Portland Bill, Dorset - Old & New Lighthouses - Dennis postcard c.1970s

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Portland Bill Lighthouse is a functioning lighthouse at Portland Bill, on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. The lighthouse and its boundary walls are Grade II Listed.^[2]

As Portland Bill's largest and most recent lighthouse, the Trinity House operated Portland Bill Lighthouse is distinctively white and red striped, standing at a height of 41 metres (135 ft). It was completed by 1906 and first shone out on 11 January 1906.^[3] To date, the lighthouse guides passing vessels through the hazardous waters surrounding the Bill, while also acting as a waymark for ships navigating the English Channel.^[4]

The two original lighthouses, now known as the Old Higher Lighthouse and Old Lower Lighthouse, operated as a pair at Portland Bill. They were constructed in 1716, both rebuilt in 1869, and decommissioned following the completion of the present lighthouse.^[5] At the turn of the 20th-century, Trinity House put forward plans for building a new lighthouse at Bill Point. They acquired the required land in 1903.^[6][7]

The builders, Wakeham Bros. of Plymouth, began work on the foundations in October 1903.^[8] Chance & Co of Birmingham supplied and fitted the lantern.^[9]The lighthouse was completed in 1905 at a cost of £13,000, and the lamp first lit on 11 January 1906.^[5] On 18 March 1996, it was demanned, and all monitoring and control transferred to the Trinity House Operations & Planning Centre in Harwich.^[10]

The Old Lower Lighthouse is a disused 19th-century lighthouse on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, southern England. It is located along the eastern side of Portland Bill. The lighthouse, including its boundary walls and coastguard house, became Grade II Listed in September 1978.^[2]

Working alongside the Old Higher Lighthouse from 1716, the lower lighthouse has subsequently been rebuilt twice, once in 1789 and again in 1869.^[3] The lighthouse seen today was built in 1869 and has been the home of the Portland Bird Observatory since 1961.

The surrounding coast of Portland, namely Portland Bill and Chesil Beach, have been notorious for the many vessels that became shipwrecked in the area over the centuries.^[3][4] After years of local petitions to Trinity House, the organisation agreed for a lighthouse to be built at Portland Bill. George I granted the patent in 1716.^[3][4][5] Two lighthouses were built at Portland Bill – the Old Higher Lighthouse at Branscombe Hill, and the other on lower land.^[4]They shone out for the first time on 29 September 1716.^[3]

In 1789, Trinity House hired the Weymouth builder William Johns to demolish and rebuild the lower lighthouse.^[3] The new lighthouse, 63 feet high and built of Portland stone, was then installed with a new lens created by Thomas Rogers. In 1869 Trinity House had both lighthouses rebuilt to allow for improvements to be made.^[3][6] At the turn of the 20th century, Trinity House made plans to build a new lighthouse at Bill Point to replace both current lighthouses.^[6][3][7] The new lighthouse was completed in 1905,^[4] and the original two lighthouses were then auctioned.^[4][8]

During the Great War the lighthouse was the "Longstone Ope Tea Rooms and Gardens". The lighthouse then saw several ownership changes,^[9] and was used as a family home for some of this time.^[10] After World War II, the lighthouse was empty and derelict.

During the 1950s, the studying of bird migration was becoming established on Portland. Many ornithologists were visiting the island and Portland Bill. Through the generosity of Miss Helen Brotherton and her family, the ornithologists were able to make the lighthouse their permanent base. In March 1961 the conversion and repair work had been completed, and the observatory was officially opened by Sir Peter Scott, as Portland's Bird Observatory and Field Centre.^[9] The observatory later became a registered charity.^[11] It caters for naturalists of all persuasions and offers hostel-style accommodation.^[12]