Tater Du Lighthouse

Infobox_lighthouse|name= Tater Du Lighthouse
location= To the S.W. of Penzance, south Cornwall, England


caption=
coordinates = 50°03.12'N 05°34.60'W
yearbuilt =
yearlit= 1965
yeardeactivated=
automated= 1965
intensity= Main Light: 294,000 CD Sector Light: 11,100 CD
elevation= 20 m
range= (White)42.5 Km, (Red)24 Km
foundation=
construction= Concrete blocks
shape=
height= 15 m
characteristic = Main Light: White Flashes (3) Every 15 Seconds Sector Light: Fixed Red Flashes (4) Every 15 Seconds
marking = White
currentlens=

Tater Du Lighthouse is Cornwall's most recently built lighthouse. The construction of the lighthouse came out of the tragedy of losing a small Spanish coaster called the Juan Ferrer on the 23rd of October 1963, on the nearby Boscawen point, the vessel capsized with the loss of 11 lives. after the tragedy the Newlyn and Mousehole Fisherman's association put pressure on Trinity house for a lighthouse to be built, stating that similar tragedies could happen again. Designed by Michael. H. Crisp, the lighthouse was constructed with a completely automatic installation which is remotely controlled from the Trinity House depot in Penzance. The Lighthouse, built from local stone, was completed by the July of 1965.

The short building houses a 7 foot 1 inch lantern with an electric light which is powered from batteries which are charged from mains electricity during the day. The light is 3 white lights flashed every 15 seconds, with a range of 23 miles. There is a separate red fixed light that shows in the line over the Runnelstone Rock. The fog signal was originally a series (72 in total) of Tannoy units built into the lighthouse tower. This was replaced by a Pharos Marine Omnidirectional electric omitter and sounds two one second blasts every 30 seconds during fog.

External links

* [http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/interactive/gallery/tater_du.html Information on the Tater Du Lighthouse at Trinity House]
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