Chicken Rock Lighthouse

Lighthouse

54°02.271′N 4°50.315′W / 54.037850°N 4.838583°W / 54.037850; -4.838583TowerConstructed1875

Constructiongranite towerAutomated1961Height44 metres (144 ft)Shapetapered cylindrical tower with gallery and lanternOperatorNorthern Lighthouses BoardHeritageregistered building

LightFirst lit1875Focal height38 metres (125 ft)Range21 mi (34 km)Characteristic

Fl W 5s.

The Chicken Rock Lighthouse is an active 19th-century lighthouse, located on Chicken Rock, an isolated island at the southern end of the Isle of Man. Completed in 1874, the 44-metre-high (144 ft) tower is constructed of tapered granite and was designed by David and Thomas Stevenson. The need for the light on Chicken Rock was identified as early as 1866, due to the problem of fog obscuring the two lights on the nearby Calf of Man. As these lights formed a transit with the Chickens, the loss of any one exposed shipping to danger.

History

Approval to start work on the lighthouse was given in 1868. Constructed of granite blocks forming a tapered tower, with a lantern room and single gallery, it was designed by the two brothers, David and Thomas of the Stevenson lighthouse engineering family. At the same time as overseeing this project, they were also involved in the building of the lighthouse on Dubh Artach in Scotland. Construction finished in December 1874, with the first official lighting day taking place on 1 January 1875. The total cost was £64,559 (equivalent to £7,682,094 as of 2023).^[1]^[2]

The light was originally fuelled by paraffin, although the type of fuel used and whether the optics should display a red sector light was a matter of dispute between David and Trinity House.

In January 1960, the Isle of Man Weekly Times reported that due to persistently stormy weather, Lighthouse Keepers Charles Roberts and Leslie Anderson were marooned on the lighthouse and missed Christmas and New Year. On Christmas Day they had to do without their Christmas Dinner.^[3]

The relief boat from Port St Mary finally got through to the men three weeks overdue and they were able to get home on leave.

A fire heavily damaged the interior of the lighthouse on 23 December 1960. The three lighthouse keepers, one of whom suffered burns from the fire, were rescued by the Port St Mary RNLI lifeboat. Although the lighthouse was repaired following the fire, it was not used by any resident keepers again, and was instead automated in 1961.^[4]^[2]

The lighthouse continues to be operated and maintained by the Northern Lighthouse Board.^[4]

References

^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
^ ^a ^b Christopher P. Nicholson (1995). Rock Lighthouses of Britain: The End of an Era?. Dundurn. pp. 167–. ISBN 978-1-870325-41-7.
^ https://www.imuseum.im/Olive/APA/IsleofMan/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=IMT%2F1960%2F01%2F08&id=Ar00123&sk=C62750DD&viewMode=image
^ ^a ^b "Chicken Rock Lighthouse". Retrieved 14 October 2014.