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In the squall you can just make out the lighthouse at Trevose. It is now automated and unmanned (since 1995) and was first lit in 1847. The nearest rock off Trevose Head is called The Bull and further out ones are Quies. The waters around which keep many dark secrets. During WW1 the SS Armenian carrying war horses to France was stopped by a German submarine (sm-u 24) who ordered everyone off before they sunk it. Sadly 29 of the crew and presumably all of the horses drowned and there is war grave in the St Enodoc churchyard to remember them. At the end of WW2 recently descovered wrecks of U boats show that deep sea British mine fields here claimed at least two with the complete lost of all lives. Sadly the number of German submariners killed in WW2 (and it was something like 75%, the highest of any service) was exactly the same number as British Merchant Seamen lost.
From Wiki
The wreck of U-1021 was identified by nautical archaeologist Innes McCartney and historian Axel Niestle in December 2006, 7 nautical miles (13 km) off Newquay, Cornwall, at position 50°33.3′N 5°11.6′WCoordinates: 50°33.3′N 5°11.6′W, close to two other U-boats, U-325 and U-400. Further research by Innes McCartney led to the conclusion that all three submarines were sunk in the Bristol Channel by a deep-trap minefield] Minefield "HW A3", which was fatal to U-1021, was laid by HMS Apollo on 3 December 1944.
Tree mallow rising above the footpath at New Polzeath. The leaves are used in herbal medicine and it is thought that some lighthouse keepers may have spread the plant to their remote locations for use as a poultice and to treat burns, an occupational hazard. Thought to have been used as an alternative to toilet paper too, it's very soft!
I was just discussing with a friend at the excellent Sea View Farm Shop Cornwall Summer festival last night, before the 3 Daft Monkeys came on, that lighthouses are part of our Cornwall collective consiousness.
Also that Carl Jung would probably understand why they might be part of my dreamscapes too!
Anyhow, I've written much over the years about lighthouses and daymarks, but just to conclude our conversation, I wonder if any of you would like to share thoughts on Cornish lighthouses?
Although now being made obsolete by satellite navigation, they still serve as a guide to navigation and are also, I believe, deeply ingrained in the Cornish collective consciousness. Jung, who coined that term, should know as he gave seminars at both Sennen and Polzeath!
He might have also witnessed the circular tides between Land's End and the Scilly Isles, which can change direction every two or three hours, making navigation challenging at the best of times!
The intrepid rower Tom Waddington has experienced that first hand as he has just rowed from Newfoundland to Cornwall to raise funds for Mind arriving early this week after an amazing attempt on the world record through the storms.
For the local record though, the earliest use of lights to aid shipping in Cornwall goes back to 1396, when fishermen paid "beaconage" to the chapel of Carn Brea.
St Michael's Mount which has a stone lantern atop its church dates from the 15th century, and a beacon at the chapel of St Nicholas in St Ives, was documented in 1538.
With the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII in the 16th century there was a decline of these church beacons. But, Henry, to give him his due, also founded Trinity House in 1514, which eventually became responsible for providing pilots and building lighthouses around the coast.
The following timeline highlights the construction of our Cornish lighthouses:
Lizard: Built in 1619, abandoned in 1623, and rebuilt in 1752.
Eddystone: First built in 1698; the current lighthouse is the fifth on the site and the De Lank quarries via Wadebridge stonecutters helped make some of them.
Longships: Built in 1795 on rocks 1.25 miles off Land's End.
St Anthony: Built in 1835 at the entrance to Falmouth Harbour.
Trevose: Built in 1847 near Padstow.
Godrevy: Built in 1858 on Godrevy Island, St Ives Bay.
Wolf Rock: Built in 1862 on a rock 8 miles off Land's End.
Pendeen: Built in 1900 between St Ives and Land's End.
Tater Du: Opened in 1965 on the shore east of Land's End.
Feel free to share your thoughts on a lighthouse or the collective consciousness!
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