Location | Holyhead Anglesey Wales |
---|---|
Coordinates | 53°18′51″N4°37′12″W / 53.314198°N 4.619870°W |
Tower | |
Constructed | 1821 |
Construction | Stone tower |
Height | 15 metres (49 ft) |
Shape | Broad tapered cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern |
Markings | Unpainted tower |
Heritage | Grade II listed building, National Monuments of Wales |
Light | |
Deactivated | Inactive |
Holyhead Mail Pier or Admiralty Pier Lighthouse on Salt Island, Anglesey, is an inactive lighthouse which was designed by the civil engineer John Rennie in 1821. It was built in the early 19th century to help guide shipping into the newly constructed harbour, now known as the Port of Holyhead, which acted as the terminus for the packet service between England and Ireland. It is the last of a series of three lighthouses located on Salt Island. [1]
The lighthouse was built as part of extensive improvements to Holyhead Harbour authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1810. [2] The harbour was the mail packet station for packet boats crossing to Ireland, providing a postal service between Dublin and London, via Telford’s new turnpike road which was completed in 1826. [3] Howth Harbour Lighthouse is a matching tower in Howth, Ireland, also designed by Rennie, for the other terminal of the Irish packet steamer. [4]
The lighthouse is of national significance as one of John Rennie's surviving works. He was one of the most eminent engineers of the world's first Industrial Revolution. Of particular importance, in a Welsh context, is the early date of the lighthouse lantern, which was originally lit by gas. Before the conversion to electricity a gas works was located on the island to power the lighthouse, the piers and even part of Holyhead itself. [5] The tower survives intact and has elegantly curved gallery railings, similar to those at Bardsey Lighthouse. It is no longer in use, although it is used as a navigation reference for sailors. [1] [4] [6]
The tower is a Grade II listed building, and was "Listed as an integral part of the important harbour scheme designed by Rennie, and as a good and well-preserved example of an early C19 harbour light." [2]
At the landward end of the pier is the Grade II* Admiralty Arch built to commemorate the visit of King George IV of the United Kingdom to Holyhead in 1821. The King was due to sail from Holyhead to Howth in Ireland on the royal yacht, but due to bad weather he travelled on the steam packet Lightning instead. [7]
John Rennie was a Scottish civil engineer who designed many bridges, canals, docks and warehouses, and a pioneer in the use of structural cast-iron.
Holyhead is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census.. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is separated from Anglesey island by the narrow Cymyran Strait and was originally connected to Anglesey via the Four Mile Bridge.
The A5, the London-Holyhead trunk road, is a major road in England and Wales. It runs for about 243 miles (391 km) from London to the Irish Sea at the ferry port of Holyhead. In many parts the route follows that of the Roman Iter II route which later took the Anglo-Saxon name Watling Street.
Salt Island is joined to Holy Island, Anglesey, in North Wales. It is a natural provider of shelter for the town's Old Harbour from the Irish Sea and is part of the Port of Holyhead.
The Chester and Holyhead Railway was an early railway company conceived to improve transmission of Government dispatches between London and Ireland, as well as ordinary railway objectives. Its construction was hugely expensive, chiefly due to the cost of building the Britannia Tubular Bridge over the Menai Strait. The company had relied on Government support in facilitating the ferry service, and this proved to be uncertain. The company opened its main line throughout in 1850. It relied on the co-operation of other railways to reach London, and in 1859 it was absorbed by the London and North Western Railway.
The City of Dublin Steam Packet Company was a shipping line established in 1823. It served cross-channel routes between Britain and Ireland for over a century. For 70 of those years it transported the mail. It was 'wound-up' by a select committee of the House of Lords in 1922 and finally liquidated in 1930.
Whiteford Point Lighthouse is located off the coast at Whiteford Point near Whiteford Sands, on the Gower Peninsula, South Wales.
Maryport Lighthouse is a small lighthouse located in Maryport, Cumbria, England, formerly run by England's general lighthouse authority, Trinity House. It is a Grade II listed building.
