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Karen Gigikos

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RE: all different kinds of light house paintings also and tell about them if you can
7/8/2010 10:35:54 PM
Light house wall picture made of wood.
INTARSIALIGHTHOUSEPI031.jpg picture by kareblblt

Wood


karen gigikos / black belt grannyHobbies
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Karen Gigikos

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RE: all different kinds of light house paintings also and tell about them if you can
7/8/2010 10:44:00 PM
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Beautiful forum, Karen. So many pretty light houses. Keith does a good job with PhotoShop, doesn't he?? Training makes perfect.

I love this song.

Sara

Beautiful Sara I want to hear it again. Karen

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Karen Gigikos

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RE: all different kinds of light house paintings also and tell about them if you can
7/9/2010 1:07:42 AM
Mostly-Victorian.com - An archive of Victorian periodicals

Belle Tout: The Little Lighthouse That Moved

by Elizabeth Wright

Belle Tout LighthouseHow do you stop an 850-ton lighthouse from toppling over the edge of crumbling cliffs and falling into the sea below? Simple -- you lift it up on runners and drag it slowly back some fifty metres onto safer ground. This is exactly what happened in 1999 to Belle Tout lighthouse, situated on the top of famous Beachy Head cliffs in East Sussex, England. This quaint historic building, just 15m high and being used as a family home, was perilously near the eroding cliff edge. In 1834 it was situated some forty metres away from the edge, but now, one more rock fall and the lighthouse would be a heap of rubble on the beach below.

But for 172 years Belle Tout has proved itself a survivor, having been built and abandoned, shot at and shattered. Its present owners, Mark and Louise Roberts, were not going to give up without a fight.

The seas around Beachy Head were known as the "Mariners' Graveyard," full of rocky outcrops below the surface, causing many ships to founder. Parson Jonathan Darby (1667-1726), rector of East Dean, became so concerned by the number of shipwrecks and resultant loss of life that, single-handedly, working with chisel, pick and axe and often wearing his familiar beaver skin hat, he set about enlarging an old smuggler's cave in the cliffs. Here, on stormy nights, he hung out lanterns to warn passing ships of the dangers.

After his death in October 1726, the abandoned cavern was once again taken over by smugglers and little appeared to have been done to prevent further shipwrecks. That was until February 1822, when The Thames, an East Indiaman, was beached after hitting a rock off Beachy Head. A concerned Captain of the Royal Navy, who himself had narrowly escaped a similar disaster, vigorously petitioned Trinity House, an association concerned with lighthouse erection and maintenance, to take some action.

John Fuller (1757-1834), a wealthy Member of Parliament for Sussex, exerted his influence to get a lighthouse built on top of the cliffs. The first was no more than a temporary experimental wooden structure, which became operational on the 1st October 1828.

Belle Tout LighthouseThe building of a proper lighthouse, Belle Tout, started in 1829 to the design of W. Hallett and J. Walker, using huge blocks of Aberdeen granite that were hauled over the down land by teams of Sussex oxen. Its 30 oil lamps, each housed in separate reflectors fixed to a platform that revolved every two minutes, were first lit on October 11th 1834. They threw out a 22,000 candle-power light visible 23 miles out to sea, using 2 gallons of oil per hour. But one important factor had been overlooked in the choice of site for Belle Tout. Sea mists often hugged the cliff tops, obscuring the light. The shipwrecks continued, so in July 1899 work began on the erection of the present Beachy Head lighthouse at the foot of the cliffs. On October 2nd 1902, Belle Tout was decommissioned and eventually sold off as "a small, substantial 3-storey building."

In 1923 it was purchased for £1,500 by distinguished neurologist Sir James Purves-Stewart, K.C.M.G., C.B., M.D., who constructed an access road, installed an electric generator and added an extension to the building, turning it into a unique family home.

However, in his book Sands of Time, Sir James wrote, "Soon after taking possession we read a warning article in the local press stating that owing to coastal erosion, grave fears were entertained for the safety of the lighthouse. We decided to secure expert advice. A professor of geology came down from London and, after examining the position, informed us that coastal erosion was undoubtedly going on at a steady rate, and that at the end of six hundred years our tower would find itself at the very edge of the cliff." This deduction appears to have been partly based on measurements showing Belle Tout to be 34m from the cliff edge in 1835 and 30m in 1890.

In 1935 King George V and Queen Mary visited the lighthouse whilst His Majesty was convalescing in nearby Eastbourne. Sir James recounted that they were delightful visitors and easy to entertain. He is quoted as saying, "My wife conducted Queen Mary all over our home, displaying our modest family treasurers. Meanwhile King George entrusted himself to me as a separate guide and took a keen sailor's interest in the various gadgets that had been fitted up. When we came to the foot of the spiral staircase leading to the lantern room, Queen Mary was already aloft, enjoying the stunning view. She called down to him, 'George, don't come up here, it's far too steep for you.' To which his majesty replied, 'Dammit, I'm coming.'"

