Pendeen Lighthouse, also known as Pendeen Watch, is an active aid to navigation located approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of the village of Pendeen in west Cornwall, England. It is situated within the Aire Point to Carrick Du Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the Penwith Heritage Coast. The South West Coast Path passes to the south of the lighthouse.
History and Construction
Trinity House decided to build a lighthouse and foghorn at this location in 1891. The structure was designed by Trinity House engineer-in-chief Sir Thomas Matthews. The 17-metre (56 ft) tower, associated buildings, and surrounding walls were constructed by Arthur Carkeek of Redruth, who had to flatten the headland before building could commence. The light was first lit on 3 October 1900.
Architecture and Layout
The lighthouse consists of a cylindrical white-painted concrete rubblestone tower with a balcony and lantern. Attached to the tower is an E-shaped building divided into a terrace of four cottages. Three of these were originally used to house the three resident keepers and their families, while the fourth served as an office and sleeping accommodation for supernumerary keepers. The cottages are now let as holiday accommodation. Water was originally collected from the flat roof of the accommodation block and stored in an underground tank. On the seaward side of the complex, the fog siren and its machinery are housed in a separate building.
Light and Optics
A five-wick Argand lamp was initially provided by Chance Brothers of Smethwick, near Birmingham. This was replaced in 1906 by a Matthews 3-50mm diameter mantle lamp. Chance Brothers also manufactured the original lens system: a large first-order rotating optic made up of two sets of four panels (eight panels in total), which displayed a group of four flashes every fifteen seconds. This optic remained in use until 2023.
In 1922, a 75mm Hood incandescent oil burner was installed, making Pendeen one of the first lighthouses fitted with this new type of mantle lamp, which increased the light's visible range to almost 28 nautical miles (52 km; 32 mi).
Electrification
In 1926, Pendeen was one of the first Trinity House lighthouses to be equipped with an incandescent electric light bulb. The electric current was generated by dynamos directly coupled to semi-diesel engines. The lamp used was an Osram 3.5 kW gas-filled bulb, specially designed for Trinity House by the General Electric Company. The automated equipment included a turntable lamp changer: in the event of a lamp failure, a reserve bulb was brought into position and lit, and if the reserve bulb also failed, it was replaced by a self-lighting acetylene lamp. This system remained in use until the mid-1990s.
Fog Signal
The original fog signal was sounded from a detached engine house containing a pair of Hornsby oil engines providing compressed air for twin 5-inch sirens. Between 1924 and 1926, Pendeen became the first Trinity House station to be fitted with a more powerful 12-inch siren. The engine house is noted as "the only example in the country to have retained its 12" siren with associated machinery."
Automation and Later Developments
The lighthouse was automated in 1995, with the keepers leaving the station on 3 May. The original revolving optic was retained but equipped with new 35W metal-halide lamps. The fog siren was decommissioned and replaced with a roof-mounted electric fog signal, which was itself decommissioned in April 2014.
In 2023, the revolving Fresnel lens assembly was removed as part of a Trinity House project to eliminate the use of mercury from its lighthouses (the lens had floated in a cast iron bath containing approximately 40 litres of liquid mercury, vapour from which is now deemed hazardous to health). In 2024, a new self-contained LED lantern unit was installed in place of the old lens. In 2026, the original optic was sent to South Korea on a ten-year loan to be reassembled and exhibited in the National Lighthouse Museum.
Current Specifications
- Height of tower: 17 metres (56 ft)
- Focal height: 59 metres (194 ft)
- Characteristic: Fl(4) W 15s (four white flashes every 15 seconds)
- Range: 16 nautical miles (30 km; 18 mi)
- Intensity: 18,700 candela
- Operator: Trinity House
Heritage Designations
The lighthouse, attached keepers' cottages, the separate engine house, and the boundary and garden walls are all listed as Grade II listed buildings on the National Heritage List for England.