Rochdale and Prince of Wales were two troop ships that sank in Dublin Bay in 1807.
Warren is an ancient parish in the community of Stackpole and Castlemartin, in the most southerly part of Pembrokeshire, Wales. Its northern edge is 5 miles (8 km) south of Pembroke and its southern edge reaches the sea at Flimston Bay. It is bordered by Castlemartin to the west, St Twynnells to the east and Monkton to the north.
Dún Laoghaire Harbour and Carlisle Pier were constructed in the nineteenth century for the purposes of sheltering ships and accommodating the mailboat which sailed between Dún Laoghaire and Holyhead. The nearby settlement of Dún Laoghaire has also previously been known as Kingstown and also as Dun Leary. Carlisle Pier has been known previously as Kingston Pier and the Mailboat Pier.
The Port of Holyhead is a commercial and ferry port in Anglesey, United Kingdom, handling more than 2 million passengers each year. It covers an area of 240 hectares, and is operated by Stena Line Ports Ltd. The port is the principal link for crossings from north Wales and central and northern England to Ireland. The port is partly on Holy Island and partly on Salt Island. It is made up of the Inner Harbour, the Outer Harbour and the New Harbour, all sheltered by the Holyhead Breakwater which, at 2.7 kilometres, is the longest in the UK.
Holyhead Breakwater is situated at the north-western end of Holyhead in Anglesey in Wales. The Victorian structure, which is 1.7 miles (2.7 km) long, is the longest breakwater in the United Kingdom. The breakwater, which is accessible in good weather, has a promenade on top which leads out to the Holyhead Breakwater Lighthouse.
Cylch-y-Garn is a community in Anglesey, Wales, located on the north west coast of the county, 9.0 miles (14.5 km) west of Amlwch, 12.5 miles (20.1 km) north east of Holyhead and 15.0 miles (24.1 km) north west of Llangefni. It includes the villages of Llanfair-yng-Nghornwy, Llanrhyddlad and Rhydwyn, plus Llanrhwydrys, Caerau and Cemlyn. the north west tip of the island at Carmel Head, and the offshore islands of the Skerries and West Mouse. At the 2001 census the community had a population of 675, increasing to 758 at the 2011 census.
Bardsey Lighthouse stands on the southerly tip of Bardsey Island, off the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales, and guides vessels passing through St George's Channel and the Irish Sea.
Rhondda Cynon Taf is a county borough in South Wales. It is located to the north-west of Cardiff and covers an area of 424 km2 (164 sq mi). In 2021 the population was approximately 237,500.
In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical, or cultural significance; Grade II* structures are those considered to be "particularly important buildings of more than special interest". Listing was begun by a provision in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947. Once listed, strict limitations are imposed on the modifications allowed to a building's structure or fittings. In Wales, the authority for listing under the Planning Act 1990 rests with Cadw.
In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical, or cultural significance; Grade II* structures are those considered to be "particularly important buildings of more than special interest". Listing was begun by a provision in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947. Once listed, strict limitations are imposed on the modifications allowed to a building's structure or fittings. In Wales, the authority for listing under the Planning Act 1990 rests with Cadw.
Admiralty Arch, in Holyhead, Anglesey, was built in 1824 to mark the end of Thomas Telford's Holyhead road. The arch was designed by Thomas Harrison and its main purpose was to commemorate the visit of King George IV in August 1821. The King arrived in Holyhead on the royal yacht Royal George on the 7 August, continuing to Plas Newydd where he stopped overnight. He returned the next day to his yacht, but due to poor weather his departure was delayed and the decision was made to transfer to the steam packet Lightning which conveyed him on the 12 August to Howth, near Dublin for his state visit to Ireland. The change to the packet boat was met with widespread approval.
The Harbour lighthouse in Howth is a historic aid to navigation situated on the East pier of the harbour. It was built in the early 19th century to help guide shipping into the newly constructed harbour, which acted as the terminus for the packet service between Ireland and England. In 1982 it was decommissioned and replaced by a modern pole light on an adjacent extension of the pier.