Rudyerd's light 1708 to 1755

Why not come along to our lunchtime talk at Sherwell United Church on 22 July as we mark 300 years since the first candle was lit in Rudyerd's lighthouse?

John Rudyerd, a London-based silk merchant with West Country roots, was engaged to design and build a new lighthouse for the Eddystone reef in 1706.

He decided to employ ship-building techniques in the construction of his lighthouse and used two shipwrights called Smith and Northcutt to assist him with this.

His tower was built from alternate courses of oak timbers and granite blocks round an oak mast and was anchored into the reef with 36 iron spikes.

Standing at 21 metres high, it was first lit by 24 candles in 1708 and survived the harsh conditions of the Eddystone reef for 46 years.

It was eventually destroyed by fire in December 1755 when the lantern caught alight. The lighthouse burnt for five days and was completely destroyed.