Update: 01-01-2025
The name Langness means long point and is a peninsula on the south side of the Isle of Man. On January 1, 1868, Trinity House stated that applications were being regularly submitted for a lighthouse on the Langness Peninsula.
These requests were mainly based on the regular sinkings of ships around the Langness Peninsula. Applicants had used the location of the peninsula as an argument for installing a lighthouse. After all, this peninsula extends more than 3 km into the sea and there was a rapid tidal change that created fast currents.
However, these tides were not irregular or varied in direction, so that they posed a greater danger to mariners than in any other part of the Irish Sea, where the tides were known to move with even greater rapidity and the necessary skill/caution of the seafarers requirements.
However, one of the main reasons given was the inefficiency of the lighthouses on the Calf of Man. These lighthouses were often invisible because they were shrouded in fog.
On 26 August 1874, applicants for a lighthouse at Langness were informed that experiments had been carried out on the red sector of the Chicken Rock lighthouse and that these experiments had shown the red sector to be unsatisfactory. Trinity House responded by stating that even without help from the red sector in Langness, no lights were needed.
The Board of Trade received in October 1877 a statement from Mr. McMeikan, agent of the shipwrecked Mariners Society of Castletown, giving details of the disasters in the immediate vicinity of Langness and his considered opinion "that even the costly and beautiful structure on the Chicken Rock was not sufficient to give protection against the dangers of passing through Langness in bad weather".
The Board of Trade forwarded this statement to Trinity House, who declared on December 5, 1877 that "the use of sound as an aid to navigation has made such substantial progress that it seems to them a legitimate question whether it might not be applied ." in Langness with advantage.
However, the Board of Trade was not satisfied with this and on January 31, 1878, requested permission from Trinity House to erect a light and fog signal. This permission was received almost immediately on February 14, 1878.| Lighthouse keepers of Langness | ||||
| Names with brackets (Year) indicates keeper was there - no other information available | ||||
| R/ALK When automation was aproaching there were no more Supernumary keepers, so some keepers were assigned to a Relieving complement to fill in for keepers being transferred ,sick etc. | ||||
| Year | From Station | Keeper Name | To Station | Year |
| A. Ferrier | Little Ross | 1884 | ||
| 1884 | Isle of May | R. Clyne | Rattray Head | 1895 |
| 1895 | J. Ducat | Flannan Isles | ||
| W. Gawne (1895) | ||||
| W.R. Saunderson (1892) | ||||
| Oxcar | A. McQuarrie | Point of Ayre | 1901 | |
| A. Sanderson (1892) | ||||
| A. Withers (1894) | ||||
| 1901 | Chanonry | A. Burnett | ||
| 1897 | J. Simpson | Skerryvore | 1901 | |
| 1900 | A. Ingram | Point of Ayre | 1902 | |
| 1902 | Point of Ayre | E. Alderbert | ||
| 1912 | G. MacDonald | Girdle Ness | 1920 | |
| T. Middleton | Butt of Lewis | 1920 | ||
| 1912 | J.W. Dishon | Stoer Head | 1923 | |
| 1923 | Inchcape | J.C. McCulloch | ||
| M. Cunningham | Fair Isle | 1925 | ||
| 1920 | Lismore | A. Sim | Barns Ness | 1927 |
| 1925 | W. Wards | |||
| 1928 | Scurdie Ness | D.T. Gutcher | Deceased | 1928 |
| W. Johnstone | ||||
| 1928 | G. Laurenson | Douglas Head | 1931 | |
| 1928 | Cape Wrath | G. Millerjura | 1932 | |
| 1931 | Tod Head | G.B. Summers | ||
| 1932 | Douglas Head | A. McDonald | ||
| 1930 | R. Gilmore | Barra Head | 1937 | |
| 1937 | Barra Head | J.A. Mcleod | Dubh Artach | 1945 |
| G. MacKenzie | Chicken Rock | 1938 | ||
| W. Quillin (1941) | ||||
| A. Crawford(1938) | ||||
| 1945 | Orkneys | C. Roberts | Chicken Rock | 1948 |
| W. Christie (1950) | ||||
| E. Stewert | Turnberry | 1958 | ||
| G. Gilbertson | Rubna nan Gall | 1955 | ||
| A. Chisholm (1950) | ||||
| 1955 | Maughold Head | R. Crowe | ||
| C. Crowe | Skerryvore | 1958 | ||
| 1958 | A. McLardy | |||
| Chicken Rock | A. Salthouse | Deceased | 1967 | |
| 1974 | Ailsa Craig | W.R. Ritchie | Barns Ness | 1977 |
| R. Shand | Calf of Man | 1974 | ||
| J.H. Stevenson | Pentland Skerries | 1975 | ||
| 1975 | Sanda Island | T.P. Budge | Muckle Flugga | 1976 |
| A.C. Gunn | Bass Rock | 1975 | ||
| 1975 | Rhinns of Islay | T. Kermode | Sule Skerry | 1978 |
| 1976 | Fair Isle South | J. Paisley | Inchkeith | 1978 |
