Bishop Rock

: "See Cortes Bank for the 'Bishop Rock' in the Pacific Ocean."

Bishop Rock ( _kw. Men an Eskob) is a small rock at the westernmost tip of the Isles of Scilly (coord|49|52.3|N|06|26.7|W|), known for its lighthouse, and listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the smallest island with a building on it in the world.Fact|date=September 2007

Containing room for nothing more than the uninhabited 45 metre tall lighthouse, the rock acts as the barrier between Great Britain and the Atlantic Ocean.Fact|date=April 2007 The original lighthouse was begun in 1847, but was washed away before it could be completed. The present building was completed in 1858 and was first lit on 1 September of that year.

Bishop Rock is also the eastern end of the North Atlantic shipping route used by ocean liners in the first half of the 20^th century, the western end being the entrance to Lower New York Bay. The ship with the fastest time (in either direction) between a line of longitude running through "Bishop Rock" and the end point at the approach to New York Harbor (first "Sandy Hook", New Jersey and later "Ambrose Light") claimed the 'Blue Riband' for the fastest crossing.

Lighthouse

Surveying by for the Trinity House first attempt to build a lighthouse began in 1843 and work began in 1847cite book |title= Rock lighthouses of Britain The end of an era? |last= Nicholson |first= Christopher |year=1995 |publisher= Whittles Publishing |isbn=1870325419 |pages=pp.114-115] . Trinity House's engineer in chief, James Walker, decided on a 120 foot tall design consisting of accommodation and a light on top of iron legs. The light was never lit since on February 5 1850 a storm washed the tower away.

For his second attempt James Walker decided upon a stone structure with work beginning in 1851. The site for the lighthouse presented a number of difficulties. The small available area and the slope of the rock meant that the lowest stone had to be laid below the water level of the lowest spring tidescite book |title= Rock lighthouses of Britain The end of an era? |last= Nicholson |first= Christopher |year=1995 |publisher= Whittles Publishing |isbn=1870325419 |pages=p116] . Despite these and other problems the tower was completed with no loss of life and the lighthouse shone its first light on 1 September 1858 . The total cost for the lighthouse was £36,559.

In 1881, Sir James Nicholas Douglass inspected the tower and made plans to reinforce it; the work was completed in 1887.

Difficulty in reaching the lighthouse by boat resulted a helipad being built atop the lighthouse in 1976 in order to address the problem.cite book |title= Rock lighthouses of Britain The end of an era? |last= Nicholson |first= Christopher |year=1995 |publisher= Whittles Publishing |isbn=1870325419 |pages=p126] The tower has been fully automated since December 15 1992.cite book |title= Rock lighthouses of Britain The end of an era? |last= Nicholson |first= Christopher |year=1995 |publisher= Whittles Publishing |isbn=1870325419 |pages=p127]

Wrecks

In 1901 a Barque named "Falkland" struck the rock, her main yard hitting the lighthouse itself.cite news |title=BRITISH BARK WRECKED.; Founders Off Scilly Isles -- Part of Her Crew Probably Drowned. |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F0CE2D81139EF32A25750C2A9609C946097D6CF |work=New York Times |date=June 23, 1901 |accessdate=2008-09-24 ]

See also

* List of shipwrecks of the Isles of Scilly

References

External links

* [http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/interactive/gallery/bishop_rock.html Trinity House - Bishop Rock]