Hurst Point Lighthouse
Hurst,
Hampshire
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Featured Location Guide |
Aerial photo By
Marinas.com
(more images are available)
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In the photo above, as well as the
tall working main lighthouse notice the two others on the castle wall
bottom left, these are the
1865 (round grey) and 1911 (squarer blue)
Low Lights. When in use the squarer one was painted red and had a
distinctive cap shown in the small picture to the right. These lights
formerly warned shipping of the shingles near the Needles. This function
is now performed by two high intensity beams from the high lighthouse,
in addition to its normal light. Closer pictures of these are shown below.
We therefore have three lighthouses on
this site and an additional display within the castle containing some
additional items. |
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1865 (round grey) and 1911(now blue,
or battleship grey)
Low Lights, Hurst Castle
 Photo by
Phil Champion
| The current Hurst Point lighthouse
(shown right) has been operational since 1867, where it
guides vessels through the hazardous western approaches to the Solent,
indicating the line of approach through the Needles Channel.
It is said that a light was shown on Hurst Point
from 1733, but the
first Trinity House record relates to a meeting of shipmasters and merchants in
1781 to approve the terms of a formal petition to Trinity House for lights in
the neighbourhood of the Isle of Wight.
As a result, a patent was obtained in January 1782, which stated that:-
| "ships and
vessels have been lost... and the lives, ships and goods of His Majesty's
subjects as well as the King's Royal Navy continue to be exposed to the like
calamities more especially in the night time and in hard southerly gales". The
patent directed that the lights should be "kept burning in the night season
whereby seafaring men and mariners might take notice of and avoid dangers.....
and ships and other vessels of war might safely cruise during the night season
in the British Channel". |
In 1785, 3 designs by R. Jupp, were used
by Trinity House to place lighthouses at the
Needles
Lighthouse,
St
Catherine's Point Lighthouse
and
Hurst. The Hurst Tower was placed to the south west of the old Hurst Castle.
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Image taken from main
entrance to castle and rail lines in the foreground were used to bring goods
to the castle
Photo by
Chris
Downer
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.....
| Hurst tower was completed
and was lit
for the first time on 29th September 1786. This however was not completely
satisfactory and shipping found that this light was obscured from certain
directions and Trinity House then constructed, in 1812, an additional and higher
light, both to remedy this defect and to give a guiding line to vessels.
Extensive additions were made to the
castle between 1865 and 1873 and for this to happen the lights had to be
repositioned. The castle itself is said to date from 1544.
In 1866, a new lighthouse which was called the
Low Light, was built to replace the old Hurst Tower. The new lighthouse
consisted of a white circular granite tower with a red lantern. This still
exists. This light was
replaced in 1911 with a new Low Lighthouse, a red square metal structure
standing on a framework of steel joists attached to the wall of Hurst Castle,
which also still exists today although now painted blue or correctly called
battleship grey.
The 1812 High Lighthouse was also replaced in 1867 by the 26 metre tower which
is still working today. The other two are no longer working.
A review and consultation, due to increased and changing traffic in the channel,
led to a major modernisation of Hurst Point High Lighthouse, completed in July 1997. High
intensity projectors day and night mark the channel between the Needles and the Shingles
Bank.
The projectors from the service room below the lantern of the High
Lighthouse, provide an accurate system of red, green and white directional
lights giving precise cut offs over narrow arcs of visibility which can be
realigned in the event of movement of the Shingles Bank.
The main light at Hurst High still uses the unusual first order lens, which is
separated into sectors of different focal lengths, with a red sector provided by
shades inside the lantern. The acetylene light source has been replaced by
standard Trinity House electrically powered equipment.
The Low Lighthouse, which was built on the wall of Hurst Castle, was
decommissioned and painted grey to match the surrounding background colours in
order to eliminate navigational confusion.
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Click on image to show
a larger image
A long way up the tower
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.......
The two images above and the
next up on the right show parts inside the
top light housing of the main tower today.
The smaller photos on this page
that have no photo credits are from
a
website featuring lighthouses
that gives
permission for its images to be used.
Information for this location
guide came from a range of websites and sources,
including the one above, Wikipedia, Trinity House and Hurst Castle.
Photo by
Steven Muster
Summary of the three lighthouses
that still exist at Hurst Point.
Hurst High (the large white
tower)
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is working
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built 1865/1866/1867 (accounts
vary)
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85ft or 26m tall
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owned and run by Trinity House
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pictured immediately above
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outside accessible, tower OPEN
Hurst Low Round (grey stone)
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Not in use, inactive since 1911
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Built 1866
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Circular granite tower built on
the walls of Hurst Castle. The tower is unpainted, lantern painted dark blue or grey
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Castle is owned by
Hurst Castle
lighthouse by English Heritage
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Site and castle open (admission
fee), towers closed
Hurst Low (square'ish blue or
battleship grey structure)
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Not in use - inactive since July
1997
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Built 1911
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Square skeletal platform straddling the castle
wall. Entire structure painted blue or battleship grey
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Castle is owned by
Hurst Castle
lighthouse by English Heritage
(since June 2010)
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Site and castle open (admission
fee), towers closed
Some dates you will find do vary a
bit, some quote the date it was started, some when it was finished etc.
