Possibly the best known active lighthouse in the world.
The low-lying rocky outcrop at the western end of the English Channel 13 miles southwest of Plymouth has been a perennial danger to navigation. In 1696, Henry Winstanley obtained a license from Parliament for construction of a lighthouse on the Eddystone Rocks. In return, he was authorized to assess a toll against passing merchant ships of one penny per ton. During construction, a French privateer seized Winstanley and carried him to France, expecting a bounty. Instead, King Louis XIV released him, declaring: “France is at war with England, not with humanity.” Eddystone Light was first lit on November 14, 1698, but lasted only five years. During the Great Storm of 1703, the lighthouse was carried away, along with Winstanley, who was visiting the light at the time. A new light (Rudyers’s Tower) was authorized and was placed in service in 1709. Like Winstanley’s structure, it was built of wood. On the night of December 2, 1755, the roof caught fire. The lightkeepers were unable to extinguish the blaze, which worked its way slowly down to the rock level. John Smeaton was commissioned to design and build a third light. Despite a lack of experience (or maybe because of it), he elected to build the tower of interlocking stone. He also developed a quick-drying cement, which is still in use today. The new light was first lit on October 16, 1759. It lasted until 1882, cracks in the rocks on which it was erected caused the structure to become dangerously unstable. The top half was dismantled and is now part of a monument at Plymouth Hoe. A new light, using a somewhat similar design, was soon erected on more stable rocks near the remnants of the earlier tower. It was first lit on May 18, 1882, by the Duke of Edinburgh. It remains in use to this day. The light was manned until its hundredth anniversary, when it was automated. A helicopter pad was built above the light to make servicing of the light more efficient. Eddystone Light remains to this day a marvel of engineering and a vital beacon for ships transiting the English Channel.