Year first constructed 1903-05 Construction sandstone tower Height 41 m Automated 1996 | Year first lit 1906 Address Portland DT5 2JT, UK First lit 1906 Phone +44 1305 821050 | |
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Location Portland Bill
Isle of Portland
Dorset
England Tower shape tapered cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern Markings / pattern white tower with a red horizontal band, white lantern Similar Isle of Portland, Portland Bill, Portland Castle, Chesil Beach, Church Ope Cove | ||
Portland bill lighthouse and foghorn at night
Portland Bill Lighthouse is a functioning lighthouse at Portland Bill, on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. The lighthouse and its boundary walls are Grade II Listed.
Contents
As Portland's largest and most recent lighthouse, the Trinity House operated Portland Bill Lighthouse is distinctively white and red striped, standing at a height of 41 metres (135 ft). The tower is approximately 114 feet. The lighthouse was completed by 1906 and first shone out on 11 January 1906. Portland Bill Lighthouse guides passing vessels through these hazardous waters as well as acting as a waymark for ships navigating the English Channel.
History
The two original lighthouses, now known as the Old Higher Lighthouse and Old Lower Lighthouse, operated as a pair at Portland Bill. They were constructed in 1716, both rebuilt in 1869, and decommissioned following the completion of the present lighthouse. At the turn of the 20th-century, Trinity House put forward plans for the building of a new lighthouse at Bill Point, to replace both of the lighthouses. Trinity House acquired the required land at the Bill in 1903.
In October 1903 the builders Wakeham Bros. of Plymouth began work on the foundations. Chance & Co of Birmingham supplied and fitted the lantern. The lighthouse was completed in 1905, at a cost of £13,000, and the lamp first lit on 11 January 1906. On 18 March 1996 the lighthouse was demanned, with all monitoring and control transferred to the Trinity House Operations & Planning Centre in Harwich.
Tourist attraction
As Portland's prime attraction, the Portland Bill Lighthouse is open for tours and has a visitor centre, housed in the former lighthouse keeper's quarters. The original centre closed in September 2013 due to lack of funding, however a new renovated centre opened in 2015. The tours operated at the lighthouse last approximately 45 minutes, and visitors are able to climb the 153 steps to the top of the lighthouse.
Lamp and fog signal
Portland Bill Lighthouse uses a 1 Kw Mbi lamp and 4 Panel 1St Order Catadioptric Rotating Lens. The light flashes four times every 20 seconds and has an intensity of 635,000 candelas, with a range of 25 nautical miles. Also having a fog signal for times of bad weather, the signal uses a four-second blast every 30 seconds, with a range of 2 nautical miles. The Type F diaphone was decommissioned in 1996, but restored in 2003 for the benefit of visitors.