Trinity House to Decommission Royal Sovereign Lighthouse End of Serviceable Life

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Trinity House to Decommission Royal Sovereign Lighthouse End of Serviceable Life Trinity House to decommission Royal Sovereign Lighthouse End of serviceable life Trinity House London* has begun preparatory work on a project to decommission Royal Sovereign Lighthouse** (English Channel, South coast of England, 50°43′24″N 0°26′08″E). It is the intention that the now-deteriorating lighthouse will be completely removed clear to the seabed. This has necessitated that Beachy Head Lighthouse be upgraded to ensure the safety of the mariner in those waters. Trinity House aims to commence work in 2020. Royal Sovereign Lighthouse was built in 1971 with a design life of 50 years. Having monitored the fabric of the lighthouse over the last decade and observing the expected signs of deterioration, Trinity House concluded that the ongoing safety of the mariner requires that the structure be fully decommissioned. Royal Sovereign Lighthouse has provided nearly 50 years of reliable service as an aid to navigation, one of over 600 that Trinity House operates for the benefit and safety of the mariner. In anticipation of its intention to remove Royal Sovereign Lighthouse, Trinity House upgraded Beachy Head Lighthouse; it will also increase the capability of the offshore CS2 buoy and will retain the nearby Royal Sovereign buoy. The upgrade to Beachy Head Lighthouse has increased the number of solar panels around the base of its lantern gallery and installed a longer-range LED light source; the CS2 lighted buoy will also benefit from an increase in range. The upgrade to Beachy Head Lighthouse will come as good news to mariners and the local community alike. Once Trinity House decommissions Royal Sovereign Lighthouse as proposed, Beachy Head Lighthouse’s future is secured as the principal aid to navigation in the area. Royal Sovereign Lighthouse was brought into operation at noon on 6 September 1971. With a farewell blast from the lighthouse’s fog signal, Trinity House Vessel Winston Churchill towed away the last of the series of light vessels which had marked the Royal Sovereign station since 1875. Trinity House’s Deputy Master Captain Ian McNaught said: ‘It is never an easy decision to discontinue and even remove such a prominent aid to navigation, but our first priority will always be the safety of the mariner. Now that Royal Sovereign Lighthouse has reached the end of its serviceable life, it is time for us to take steps to ensure that the lighthouse itself does not become a hazard. There will be a lot of work involved for our engineers and our various other 1 teams and we will be working extensively in collaboration with a number of organisations to ensure the success of this project.’ About Trinity House London Trinity House is a charity dedicated to safeguarding shipping and seafarers, providing education, support and welfare to the seafaring community with a statutory duty as a General Lighthouse Authority to deliver a reliable, efficient and cost-effective aids to navigation service for the benefit and safety of all mariners. The Corporation of Trinity House was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1514 to regulate pilotage on the River Thames and provide for aged mariners. With a mandate that has expanded considerably since then, it is today one of the UK’s largest-endowed maritime charities, the General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar and also a fraternity of men and women selected from across the nation’s maritime sector. Its long-standing familiarity with the channels, hazards, currents and markings of its coastline also qualifies it to inspect and audit over 11,000 local aids to navigation, license Deep Sea Pilots and provide Nautical Assessors to the Admiralty Court. Per annum the Trinity House Maritime Charity donates around £5m to the charities it supports. These include the provision of cadet training schemes, welfare provision for retired mariners and educational programmes teaching safety at sea skills. *The General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar with HQ in the City of London and principal operating base at Harwich on the East Coast. **Built 1971, height of tower 36 m. Height of light above Mean High Water 28 m. Of concrete construction built in two sections on the beach at Newhaven. The base and vertical pillar section were floated into position and sunk on to a levelled area of the seabed. The upper cabin section and superstructure were then floated over the pillar section. The pillar had an inner telescopic section which, when attached to the cabin, was jacked up 13 metres and locked into position. The cabin section contained accommodation for the keepers who manned the lighthouse before its automation in 1994. The flat upper deck of the cabin section provides a helicopter landing platform. The lighthouse tower, with the control room, fog signal room and lantern is located at one corner of the main deck with direct access to the cabin section below. Automation of Royal Sovereign Lighthouse was completed in August 1994. The lighthouse is now monitored and controlled from Trinity House’s Planning Centre in Harwich, Essex. 2.
