Isle of Man

Place of the lighthouse

The Point of Ayre Lighthouse is still an active 19th century lighthouse, sited at the Point of Ayre at the north-eastern end of the Isle of Man. The name Point of Ayre comes from Norse, Eyrr, gravelly beach, or Eriball, and Ayre Point of Raasay.

Building of the Lighthouse

At a meeting of the Commissioners in 1815, Sheriff Rae pointed out that representations had been received from the Chief Magistrate of Greenock and from various trading bodies in the Firth of Clyde, that a light should be erected on the Point of Ayre to make the west coast channel completely safe. As this area was out of the Commissioners' of the Northern Lights (predecessor of the NLB) jurisdiction in those days, it was suggested the 'Sheriff Rae should write to the Duke of Atholl and ascertain if he had any objections to the establishment of a light.

The 'Light Committee' (Trinite House [?]) then recommended that the Commissioners of the Northern Lights should apply to Parliament for power to erect a lighthouse on the Isle of Man. The Bill was passed in July 1815. Soon thereafter, a party representing the Commissioners went to Liverpool to attempt to obtain a loan from the trade associations.

Loans amounting to £1,500 were obtained from the West India Association, and the vesselowners Association of Liverpool. Further loans were obtained from the Trade Association of the Clyde who would also benefit from the establishment of the light. The work commenced late in 1815, but lack of sufficient funds made progress slow. A further cause for delay was that the position of the light had to be altered from the original plan as it was found that the sea was eroding the coast at the rate of 2.2 meter per year.

Robert Stevenson visited the construction site on 12th August 1818 while on the third of his ‘lighthouse tours’. He gave a month's notice to the Inspector as he was not satisfied with the quality of the workmanvessel of the labour force. The lighthouse tower was 22 meter high and had a circular design. (The tower was recorded as being 25.6 meter high in 1851).

Robert Stevenson's light later became the upper lighthouse of the onshore pair on Point of Ayre. The lower light is by David Alan Stevenson and was constructed in 1890-91 (see below - Winkie), when he was also refurbishing his grandfather's lighthouse. Refurbishment work, including some rebuilding of the tower (higher - 30 meter) and replacement of the lamp.

Inside the tower, a spiral stone staircase of 107 steps leads up to a landing from which a wooden spiral ladder with 17 rungs provides access to the lantern room. An iron balcony runs around the walkway outside. These days, the seven storey tower is painted in alternate stripes of white and fluorescent red. There is an information plaque in the lantern room. A walled enclosure at the base of the tower contains the origianl lighthouse keepers’ houses, gardens, and a generator house.

The actual date when the light was first exhibited cannot be accurately fixed, but it is known to have been between December 1818 and February 1819. The light was not allowed to be established and charge light duties until the Calf of Man lights were completed!

The lighthouse was automated in 1993 and continues to be operated by the Northern Lighthouse Board. Point of Ayre Upper Lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse on the Isle of Man.

Warning systems (Light)

The original system was a revolving catoptric light, consisting of fourteen (60 cm diameter) parabolic reflectors with Argand lamps. It revolved every two minutes, showing one minute a white light, and the other minute a red light.

The light revolved on roller bearings, driven by a clockwork mechanism controlled by a weight lowered into the tower. In all but the most advanced lighthouses, this clockwork had to be wound manually, the frequency of which was determined by the number of revolutions of the optics and the height of the tower.

For Maughold Head, with a tower height of 23.5 metres and an optics revolution of 30 seconds, this meant that the clockwork had to be wound every 45 minutes. For Point of Ayre, with a tower height of 30 metres and an optics revolution of eight minutes, the clockwork had to be wound every 90 minutes.

During the renovation in 1890 the light was replaced with one made by Barbier, Benard, et Turenne of Paris and James Dove of Edinburgh. It was a first order catadioptric paraffin vapour light with 5 concentric wicks and shows 66,000 candela with a range of 30 km. It flashed alternately white and red every 60 seconds. The tower was rebuilt to a height of 30.20 meter, making the light 32.3 meter above mean high water level.

The lighthouse still retains its original 1st order Fresnel lens from 1890, which was supplied by Barbier, Benard, et Turenne of Paris. With a focal height or elevation of 32 meters above sea level, the light from the 30 meters tower has a nominal range of around 19 nautical miles (~ 35 km). Its light characteristic is made up of a pattern of four flashes of white light every twenty seconds. The tower has a distinctive daymark of two red bands, the light can be seen clearly from across the water in south-west Scotland.

