Thursday, May 18, 2006

May 18 2006

3 comments:

CKL said...

Perch Rock Lighthouse at New Brighton is situated where the Mersey estuary opens into Liverpool Bay and just off shore from the coastal defence battery of Fort Perch Rock. The first light here was erected by the City of Liverpool in 1683 and was constructed on top of a wooden 'perch'. The present lighthouse was built by Tomkinson and Company to a design similar to that used by John Smeaton for the Eddystone lighthouse. The first stone was laid by Thomas Littledale Mayor of Liverpool in 1827 and construction took three years. The tower has a height of 90 feet and is built of granite from the Island of Anglesey and cemented with puzzellani, a substance derived from volcanic ash from Mount Etna in Sicily. Accomodation in the lighthouse consists of a galley/kitchen, bathroom, livingroom and bedroom. The lamp first shone on 1st March 1830, was automated in 1925 and decommissioned in 1973. The lighthouse was then bought by Mr. Norman Kingham for a nominal sum and for a while was used as a honeymoon suite. In October 2000 the lamp was relit as part of the year long river of light festival marking the new millennium. The lighting system, installed by artist James Peel, broadcast a message in morse code spelling out the names of 176 men, women and children who perished aboard the American emigration ship Ocean Monarch which set sail from Liverpool for Boston in 1848 and was destroyed by fire in Liverpool Bay.

Peggi Meyer Graminski said...

What an intriguing history! Is this near where you live? There's something lovely, yet almost sad, about lighthouses; I've always been quite taken with them, but since I live in the desert in Arizona I do not get to see them very often =( Thanks for posting all the info, Keith - the photo is beautiful, and is definitely one of my favorites!

CKL said...

New Brighton is probably a couple of hours drive from where I live now. However, as a child I was brought up in Liverpool just a short ferry journey across the River Mersey from where this photo was taken. I remember spending many happy times here, and I guess it was Perch Rock that inspired my own fascination with lighthouses. It's quite a special place for me so I'm pleased that you like the photo.

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