Skerries Lighthouse

Skerries Lighthouse stands on the highest point of the largest island in The Skerries, off the Isle of Anglesey. The first light was shown after 1716, and a patent was granted in 1824. William Trench built the original tower but died in debt after losing his son on the rocks. Sutton Morgan, his son-in-law, later secured the patent forever through an Act of 1729. Morgan’s heirs rebuilt the tower around 1759, raising it further in 1778 under Morgan Jones, twice High Sheriff of Cardiganshire. The lighthouse was taken over by Trinity House in 1836 after a dispute over its value. James Walker restored it, giving it a narrower stone gallery with a crenellated parapet and a new cast-iron lantern. The light now shines 36 metres above high tide with an intensity of 1,150,000 candelas, flashing twice every ten seconds and visible 22 nautical miles away. A smaller sector light was added in 1903–04, and the lighthouse was automated in 1987. Beside the tower are castellated keepers’ cottages with cobbled yards, symmetrically placed privies, and a stone bridge linking two islets. A garden and a stone well-head building also stand nearby. An axial corridor connects the cottages to the lighthouse base. The buildings date from the lighthouse’s early years and have been used by Royal Society for the Protection of Birds wardens in summer. The site offers quiet views over the surrounding waters and the historic structures.