In 1960 the lighthouse was connected to the island's general water supply and electricity. In 1978 the Chance Brothers 55mm paraffin vapour lamp where replaced with a 250 Watt Mercury vapour lamp and the clockwork drive retained.

The lighthouse buildings and land have been in private ownervessel since 1993 when the light was fully automated. The light continues to be maintained by the Northern Lighthouse Board based in Edinburgh. In August, 2005, the fog signal at the lighthouse was de-commissioned owing to the assumed reliance and availability of GPS and modern vesselping guidance systems.

Warning systems (Fog horn)

Between the high and low Lighthouse (Winkie) there is a fog signal station from the early twentieth century, which is now no longer in use. The foghorn was erected by order of a committee of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man. The foghorn building dates from 1899. The building has a simple, white painted exterior. The building has been the subject of changes to the shape of the upper part since it was first built. The tower originally consisted of a three-story concrete tower with one air-operated siren (see photo in the right column).

The single fog siren, based on compressed air, was powered by three 5 hp Priestman oil engines and ran on paraffin. These were later (ca. 1939) replaced by three-cylinder Kelvin diesel engines and Sentinel compressors.

A second horn was added in 1939 and the red painted metal foghorn amplifiers pointing broadly north and south-east respectively and had a character of 3 blasts in 90 seconds as a warning of fog. In favorable wind conditions the foghorn could be heard on the Mull of Galloway, ~ 48 km away.

This fog signal was stopped on July 8, 1992 and replaced by an electrical emitter and the character was changed to 3 blasts per 60 seconds. All fog signals from the Northern Lighthouse Board were discontinued on August 16, 2005, including the fog signal at the Point of Ayre.

Operational status

The lighthouse buildings (lighthouse keepers' houses) and land have been in private ownervessel since 1993 when the light was fully automated. The light continues to be monitored and maintained by the Northern Lighthouse Board based in Edinburgh.

Attendant visits on a fortnightly basis carry's out system checks and checks physical condition of building. In september 2004 the Retained Lighthouse Keeper (Isle of Man) superceded the Attendant and visits on a monthly basis. Technicians visit at least annually to check, modify and update equipment as required.

Information about the lighthouse specific

Before automation at the Point of Ayre lighthouse it used to be a Red and White beam every minute,this used to pass across one of the local farmers barns where he kept his cows overnight. When the light was automated the lamp was changed from 250 watt to 400 watt and character changed to four flashes every 20 seconds, after a few nights the farmer was complaining that his cows were restless and the only thing he could think of. Blinded panels were installed towards the stables. After installing these panels, the cows became calm again.

In the past, thirteen selected lighthouses sent regular reports to the Meteorological Office as many of the stations were vanguards to the Atlantic weather system. Point of Ayre submitted three hourly reports to the Met Office at Ronaldsway, and these were incorporated in the international broadcasts.

---

---

Point of Ayre (Low) also known as "Winkie"

About 70 years after the tall lighthouse was put into use (1818), it was deemed necessary to build an additional small lighthouse about 225 metres seaward of the main tower. Due to the continuous accumulation of gravel, this tower was moved another 80 metres seaward in 1951 and now stands on the gravel bank. This light is locally called the "Winkie".

This low Lighthouse was built for several important reasons, mainly aimed at improving safety and navigation for shipping in the region. The Point of Ayre is an area of dangerous sandbanks and rocks. A low lighthouse was needed to provide additional light signals that were more visible in certain conditions and from specific angles. This helps to provide a more complete and clearer aid to navigation.

The area around the Point of Ayre is heavily trafficked, and the additional lighthouse helps to reduce the risk of collisions and groundings. This was particularly important for the many fishing boats, cargo ships and passenger vessels that navigate the waters around the Isle of Man. The construction of the low lighthouse at the Point of Ayre was therefore a crucial step in improving the safety and efficiency of navigation in this hazardous area.