During the Second World War Belle Tout was left empty, its owners having been evacuated from this vulnerable part of the English coast. By 1942 a firing range had been constructed some 200 yards east of the lighthouse. The Canadian troops, blasting away with everything from light howitzers to cannons, used old cars as targets, but managed to hit Belle Tout several times. By 1943, daylight could be seen through the shattered 6-foot-thick walls.

In 1948 Sir James, having received £5000 war compensation, offered the lighthouse to Eastbourne Borough Council. A councillor had suggested that, for an estimated cost of £10,000 for purchase and repair, there might be the possibility of turning Belle Tout into a tourist attraction, but with heavy expenses and little prospect of an immediate financial return this idea was dropped.

However, as a valued historical building, Belle Tout was eventually taken over by the Council anyway, and in 1956, it was leased out to Dr. Edward Revill Cullinan, who embarked on a rebuilding programme to the domestic part, adding a septic tank, mains electricity and water.

In 1962 the lease of Belle Tout was sold on for £15,000, and changed hands as a private dwelling a number of times. The BBC purchased it in 1986 for a rumoured £250,000 to use as a backdrop for a TV film The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, by author Fay Weldon. They added a temporary stage set on the seaward side and a fake lantern, and constructed tiered gardens, sun terraces and a patio. When all the filming was complete Belle Tout was up for sale again, and bought by businessman Paul Foulkes and his wife Shirley, who continued with the restoration, sympathetically keeping to the unique maritime features of the lighthouse. But as much as they loved the building, it eventually proved to be too far away from their home to be an ongoing weekend retreat. So, in 1995, the lighthouse went up for sale again, this time for £350,000.

Bought by Mark and Louise Roberts in 1996, because "we fell in love with it," it soon became evident, that, after a number of substantial cliff falls nearby, Belle Tout was soon going to end up on the beach 285 feet below. Ambitious plans to do the almost impossible and move the whole lighthouse back some 50 metres, were revealed by the Roberts in 1997. The scheme, carried out by the Abbey Pynford company, involved excavating the ground around the building, putting up beams to support each wall, raising the lighthouse two feet in the air with hydraulic jacks, putting in sliding tracks and lowering the whole 850 tons onto grease skates.

Belle Tout LighthouseThe South Downs Lighthouse Trust charity was set up to raise the necessary £250,000 for the rescue package. Every contributor to the moving process would get an entry ticket to watch this piece of history in action.

Further massive cliff falls and the discovery of unexploded world war two bombs on the beach provoked many worries for the Roberts, who began to fear their treasured listed building would never be moved in time. Their patio was now only three metres from the edge. Mark Roberts told the local press, "I couldn't believe it when the Coastguards said there might have to be a controlled explosion. I just thought, I don't need this. It would be devastating to lose this building."

But by March 17th 1999, after a year of planning, everything appeared ready for Belle Tout's monumental move. In bright sunshine hundreds of media from all around the world watched as Joy Cullinan, who had once lived in Belle Tout, switched on the hydraulic pump at 9.25 am and the whole operation began.

At a painstakingly slow pace -- just two feet in the first three hours -- the lighthouse was moved 28 feet in the first day, every millimetre controlled by computer. So procedures would not be hampered by further cliff falls, no heavy digging machinery was used on the site and all the chalk from the foundations was taken out on wheelbarrows. By the evening of Thursday, March 18th, Belle Tout reached its final position. Louise Roberts is quoted as saying, "We need a long ladder to reach our kitchen door now. But the magnificient views we had are even better now. And all our glass bottles are still perfectly in place!" <

Having originally leased Belle Tout from Eastbourne Borough Council, after three years Louise Roberts was legally entitled to buy the freehold for £900. Today, this little lighthouse still stands proudly on the top of the cliffs, admired by thousands of visitors and walkers on the South Downs Way. Its only other neighbours are rabbits and sheep, and according to local legend, the odd ghost or two. Belle Tout looks good for another 170 years. [Editor's Note: In 2007, Belle Tout was once again being offered for sale.]

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Karen Gigikos

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RE: all different kinds of light house paintings also and tell about them if you can
7/9/2010 1:13:24 AM
aerial view of lighthouse

Minot's Rocks... lie off the southeastern chop of Boston Bay. These rocks or ledges... have been the terror of mariners for a long period of years; they have been, probably, the cause of a greater number of wrecks than any other ledges or reefs upon the coast.

-- Captain William H. Swift

It’s not the tallest or the oldest lighthouse in Massachusetts, and few would claim it’s the prettiest. But this rugged, waveswept tower has probably sparked more imaginations—and possibly more romances—then any beacon in the state.

Minot’s Ledge—about a mile offshore, near the line between the South Shore towns of Cohasset and Scituate—is part of the dangerous Cohasset Rocks, formerly known as the Conyhasset or Quonahassit after a local Indian tribe. It’s said that the Quonahassit people would visit the ledges to leave gifts of arrowheads, beads, and various trinkets, in an effort to appease the spirit they believed resided in the rocks. If the spirit became angry, they thought, it would bring destructive storms to the tribe.

