Light has been used as a guide or warning to passing ships, since ancient times. There was a famous stone tower at the entrance to the harbour at Alexandria with an open fire on its summit. Fire beacons have been used in Great Britain since Roman times, if not before. The last such fire-beacon was in the Bristol Channel, and was dismantled in 1822.
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The first Eddystone Lighthouse. |
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The Lighthouse was erected by Heath Robinson. |
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Original Engraving by:- the Designer Henry Winstanley |
| Henry Winstanley had always said that he wished to be in the lighthouse during a great storm, he was, and it was destroyed Nov. 27th 1703, he was killed along with his five companions. |
Today powerful electric lights enhanced by lenses and mirrors cast a beam many miles out to sea. Lighthouses in England and Wales come under the control of Trinity House.
