Description
Book SynopsisRock Lighthouses of Britain & Ireland is a new edition of the classic work on the subject – but with some of the most famous Irish rock lighthouses included. The text has been updated to include the modern technology being used by the lighthouse authorities, as well as all the historical advances made over the centuries at British and Irish rock lights, complemented by scores of new and many stunning photographs. Also included are historic plans and drawings, many of them highly colourful and artistic, as used by the original lighthouse builders. At the end are comprehensive and detailed tables about the rock lighthouses maintained by all three lighthouse authorities. Building on the acclaim received for the earlier editions, it brings the history of these iconic structures completely up-to-date, from the day the first granite block was laid, through their construction, automation, the disappearance of the lighthouse keeper, right up to today’s automated operation. Here are some of the world’s most famous rock lighthouses. There are stories of men battling against Nature’s most powerful forces to build a structure designed to save lives on a seemingly impossible site. Rock Lighthouses of Britain & Ireland spans the centuries between the world’s first rock lighthouse on the Eddystone reef, to the very last rock lighthouse, constructed in the traditional style, on Ireland’s Fastnet Rock and accordingly will remain the premier book about rock lighthouses.
Table of ContentsOut of the darkness – A history of the British and Irish lighthouses services; Eddystone – The beginning; The Skerries – The price of generosity; The Smalls – A rock lighthouse on legs; Longships – The Land’s End light; The Longstone – Grace Darling’s light; Bell Rock – The start of the Stevensons; Tuskar Rock – The lighthouse that almost killed a King; The Skelligs – The lighthouse at the end of the road; Skerryvore – The noblest of all; Bishop Rock – The Blue Riband light; Fastnet – The last of the great rock towers; Muckle Flugga – The northern light; The Bull and The Calf – If at first you don’t succeed…; Wolf Rock – The curse of the Cornish wreckers; Dubh Artach–- Guardian of the Hebrides; Chicken Rock – A Manx crag; Flannan Isles – The Marie Celeste lighthouse; Rockall – ‘The most isolated rock on the surface on the earth’; South Rock – A remarkable survivor; Rock lights – A new era begins; Appendix – Rock lighthouse data
