Old Lighthouse and deactivated Dungeness A nuclear power station. Expanse of foreshore and beach
Dungeness is a vast expanse of shingle ridges, built up over the centuries by longshore drift. By the end of the medieval period it had grown into a promontory reaching out into the English Channel and had become a lethal and dangerous shipping hazard. Advances in marine technology during the 16th century had led to a large increase in both the number and size of ships in the English Channel. It is said that during one winter gale over 1000 sailors lost their lives and many valuable cargoes sank. The first lighthouse, simply a wooden tower, probably 35ft high, with an open coal fire on top, was licenced to private ownership, by King James 1 (V1 of Scotland) in August 1615. A second brick lighthouse , approximately 110ft high was constructed around 1635, and a third in 1790. In 1901 Trinity House commissioned Patrick & Co of London to build a new, taller fourth lighthouse, approximately 150 ft high. This Lighthouse was ceremonially opened by His Majesty, The Prince of Wales, later George V, in 1904. Its intermittent light, flashing every 10 seconds could be seen for approximately 18 miles. During the late 1950's work began on the Dungeness Power Station and it became apparent that, due to the height of the new building, the light would be obscured from the sea. Subsequently a fifth and automatic lighthouse was built closer to the waters edge where it operates from today. Thus, the fourth lighthouse, now known as the Old Lighthouse, was decommissioned in 1960 and became a tourist attraction and museum. The new lighthouse started operation on 20 November 1961 and is constructed of precast concrete rings. Its pattern of black and white bands is impregnated into the concrete. It remains in use today, monitored and controlled from the Trinity House Operations and Planning Centre at Harwich, Essex. Dungeness A is a legacy Magnox power station, that was connected to the National Grid in 1965 and has reached the end of its life. New Dungeness B began operations in 1983
Size: 6159px × 4080px
Location: Dungeness, Kent, UK
Photo credit: © Avpics / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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