Holyhead Mail Pier Light

Holyhead Mail Pier Light on Salt Island, Anglesey, is an inactive lighthouse which was built by the civil engineer John Rennie in 1821. It is probably the second oldest lighthouse in Wales, after Point of Ayr Lighthouse and is the last of three lighthouses located on the island.[1]

Holyhead Mail Pier Light
Wales
LocationHolyhead
Anglesey
Wales
United Kingdom
Coordinates53°18′51″N 4°37′12″W
Year first constructed1821
DeactivatedInactive
ConstructionStone tower
Tower shapeBroad tapered cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markings / patternUnpainted tower, black lantern, greenish lantern dome
Tower height15 metres (49 ft)
ARLHS numberWAL-053
HeritageGrade II listed building 

There is a matching tower in Howth, Ireland, also designed by Rennie, for the other terminal of the Irish packet steamer. The lighthouse is of national significance as one of John Rennie's surviving works. He was one of the most eminent engineers of the world's first Industrial Revolution. Of particular importance, in a Welsh context, is the early date of the lighthouse lantern, which was originally lit by gas. Before the conversion to electricity a gas works was located on the island to power the lighthouse, the piers and even part of Holyhead itself. The works were constructed at a cost of £130,000, an astronomical sum at the time.

The tower survives intact and has beautifully curving gallery railings, similar to those at Bardsey Lighthouse. It is no longer in use, although it is used as a navigation reference for sailors.[1][2][3]

See also

References
  1. Douglas Bland Hague (1994). Hughes, Stephen (ed.). Lighthouses of Wales: Their Architecture and Archaeology. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. pp. 1–. ISBN 978-1-871184-08-2.
  2. Holyhead Mail Pier The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 1 June 2016
  3. Holyhead Mail Pier Light Lighthouse Explorer. Retrieved 1 June 2016

Sources

D. B. Hague (1994). Lighthouses of Wales Their Architecture and Archaeology. S. Hughes(editor). Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. ISBN 1-871184-08-8.


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