| 1977 | Turnberry | A.J.W. Combe | Retired | 1979 |
| 1978 | Strathy Point | A. Young | Skerryvore | 1983 |
| 1978 | Copinsay | N.S. Cargill | Calf of Man | 1979 |
| 1979 | Calf of Man | R. Shand | Retired | 1983 |
| 1979 | Covesea Skerry | R.J. Daggert | Fair Isle | 1984 |
| 1983 | Sule Skerry | A. McDonald | Bell Rock | 1986 |
| 1983 | Bell Rock | J. Burns | Skerryvore | 1987 |
| 1984 | Inchkeith | D. Morrison | Cape Wrath | 1988 |
| 1986 | Calf of Man | D. Grassom | Duncansby Head | 1993 |
| 1987 | Stroma | E.J. Stewart | Redundant | 1991 |
| 1988 | Sumburgh Head | A.C. Gunn | Retired | 1989 |
| 1989 | R/ALK | A. Marshall | Redundant | 1996 |
| 1991 | Calf of Man | M.R. Williams | 1996 | |
| 1993 | Point of Ayre | G. Dugdale | Redundant | 1996 |
| Local ALK | ||||
| 1974 | D.J. Ogden | Retired | 1983 | |
| 1983 | D. Livesay | Resigned | 1984 | |
| 1984 | Maughold Head | D. Fox | Redundant | 1984 |
| Attendant | ||||
| 1993 | D. Fox | Redundant | 2004 | |
| Retained lighthouse Keeper | ||||
| 2004 | D. Fox | |||
As a warning to ships, both passing and local fishing vessels, around Langness and before a lighthouse was placed, the Herring Tower was built in 1823 by Thomas Brine. The tower was built as a daymark and had no lighting. The tower was based on the style of the tower of Peel Castle. Since 1991, the tower has been registered as a protected building.
The proposals by Mr David Lillie and Thomas Stevenson consisted of a 15 meter high tower with a machine house for the fog signal. In addition, residential houses for three lighthouse keepers and outbuildings, including coal cellars, oil cellars and workshop.
A garden of approximately 1½ hectares was also provided, enclosed with a stone wall. The construction costs for these facilities were estimated at £38,350. The building and dwelling houses were build by Morrison & Son from Edinburgh. The Lantern by Milne & Son and the machines for the foghorn by James Dove & Co.
Mr Matheson was appointed as Inspector of Works on 18 June 1879 with pay at rate of 10/6d per day with 10/- per week for lodging and travelling expenses.
The lighthouse tower was completed ahead of schedule and the light was first exhibited on December 1, 1880.The holopothal lenses that were made for the test at Chicken Rock were used. These ten lenses, equipped with "Doty" burners in an "Argand" lamp, were mounted in five groups of two lamps one above the other (Biform) with a range of 21 nautical miles (~ 39 km). The character of the light was a flash every 5 seconds.
by Thomas Stevenson
by Thomas Stevenson
On December 14, 1994, a temporary light with the same character was installed (Fl.(2) 30sec). The status of the light was also changed from a Major light to a Minor light. The range increased from 21 nautical miles to 12 nautical miles.
The automation of the lighthouse was completed on September 27, 1996. The Catoptric lenses were removed with the mercury bath and donated to the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses in Fraserburgh.
These lenses were replaced by two ML300 Tideland lamps with 60 watt twin filament bulbs mounted in Biform. (one above the other).
In May 2012 Replaced by Pelangi 6 lamp autochanger with 12 volt 50 watt bulbs replaced the twin filament bulbs
In 1880 a fog signal was installed at the lighthouse. Two 3.5 hp Otto Patent Gas-powered engines were used to drive the compressors. The gas was made from mineral oil. The fog signal would be a horn or siren that would emit an 8-second blast with 22-second intervals of silence.
The Otto Patent engines were replaced in 1937 by Kelvin K2 engines that ran on diesel. The siren signal sounded for 5 seconds, with 40 second silence intervals.
Later this signal was converted to 2 bursts of 2.5 seconds each that was repeated every 60 seconds. The fog signal was stopped in 1987.Operation of the light is now monitored at Northern Lighthouse Board Monitoring Center in Edinburgh. Supervisors (Attendants) carried out system checks every two weeks and check the physical condition of the buildings.
Since September 2004, the Retained Lighthouse Keeper has succeeded the Attendant and visits the lighthouses monthly. NLB Technicians visit at least annually to check, adjust and/or update the equipment if necessary.
Radio communications from Langness, with the Calf of Man lighthouses, for the monitoring systems were shut down in 2007.
For the Chicken Rock lighthouses, this was discontinued in 2012. Communication with Chicken Rock is automated and takes place via a satellite connection. The radio antennas were removed in March 2012.
