Start Point Lighthouse

Start Point Lighthouse stands on a rocky headland in South Hams, Devon. Built in 1836, it is one of twenty-nine towers designed by James Walker in a Gothic style. The tower is made of tarred and white-painted granite ashlar, topped with a copper lantern and a crenellated parapet. It has two entrances, one with a Tudor arch and the other blocked but still showing its original 4-centred arch. Inside, a cantilevered granite staircase with an iron balustrade spirals up around the central well. The lighthouse was the first in Trinity House’s fleet to use a dioptric optic, a rotating array of eight large Fresnel lenses. In 1873, a more powerful revolving optic was installed, designed by James Timmins Chance, which increased the light’s range significantly. A fixed red subsidiary light was added to mark the Skerries Bank, originally white but changed to red in later years. The station was electrified in 1959, and automation completed in 1993, with control now handled remotely from Harwich. Visitors find the lighthouse set against dramatic coastal cliffs, with keeper’s cottages and a foghorn building nearby. The old first-order Fresnel lens is displayed in an adjacent visitor centre. The foghorn itself, once powered by falling weights and later by diesel engines, now uses an electric signal mounted on the lighthouse gallery. The site offers sweeping views of the English Channel and the rugged coastline, making it a striking landmark for those exploring South Hams.