History
In 1855 the Lord Commissioners of the Admiralty requested that the lighthouse be installed other than the harbour light at Douglas Harbour. A parliamentary report at the time revealed that the light already existing in Douglas had been out of operation since 1850. There were originally two lighthouses, one on the pier which had to remain a harbour light and this one. The Douglas Head Lighthouse is the only sea light between the Calf of Man and the Point of Ayre - some forty miles away.
Structural problems meant the lighthouse was restructured in 1892.
The foghorn, known locally as 'Moaning Minnie', was added in 1908. It caused many complaints in Douglas but it was later moved around the head to reduce the upset to local people.
The lighthouse was automated in 1986.
Recently, a new public footpath was constructed by the Commissioners from the top of Port Skillion down to the Light for the benefit of tourists and sightseers.
Read more about this topic: Douglas Head Lighthouse
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“History is more or less bunk. It’s tradition. We don’t want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker’s damn is the history we make today.”
—Henry Ford (1863–1947)
“[Men say:] “Don’t you know that we are your natural protectors?” But what is a woman afraid of on a lonely road after dark? The bears and wolves are all gone; there is nothing to be afraid of now but our natural protectors.”
—Frances A. Griffin, U.S. suffragist. As quoted in History of Woman Suffrage, vol. 4, ch. 19, by Susan B. Anthony and Ida Husted Harper (1902)
“In all history no class has been enfranchised without some selfish motive underlying. If to-day we could prove to Republicans or Democrats that every woman would vote for their party, we should be enfranchised.”
—Carrie Chapman Catt (1859–1947)