Readers will remember that last summer News OnTheWight reported that plans were afoot to decommission the 100-year-old lens and mercury system at St Catherine’s Lighthouse this year.
As part of the ongoing modernisation of Trinity House’s lighthouses across England, Wales, Gibraltar and the Channel Islands, the Fresnel lenses (what are these?) at St Catherine’s has been removed from its location within the lantern room.
Temporary LED lamp
A spokesperson from Trinty House told News OnTheWight,
“We have installed temporarily an LED lamp external to the lantern, pending the installation of the new floor and pedestal arrangement at which time the LED lamp will be installed internally.”
Where will the optic end up?
When asked what will happen to the large glass lens, they replied,
“The optic has been placed into storage while we look into options for a long term home, which has included meetings with interested parties on the Isle of Wight.”
Why was there mercury there?
If you’d like to learn more about how a lighthouse works, check out this snippet from The Secret Life of Lighthouses that originally aired on Channel 5.
What’s a Fresnel lens?
This video from Ticket to Know explains how the Fresnel lens came to be and why it is so important for lighthouses.
You can also read more about it on Wikipedia.
Yikes
Whilst we’re on the subject of lighthouses, spare a thought for the lighthouse keepers in France.
