd order catadioptric (rotating)
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200,000 Candela
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white light flashes three times every 10 seconds
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was built in 1836 to protect shipping off
Start Point in south
Devon England .
This
Lighthouse is owned and operated by
Trinity House . It has a Visitor Centre and is, at times, open to the public.
Start Point is one of twenty nine towers designed by
James Walker . The lighthouse was built in the
Gothic Style and it is topped by a
Crenellated Parapet . The main tower is built of tarred and white-painted
Granite ashlar with a
Cast-iron lantern roofed in
Copper . The tall circular tower is high with a moulded plinth and pedestal stage and 2 diminishing stages above that. On the north and south sides there are 2 entrance porches, that on the south side blocked an with a 4-centred arch hoodmould, in addition the doorway to the north porch has a Tudor arch and both have raised parapets with Trinity House arms.
The inside of the tower includes a cantilevered granite staircase around the inside well of the tower with an
Iron Balustrade with a cast-iron newel. The lighthouse originally had the keepers' living accommodation on the ground and first floor but the floor was taken out in 1871 when new keepers' houses were built nearby. It has been designated by
English Heritage as a grade II
Listed Building .
1
Since its construction, in 1836, the lighthouse has undergone many changes. In 1862 a fog-signalling bell was added but this was quickly replaced by a siren in 1877. In 1989 the erosion of the coast caused part of the lighthouse complex, including the fog signal, to collapse. As a result a lot of the area had to be leveled and retaining walls put in place. Other buildings which were used by the lighthouse keepers, who originally could only get on or off the lighthouse by boat, such as the well
2 and piggery
3 have survived.
Work began on the automation of Start Point Lighthouse in August 1992 and was carried out by LEC Marine at a cost of £82,754. It was completed in early 1993. The station is now monitored and controlled from the Trinity House Operations Control Centre at
Harwich in
Essex via a
Telemetry link.
The lens is developed from the dioptic system designed by
Alan Stevenson , the first of this kind to be used by Trinity House.
4
Two white lights were originally exhibited, one revolving and one fixed to mark the Skerries Bank. The fixed light was subsequently changed to a fixed red subsidiary light to mark this hazard. The light was powered by oil until 1959 when it was electrified. It uses a
Fresnel Lens
The light was found to be inadequate in fog, and a bell was installed in the 1860s. The machinery was housed in a small building on the cliff face and operated by a weight which fell in a tube running down the sheer cliff. A siren replaced the bell after only fifteen years. When required the
Foghorn sounds once every 60 seconds.
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"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/South_West_Coast_Path" class="copylinks">South West Coast Path to the west of the lighthouse
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