West Usk Lighthouse

West Usk Lighthouse is a Grade II-listed building on the Severn Estuary at the mouth of the River Usk south of the city of Newport, South Wales.

West Usk Lighthouse
West Usk Lighthouse, 2013
Wales
LocationUskmouth
Newport
Wales
United Kingdom
Coordinates51.54061°N 2.99465°W / 51.54061; -2.99465
Year first constructed1821
Deactivated1922
Constructionbrick tower
Tower shapecylindrical tower with balcony and lantern rising from a 2-storey keeper’s house
Markings / patternwhite tower and lantern
Tower height17 metres (56 ft)
ARLHS numberWAL-032
Managing agentWest Usk Lighthouse[1]
HeritageGrade II listed building 

History

The lighthouse was the first to be built by renowned Scottish civil engineer James Walker in 1821.[2] Amongst other projects, Walker went on to build another 21 lighthouses. The land around the lighthouse has been reclaimed as farmland but it stood on an island until 1856. It was decommissioned as an operational lighthouse in 1922.

The lighthouse is currently operating as a hotel. It was featured in July 2008 on an episode of the Channel 5 television series The Hotel Inspector[3] and in 2020 on the Doctor Who twelfth series episode "Fugitive of the Judoon".[4]

For hotel guests, a private road off the B4239 (Lighthouse Road) leads to the lighthouse. Alternatively, it may be reached by a 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) walk along the sea wall footpath from the car park of the Lighthouse Inn on Beach Road. The lighthouse is situated next to the Pont-y-cwcw Reen.

The less substantial East Usk Lighthouse, on the opposite bank of the River Usk, is within the Newport Wetlands wildlife reserve.

See also

References
  1. East Usk The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 3 June 2016
  2. Jones, Stephen K. (2009). Brunel in South Wales. II: Communications and Coal. Stroud: The History Press. p. 78. ISBN 9780752449128.
  3. "The Hotel Inspector".
  4. "Doctor Who - Series 12: 5. Fugitive of the Judoon" – via www.bbc.co.uk.


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