A photochrom from the 1890s and a reworking of the same picture by artist Lydia Marano. This is one of England's best known lighthouses and a scale model is available of how it looked at this time (we have one as an ornament, naturally).
This is actually the fourth lighthouse there, designed by James Douglass, using Robert Stevenson's developments of the techniques of John Smeaton who built the third lighthouse in 1759 which lasted to 1877 - the stump of which remains nearby. Smeaton's lighthouse was rebuilt on Plymouth Hoe, in Plymouth, as a memorial and now a tourist attraction. William Tregarthen Douglass supervised the dismantling and removal of Smeaton's Tower.
The light in this lighthouse was lit in 1882 and is still in use, operated by Trinity House which operates UK lighthouses. It was automated in 1982, the first Trinity House 'Rock' (or offshore) lighthouse to be converted.
As can be seen in the photo below, the appearance of the tower has been changed (and not for the better) by the construction of a helipad above the lantern, to allow maintenance crews access. The tower is 49 metres (161 ft) high, and its white light flashes twice every 10 seconds. The light is visible to 22 nautical miles (41 km), and is supplemented by a fog signal of 3 blasts every 60 seconds.
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