Holyhead Breakwater Lighthouse

The Holyhead Breakwater Lighthouse stands on the Holyhead Breakwater outside the Welsh port of Holyhead, Anglesey. HistoryThe structure, which was completed in 1873, was most likely designed by Victorian civil engineer, John Hawkshaw, after he took control of Holyhead harbour works in 1857. The lighthouse was the last major building completed on the breakwater. The three-storey black and white tower, unlike many contemporary lighthouses, is square. It measures 22. 25ft on each side, is 63ft high and rests 70ft above the high-water mark. It has chamfered angles and a stepped plinth set on an oval platform on the breakwater. A square design was chosen because it made the living quarters more comfortable. Much of the original living accommodation remains intact inside. The tower's external features include a roll-moulded string-course projecting above the first floor level. There is also a moulded cornice which supports a walkway around a circular glassed-housed light. The tower is surmounted by a weathervane and finial. The enclosed fresnel lens creates a light with a range of 14mi. The lighthouse is considered architecturally important because it forms part of the ambitious Victorian engineering works to create "harbours of refuge" throughout Great Britain.

The Holyhead Breakwater Lighthouse stands on the Holyhead Breakwater outside the Welsh port of Holyhead, Anglesey. HistoryThe structure, which was completed in 1873, was most likely designed by Victorian civil engineer, John Hawkshaw, after he took control of Holyhead harbour works in 1857. The lighthouse was the last major building completed on the breakwater. The three-storey black and white tower, unlike many contemporary lighthouses, is square. It measures 22. 25ft on each side, is 63ft high and rests 70ft above the high-water mark. It has chamfered angles and a stepped plinth set on an oval platform on the breakwater. A square design was chosen because it made the living quarters more comfortable. Much of the original living accommodation remains intact inside. The tower's external features include a roll-moulded string-course projecting above the first floor level. There is also a moulded cornice which supports a walkway around a circular glassed-housed light. The tower is surmounted by a weathervane and finial. The enclosed fresnel lens creates a light with a range of 14mi. The lighthouse is considered architecturally important because it forms part of the ambitious Victorian engineering works to create "harbours of refuge" throughout Great Britain.