Portland Bill's "other" lighthouses
This week's Saturday Timewatch features the two lighthouses that are less well known to visitors than the current red and white operational lighthouse at the tip of Portland Bill.
The two shown in this photo are the forerunners of the current light. Dating from 1716, the Old Higher Lighthouse (in the distance) and the Old Lower Lighthouse were originally coal-fired. Quite how that worked I don't really know. Not very well I suspect as by the end of that century new Argand lights had been installed in both and the lower lighthouse remodelled.
Both were further rebuilt in 1869 but had short lives with the new and still operational lighthouse opened in 1906. The Old Higher Lighthouse was sold and in a quirk of history purchased in 1923 by Marie Stopes, the pioneer of birth control. It is still privately owned and now offers holiday accommodation.The Old Lower Lighthouse is now Portland Bird Observatory.
Portland Bill's "other" lighthouses
This week's Saturday Timewatch features the two lighthouses that are less well known to visitors than the current red and white operational lighthouse at the tip of Portland Bill.
The two shown in this photo are the forerunners of the current light. Dating from 1716, the Old Higher Lighthouse (in the distance) and the Old Lower Lighthouse were originally coal-fired. Quite how that worked I don't really know. Not very well I suspect as by the end of that century new Argand lights had been installed in both and the lower lighthouse remodelled.
Both were further rebuilt in 1869 but had short lives with the new and still operational lighthouse opened in 1906. The Old Higher Lighthouse was sold and in a quirk of history purchased in 1923 by Marie Stopes, the pioneer of birth control. It is still privately owned and now offers holiday accommodation.The Old Lower Lighthouse is now Portland Bird Observatory.