Les Hanois Lighthouse, Stone lighthouse on Les Hanois reef, Torteval, Guernsey
Les Hanois Lighthouse is a granite tower built on a reef off Guernsey's western shoreline. The structure rises from the water using precisely fitted stone blocks and operates entirely on its own today.
The tower was built beginning in 1860 after several vessels sank in this area, including HMS Boreas in 1807. The project showed how crucial improved navigation aids had become for coastal safety.
The dovetailing system first used here was suggested by engineer Nicholas Douglass and carried out on site by his 28-year-old son William Douglass, the resident engineer. Each stone had a raised dovetailed band on its top and end joints that locked into recesses in the neighbouring stones, so the tower behaved as one solid mass. The method became the pattern for later sea-rock lighthouses.
The structure is not open to visitors since it functions as an automated navigation facility positioned on a reef. The best way to see it is from the water or from the shoreline as a distant view.
The granite blocks for construction were cut at a separate location and then transported to the site by barge. This method allowed precise prefabrication on land before the stones were assembled on the reef.
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