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.