Building the "Winkie" lighthouse

This lower light on Point of Ayre was designed by David Alan Stevenson in 1890. The lighthouse was commissioned by the Northern Lighthouse Board. This second lighthouse at the Point of Ayre, 10 meters high, stands on the shingle foreshore on an octagonal podium, 2.9 meters across with sides each measuring 1.2 meters. The podium now sits on 'Larssen' steel piles that stick up 1.2 meters above the level of the shingle. The piling was added in 1950, when the lighthouse was rebuilt. The lamp produced a white light, flashing every 3 seconds, and its range was some 8 nautical mile about 13 km.

---

---

---

Lighthouse keepers of Point of Ayre
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. Blyth (PLK) (1888)
		W. Wallace (1888)
		T.A. Christian (1888)
		A. Saunderson (1890)
		A. Quine (1890)
		W. Charleson (1897)
1890	Langness	A. McQuarrie
1891		W.J. Dawson	Mull of Kintyre	1899
	Fidra	J. Henderson	Corsewall	1899
		E. Alderbert	Langness	1902
1904	Scurdie Ness	R.H. McColm	Skerryvore	1908
1904		D.T. Gutcher		1911
1906	Girdle Ness	W. Crowe	Muckle Flugga	1909
1909		D. MacKenzie	Chicken Rock	1918
		A. Burnett (PLK)	Neist Point	1914
1914		A. McEachern (PLK)
1914	Pladda	D. Campbell
1918	Maughold	H. Laidlaw
1920	Covesea Skerry	T.S. Campbell	Deceased	1926
1921	Sanda	J. Henderson	Retired	1929
1929	Copinsay	A. Mc Graw
1930	Kinnaird Head	A. McCauley
		A. McGan (PLK)	Ailsa Craig	1931
1931		A. McCrea
		J. Milne
		G. Combe
1936		R. Park	Chicken Rock	1943
		A. McMillan (1940)
1943	Chicken Rock	T. Shaw
1945		E.A. Black	Barns Ness	1952
		A. Ross (1952)
		Megaw (1955)
1952	Isle of May	E. Carine	Corsewall	1958
1953		R.G. Crowe	Stroma	1959
1958	Isle of Arron	G.B. Barbour
1959	Stroma	R. Thomson	Tod Head	1960
1960	Tod Head	D. White
		T.T. Russel	Dunnet Head	1975
1975	Rattray Head	J.W.A. Corse	Copinsay	1978
		N. Cragie	Copinsay	1975
1976	SLK (?)	R.S. Morrow	Ailsa Craig	1981
		L. Hendry	Cape Wrath	1976
1978	Duncansby Head	W. Meil	Retired	1983
		E.J. England	Sanda	1978
1978	Rattray Head	D. Fox	Maughold Head	1982
1981	Davaar	I.H. MacKay	St Abbs Head	1985
1982	Hyskier	A.D. MacLaren	Maughold Head	1987
1984	Fair Isle	A. Hutchison	Calf of Man	1987
1985	R/ALK	J.F. Crowe	St Abbs Head	1989
1987	Calf of Man	R. Gatt	Retired	1989
1987	R/ALK	G. Adamson	Calf of Man	1993
1989	Sumburgh Head	G. Dugdale	Langness	1993
1989	Hyskier	J. Kermode	Rinns of Islay	1993
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

The lower half of the tower is plain in form, with a maintenance access door on its landward face. The upper section sits inboard of the lower section, with a balcony/walkway surround to the lantern room. The balcony-like structure between the upper and lower sections is the original base of the lighthouse prior to its repositioning and raising in 1950. The lantern room glazing is formed of triangular panes inverted alternately.

Inside the tower has three levels, with painted metal ladders providing circulation between each level. Ground and first floor level have white painted vertical timber boarding, with circular metal windows housed within square openings. The lantern room (second floor) has no more lighting equipment, removed when the light was decommissioned. A small metal door gives access to the external balcony.

Operational status "Winkie"

In 2010, the three General Lighthouse Authorities (GLAs) of the UK and Ireland issued a consultation document following a joint review of Aids to Navigation of the coasts of the United Kingdom and Ireland. The Review addressed the current and future requirements of national and international vesselping and those of Mariners. Each Aid to Navigation - light, buoy or beacon - was studied in isolation, as well as in relation to the other Aids to Navigation in its vicinity. As a result of this review it was agreed to discontinue the minor light at the Point of Ayre. This light was therefore permanently discontinued with effect from 7 April 2010.