Survey Data
Reg No
16403102
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Technical
Original Use
Lighthouse
Date
1775 - 1780
Coordinates
334261, 192336
Date Recorded
13/08/2003
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Freestanding six-stage lighthouse, built c. 1779 to designs by John Trail. The 30m (95ft) high lighthouse is constructed in coursed granite with ashlar quoins. The octagonal shaft is slightly tapered. There is a bracketed cornice and a domed cap. Internally there is a replacement spiral steel stair. Openings are a mixture of semi-circular-arched and roundels with some timber sash frames. The lighthouse is prominently sited on the Wicklow Head. It was built as one of a pair in order to distinguish Wicklow Head from other sites. The second lighthouse was re-built in 1825.
Appraisal
This 18th-century lighthouse building is one of the earliest examples in the country and arguably County Wicklow's most significant pre 1900s "industrial" structure. Although altered in the 1860s, and again in more recent times, the lighthouse remains of considerable importance.