Unfortunately one of the keepers, John Jack Jones, was also killed by falling rock as he was heading on to duty. And that it is his ghost who now haunts South Stack lighthouse. It was visited by the team from Most Haunted, a British reality TV series that investigates paranormal activity in different locations and they certainly thought so.
The huge sheer granite cliffs facing South Stack islet rise 60m up from the sea and make perfect breeding grounds for a variety of seabirds. And visitors can view live close up action on the cliffs via cameras of the nesting birds. South Stack Lighthouse Anglesey stands at 28m tall and the light reaches an impressive 20 nautical miles out into the Irish sea.
To learn more about the history and operation you can take a tour inside the lighthouse. The carpark and walking trails are always open, but the visitor centre and access to South Stack lighthouse is Saturday — Wednesday, 10am-5pm only. Closed Thursday and Friday. Access to South Stack islet is also dependent upon the extremely variable weather conditions in the area. There are three car parks available. South Stack is set in a spectacular location to the north-west of Holyhead. The lighthouse acts as a waymark for coastal traffic and a landmark and orientation light for vessels crossing the Irish Sea to and from the ports of Holyhead and Dun Laoghaire.
You can now experience the Lighthouse Tour having followed the keeper's journey down the steps on to the island and view the fascinating geology of the surrounding cliffs. Due to variable weather conditions that can restrict access to the island, please telephone or check the website before you visit to avoid disappointment. Please wear flat shoes. This new lamp was rated at 2 million candle power, almost eight times as bright as the previous lamp. In the s mains electricity was brought to the island, not only to provide a constant supply for the lighthouse lamp, but also to provide electricity for the keeper's dwelling, something they had lacked up to now.
The original electrical lamps were large watt lamps. A number of old ones are on display at the lighthouse. However, in the lighthouse was modernized and the lamp was replaced with a much smaller and longer life watt metal halide bulb.
This reduction in size reduced the distance the light could be seen from 25 to 20 miles. Lighthouses, particularly early ones with oil lamps, required a high degree of maintenance. The keeper and his assistant would need to keep the lamps fuelled, the mirrors polished and the windows clean, as well as start the fog horn when required, along with general upkeep of the buildings.
The keeper and the assistant worked in shifts, and when on duty they would stay in the room just below the lamp room at the top of the tower. The island had enough room for dwellings to be built so that the keeper's families could stay there with them. Many children were born and raised on Ynys Lawd.
The first keeper was James Deans, and his assistant was Hugh Griffiths. Unfortunately Deans and Captain Evans did not get along and regularly argued, so much so that Captain Evans eventually recommended to Trinity House that Deans be dismissed. Griffiths took over as head keeper on Captain Evans' recommendation. His new assistant, Thomas le Cheminant, was also eventually dismissed for neglect of duty and insubordination. Steps leading down to South Stack.
The next assistant was John Jones, who was a diligent worker, and he and Griffiths worked together for 18 years until Jones' early death in On his death Captain Evans took the unusual step of recommending his widow, Ann Jones, as the next keeper.
As she had lived at the lighthouse for 15 years she knew how to carry out all the tasks. In the mid s she was followed in the post by her son, Jack Jones, who had been born on the island and grew up there.
He was tragically killed during the great storm on 25 October , in which the famous Royal Charter sank off the north coast of Anglesey, by rocks falling from the cliff face as he returned down the stairs to the lighthouse. Hugh Griffiths retired in at the age of 78 and was replaced by Henry Bowen, son of a lighthouse keeper and himself an experienced keeper, having previously been assistant keeper at Smalls lighthouse near St.
David's, Pembrokeshire. During his time he oversaw installation of the first fog bell as well as the reconstruction of the keepers accommodation and storerooms. After ten years he was moved to the lighthouse at Penmon where he remained until his death in A number of other keepers and their families followed, but in the s concerns were raised about the safety of young children living on the island.
In the designation of the lighthouse was changed from "isolated shore station" to "rock station", which meant that only the keepers could stay there. They needed to find accommodation on-shore for themselves and their families. From then on they worked on a shift system, one month on South Stack and one month off. During the s Trinity House began a program of automating all their lighthouses. Equipment would be installed at the lighthouse to monitor operation remotely and the lighthouses would only be visited occasionally for cleaning and maintenance.
South Stack switched to automated operation on 13 September South Stack. As can be seen above, South Stack has gone through many changes over the years. With the automating of the light many of the buildings around the island became redundant.
However, they are also listed as historic buildings, so couldn't be demolished and needed to be maintained. To provide funds for this it was decided to open the island and lighthouse to the public as a paying attraction. Before this could be done the bridge to the island needed to be replaced.
Captain Evans' original suspension bridge had been replaced in the s by an aluminium truss bridge. The coastline in this area, from the breakwater in Holyhead, around to the south-western shore, is made up of large granite cliffs, with sheer drops of up to 60 metres, and fierce tide races below. Not until , eight years after the lighthouse was finished, was a bridge added! Trinity House employee, Daniel Alexander, was the main surveyor and architect.
Originally he had it fitted with Argand oil lamps and reflectors. Yet, in about , a small railtrack was installed in order that a lantern, with an additional light, could be lowered down the cliff, to sea level, when fog had concealed the main beam above. In his capacity as surveyor, Alexander built a number of lighthouses, including, the High Lighthouse at Harwich in , and others at Farne and Lundy Islands.
His first major work was the improvement of the medieval bridge at Rochester. He was also the principal architect of Dartmoor and Maidstone Prisons, two of the oldest goals still in use. In he carried out a detailed survey of Rochester Cathedral, and recommended a programme of repairs.
Alexander was also a surveyor with the London Dock Company, between and , and was responsible for all the buildings there during that time. Then, in years after its construction an early form of incandescent light was installed. The lighthouse was properly electrified in A necessary, yet sombre day. In the footbridge, sadly, had to be closed to the public, due to safety reasons. However, in a new aluminium bridge was built, and once again the island was opened to the public.
This is the bridge we can all still cross today. Until , before the footbridge was added, the only means of crossing the deep-water channel to the island was via a wicker basket, suspended on a hempen cable!
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