Lighthouse Architecture

Lighthouse architects faced a number of challenges. They had to design structures that could withstand exposure to high winds, salt water, snow and ice. Island lighthouses were constructed by local builders using locally available materials whenever possible.

Consideration had to be given to the placement of the lighthouses in more ways than one. They had to be placed to warn of headlands and hidden reefs as well as at harbour entrances. Another major factor to be taken into consideration was the height of the site above sea level and the distance the light had to shine to warn mariners. A report in the Journal of the House of Assembly stated the following concerning the construction of Point Prim Lighthouse:

“That the elevation of the proposed Lighthouse should not be less than eighty feet (24.3 m) above the level of the sea. That the site on which the lighthouse itself should be placed, is about twenty feet (6.1 m) above the sea. That the building itself, therefore, will require to be about sixty feet (18.2 m) high. That this elevation will place the lights at about seventy-five feet (22.8 m) above the sea, which will render them visible on the horizon at a distance of eleven miles and a half (18.5 km). That a person standing on the deck of a vessel approaching the lighthouse, having his eye raised twenty feet (6.1 m) above the sea, will be able to observe them at about seventeen miles and a half (28.1 km), which appears sufficient for ordinary occasions; and in emergency, by sending aloft, a sight of the light might be attained at a distance of twenty miles (32.1 km).”