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Visiting
Hurst Point Lighthouse is open, as is the
castle and its exhibition. The grid below gives information that will
get you to opening hours and further information on this.
You can reach Hurst
Point, the castle and the lighthouse, by a long
walk or by taking a boat trip, you cannot reach it by car. Car parking is available at Milford-on-Sea or
close to the boat landing at Keyhaven. |
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Hurst Castle is accessible by boat from Keyhaven or by foot from Milford-on-Sea.
It cannot be reached by car.
Car parking is available at Milford-on-Sea, or
close to the boat landing at Keyhaven. |
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Hurst Castle houses a display of Trinity House
artefacts. The castle itself is worth a visit and this will (at sometime) be the
subject of another location guide.
Viewing without Visiting
You can see the lighthouse and castle from some
ferries that go to and from the Isle of Wight.
It is also a feature point on the
Bournemouth
Coast Path.
The view from the castle battlements
Photo From
Flickr
Lighthouse information Grid
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Name: |
Hurst Point Lighthouse, Hampshire |
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Current status: |
Lighthouse is in use, Open to visitors
- see below |
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Geographic Position: |
50 42'. 44 N 01 32'.94 W |
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Grid Reference: |
SZ318899 |
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Ceremonial County: |
Hampshire
 |
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Appearance: |
Round stone tower with lantern and
gallery, painted white |
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Map Link: |
Get-A-Map
Multimap
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Aerial photo: |
Marinas.com
Multimap
Google
satellite view
of low
lighthouses
Google
satellite view
of current
high lighthouse |
|
Other photos: |
Geograph
photo
photo
photo
photo
photo |
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Originally built: |
1786/1812 |
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Current lighthouse built: |
1867 plus 2 others on castle
wall |
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Height of Tower: |
26m 85ft |
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Height of light above mean sea level: |
23m 76ft plus other lights at
different levels. |
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Character of light: |
4 White And Red Flashes Every 15
Seconds
Directional lights (added in 1997) are
shown from high-intensity projectors mounted in the watch room below
the lantern |
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Character of fog signal: |
None |
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Range of light: |
White Light 14 nautical miles, red
light 11 nautical miles |
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Owned / run by: |
Trinity House
 |
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Website: |
TH
and
TH
Open
Hurst Castle |
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Other Useful Websites: |
Wiki (very
little)
LD
(Very Good)
Lighthouse depot
- Low 1866
Lighthouse depot
- Low 1911 |
| Routes: |
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Notes: |
Nearby Hurst Castle houses a display
of Trinity House artefacts.
Hurst Castle next to the lighthouse has a
display on it. |
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Lighthouse Visit Planning Grid
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Location: |
Hurst Point Lighthouse, Hampshire |
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Grid Reference: |
SZ318899 |
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Getting there: |
Hurst Castle is accessible by boat from Keyhaven or by foot from Milford-on-Sea. It can not be reached by car. |
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Access: |
By long walk or can be reached by boat - not by car. |
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Parking: |
Car parking is available at Milford-on-Sea or
close to the boat landing at Keyhaven. |
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Address: |
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Postcode: |
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Telephone: |
Hurst Castle on 01590 642344. |
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Email: |
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Opening times: |
See
Trinity House page
of when this is open and
Trinity house Lighthouse closure page
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Charges: |
Adults £3.20, Seniors £3, Children £2 |
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Best Times to Visit: |
Check opening, access and tide times. |
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Facilities: |
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Things To Do,
See and Photograph: |
Lighthouse, coastal, wildlife, plants,
possibly ships. |
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What to take: |
Shoes suitable for climbing many steps, small
bag with necessary items, Camera, selected lenses and filters. |
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Nature highlights: |
Coastal birds |
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Photo Restrictions: |
None Known |
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Other Restrictions: |
None Known |
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Nearby Locations: |
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Other Relevant pages: |
For more articles, lists and other information
see the
Lighthouses Section
Lighthouse Map of England and Wales
Featured List of
Lighthouses - England and Wales
List of Minor Lighthouses and Lights - England and Wales
Bournemouth
Coast Path
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Please let us know any other information that we
can add to the Further information and Planning Grids or page and any errors that you discover. Before making a long trip to any location it is always
wise to double check the current information, websites like magazines may be
correct at the time the information is written, but things change and it is of
course impossible to double check all entries on a regular basis. If you have
any good photographs that you feel would improve the illustration of this page
then please let us have copies. In referring to this page it is helpful if you
quote both the Page Ref and Topic or Section references from the Grid below. To print the
planning grid select it then right click and print the selected area.
Please submit information on locations you discover so
that this system continues to grow.
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