Penmon Lighthouse

Penmon Lighthouse 28-10-10.

Penmon lighthouse was built following a major loss of life, on 17 August 1831, when an old steamer, 'The Rothsay Castle', ran aground and broke up on or near Puffin Island.
The old steamer was on its regular passage between Liverpool and the Menai Straits, and to be described as "old" in 1831, must have meant it was really quite ancient, or perhaps not in the best of condition. The ship left Liverpool with 150 passengers aboard and ran into very difficult sea conditions beyond the Mersey Bar.
It struggled against the headwinds and had not reached the halfway point of her journey after 4 hours and according to passenger accounts, passengers wanted to turn back but the the Captain refused their requests. It struggled on.
The Rothsay Castle had left the Mersey at 11am and it was now midnight, 13 hours had passed, and she still had not reached her destination. About an hour later 14 hours out, at about 1am she struck the Dutchman Bank, bounced off and continued without much control along the channel. A further series of collisions with the sand banks and appalling sea conditions resulted in her starting to break up.
Survivors recount how there was total chaos on deck even before the funnel broke off and pushed the Captain and his officer overboard, deteriorating more from that point. Of the 150 passengers on board, 130 were lost and 20 survived, being rescued by the Beaumaris Lifeboat, supported by a pilot boat from Penmon.
Nearby is an old lifeboat station, built in 1832. This lifeboat was responsible for saving 116 lives from 50 rescue attempts, however in 1915 it closed.

The lighthouse is situated on a low-lying rock surrounded by shingle beaches about half a mile south of Puffin Island. The circular stone tower has three black bands.
The Lighthouse is 29m tall and was designed by James Walker and built in 1835-1838. It was his first sea-washed tower. The Lighthouse has a stepped base designed to discourage the huge upsurge of waves and reduce the force of the water at the bottom of the tower. This was at a cost of £11,589.
Austere vertical walls, instead of the usual graceful lines of other rock towers, are probably an economy measure. The tower has a crenellated stone parapet, in preference to iron railings on the gallery, and narrows in diameter above the half way point.
Walker also pioneered here, unsuccessfully, the use of a primitive water closet, comprising a specially designed drain exiting at the base of the tower. The stepped design of the lighthouse may have helped water exit the closet, but surges of seawater made its use difficult during heavy weather.
When constructed the lighthouse was manned by two keepers, but these were withdrawn in 1922 when the lighthouse was converted to unwatched acetylene operation. In 1996 it was converted to solar power. Work to modernise the station included the development of a unique operating mechanism to work the 178Kg fog bell.