Survey Data

Reg No

20912607


Rating

Regional


Categories of Special Interest

Architectural, Social, Technical


Original Use

Lighthouse


In Use As

Lighthouse


Date

1880 - 1890


Coordinates

40586, 40154


Date Recorded

05/08/2009


Date Updated

--/--/--


Description

Freestanding octagonal-plan two-stage lighthouse, completed 1888, with cast-iron lantern. Rendered walls with corbelled cornice, surmounted by cast-iron railings surround circular-plan lantern. Square-headed openings. Approached by flight of cut stone steps. Cut stone quay to site. Remains of cast-iron lighthouse and related buildings to adjacent Calf Rock.

Appraisal

Following the destruction by storm in 1881 of an earlier cast-iron light house set on the adjacent Calf Rock, the Bull Rock lighthouse was completed on this elevated site, well above the sea, in 1888, and the first lighted exhibited on 1st January 1889. It has a dramatic location, set on a rocky island, which has a tunnel running through it. The scale of work involved in its construction was staggering, with three hundred steps cut into the rock to access the site, while tremendous ground works were undertaken to flatten the site. Lighthouse keepers’ houses were built at this time, and survive along with the other related structures, to provide insight into the functioning of lighthouse complexes. The Bull Rock remains a testament to the skill and dedication of those involved in its construction, and a life saver to those at sea.