The roll call of shipwrecks through the years near the Cohasset Rocks—especially Minot’s Ledge—was lengthy, with and many lives were lost. In August 1838, the Boston Marine Society appointed a committee of three to study the feasibility of a lighthouse on the ledge. The committee reported in November 1838:

The practibility of building a Light house on it that will withstand the force of the sea does not admit of a doubt—the importance of having a light house on a rock so dangerous to the navigation of Boston, on which so many lives, & so much property has been lost is too well known to need comment. . .

The Marine Society repeatedly petitioned Congress for a lighthouse between 1839 and 1841, with no positive results. The civil engineer I. W. P. Lewis made reference to the problem in his 1843 report to Congress:

For a long series of years, petitions have been presented to Congress, from the citizens of Boston, for erecting a light-house on these dreadful rocks, but no action has ever yet been taken upon the subject. One of the causes of frequent shipwrecks on these rocks has been the light-house at Scituate, four miles to the leeward of the reef, which has been repeatedly mistaken for Boston light, and thus caused the death of many a brave seaman and the loss of large amounts of property. Not a winter passes without one or more of these fearful accidents occurring. . . . One of the most interesting objects of this inspection was to ascertain the feasibility of erecting a light-house on the extremity of the Cohasset reef; and it was found that, though formidable difficulties would embarrass the undertaking, still they were not greater than such as were successfully triumphed over by a “Smeaton” or a “Stevenson.”

Lewis was referring to John Smeaton, builder of the 1759 lighthouse on the treacherous Eddystone Rocks off Cornwall, England, and to Robert Stevenson, who was largely responsible for the construction of Bell Rock Lighthouse (1811) off the east coast of Scotland. The towers at Eddystone and Bell Rock—both constructed of interlocking granite blocks—were among the earliest and sturdiest wave-swept lighthouses in the world.

Lewis's report listed more than 40 vessels that had been lost on the ledge from 1832 to 1841. He asserted, "A light house on this reef is more required than on any part of the seaboard of New England."

In March 1847, Congress finally appropriated $20,000 for a lighthouse on the ledge; an additional $19,500 would eventually be needed for the completion of the project, including $4,500 for the lighting apparatus. The site selected was the rock known as the Outer Minot. Some believed a granite tower similar to England's famed Eddystone Light would be the proper solution, but Captain William H. Swift of the Topographical Department, chosen to plan the tower, believed it impossible to build such a tower on the mostly submerged ledge.

The ledge remained unmarked, and vessels continued to have trouble negotiating the area. On February 12, 1847, a brig from New Orleans struck the rocks in the vicinity of Minot’s Ledge. Luckily, the ship was able to make it to Boston with nine feet of water in its hold.

Less than a month later, Congress finally appropriated $20,000 for a lighthouse on the ledge; an additional $19,500 would eventually be needed for the completion of the project, including $4,500 for the lighting apparatus. The site selected was the rock known as the Outer Minot.

Many people believed a granite tower similar to the waveswept lighthouses of the British Isles to be the proper solution, as Parris had suggested, but Captain Capt. William H. Swift of the Corps of Topographical Engineers, designer of the tower, deemed it impractical to build such a tower on the small (about 25 feet wide), mostly submerged ledge. iNDIANS ARE TALKED ABOUT WITH THIS LIGHT HOUSE ALSO IN THE BEGINNING OF THE PAGE.

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Karen Gigikos

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RE: all different kinds of light house paintings also and tell about them if you can
7/9/2010 1:14:24 AM

painting of lighthouse

Instead, Swift planned an iron pile lighthouse, a 70-foot-tall, spidery structure with legs piles drilled into the rock, on the theory that waves would pass harmlessly through the structure. The cost-conscious lighthouse administrators of the day appreciated the fact that a tower of this type would be far less expensive than one made of stone.

Work began in the summer of 1847. A schooner transported workers and materials to the site, and the workers slept on the vessel each night. A drill, which required four men to operate, was supported on a wooden platform. The contractor on the project was Benjamin Pomeroy.

James Sullivan Savage, who had built Boston’s Bunker Hill Monument, oversaw the drilling operations. The drilling equipment was twice swept off the ledge in 1847, and it took nearly two full seasons to complete the drilling.

A few weeks after work ceased for the season in late October 1847, the ship Alabama struck the ledge and sank about two miles to the east. The crew escaped safely, but the ship and its cargo were a total loss. Much of the cargo was later salvaged, and crockery from the Alabama found its way into many Cohasset homes.

The octagonal keepers' quarters (14 feet in diameter) and wrought-iron lantern were built atop nine 10-inch-diameter piles, cemented into 5-foot-deep holes drilled in the ledge and braced horizontally by three sets of iron rods.

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