Recommended publications
  • Beacons of the Coast
    National Seashore National Park Service Cape Lookout U.S. Department of the Inerior Beacons of the Coast Over a century ago, mariners travelling along the Atlantic coast encountered dangerous shoals and treacherous storms. Their guides were the beacons of light produced by lighthouses which helped mariners navigate the perilous coastline. For mariners traveling along the North Carolina coast, seven lighthouse beacons were constructed to guide them through an area known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic.” Hundreds of shipwrecks occurred due to the dangers of this area. Today, the ships traveling the coast use modern tools such as radar and sonar. The beacons continue to operate, standing as a reminder of the hardships encountered by our ancestors to help settle the country. These seven lighthouses found on the North Carolina coast stand as pieces of our past. CURRITUCK BEACH LIGHTHOUSE This lighthouse was constructed from 1874 - 1875, and it lit the last dark spot on the Carolina coast between the Cape Fear lighthouse in Virginia and Bodie Island. The red brick lighthouse rises 158 feet above sea level. Unlike many other lighthouses that received distinctive day marks, Currituck was not painted. But its red brick is unique on the Carolina coast. It has a short light signal: 5 seconds on, 15 seconds off. There is a Fresnel lens still working in the lighthouse and it is activated from dusk to dawn. Currituck Lighthouse is open 10-6 daily from Easter to Thanksgiving weekend. You can walk to the top of the lighthouse. BODIE ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE This was the third lighthouse to be built on Bodie Island (pronounced “body”) and was constructed in the early 1870’s.
    [Show full text]
  • Report and Accounts March 2010
    Report and Accounts to 31 March 2011 Table of Contents Directors of the Lighthouse Board 1 Office and Advisers 2 Executive Chairman’s Review 3-5 Directors’ Report and Management Commentary: 6 - Nature, Objectives and Strategy of the Business 6-10 - Current Developments and Performance 10-19 - Resources 20-21 - Risks and Uncertainties 21 - Relationships 22 - Financial Position 22-25 Remuneration Report 26-28 Statement of Accounting Officer’s responsibilities 29 Executive Chairman’s Statement on Internal Control 30-33 Statement of Comprehensive Net Income for the Year Ended 31st March 2011 34 Statement of Financial Position as at 31st March 2011 35-36 Statement of Cash Flows for the Year Ended 31st March 2011 37 Statement of Changes in Reserves for the Year Ended 31st March 2011 38 Notes to the Accounts 39-71 Five Year Summary 72 Appendix A – Letter of Comfort 73 DDirireecctotorrss o of ft hThe eL iLgighhththoouuses eB Booarad rd: ReRaera Ar dAmdimrairl aSl irS iJr MJ Md ed He aHlpaelpret rKt CKVCOV OC BC BFR FIRNI* N* ExEexceuctuivteiv Ce hCahiramiramn an CaCpatpatina inR DH CB aGrklaesrs (retired 21st May 2009)* DiDreircetoctro or fo Nf aNvaigvaigtaiotnioanl aRl eRqeuqirueirmeemnetns ts CoCmapmtoadino rRe HS BJ aSrckoerre (ra*p FpCoMinIted 21st May 2009)* DiDreircetoctro or fo Of pNearvaitgioantisonal Requirements J SC oWmemdgoed,o CreI PSF AJ SMcBoAre Br*A F(CEcMoI n) Hons** DiDreircetoctro or fo Ffi nOapnecrea taionnds Support Services CaJp Sta Wine Nd gRe ,P CryPkFeA, MCBIAT B FAN (IE* con) Hons** DeDpiruetcyt oCrh aoifr mFianna nacned
    [Show full text]
  • The Oldest Lighthouse 1
    The Oldest Lighthouse 1 The Oldest Lighthouse Ken Trethewey1 Fig. 1: The Pharos at Dover, built around the 2nd c. BCE., is a candidate for the oldest existing lighthouse. Introduction harologists are frequently asked, What is the oldest A light marking the tomb of Achilles at Sigeum in the Plighthouse? The answer is, of course, difficult to Hellespont has frequently been proposed. Its location answer without further qualification. Different people at the entrance to the strategic route between the might argue over the definition of a lighthouse, for Mediterranean and Black Seas would have created example.2 Others might be asking about the first a vital navigational aid as long ago as the twelfth or lighthouse that was ever built. A third group might be thirteenth centuries BCE. This could have inspired ideas asking for the oldest lighthouse they can see right now. of lighthouses, even if its form was inconsistent with All of these questions have been dealt with in detail our traditional designs. In later centuries (though still in my recent publication.3 The paper that follows is an prior to the building of the Alexandrian Pharos) Greeks overview of the subject for the casual reader. seem to have been using small stone towers with fires on top (Figs. 3, 4 and 5) to indicate the approaches Ancient Lighthouses to ports in the Aegean. Thus, however the idea was actually conceived, the Greeks can legitimately claim to Most commonly the answer given to questions have inspired an aid to navigation that has been of great about the oldest lighthouse has been the Pharos at value to mariners right up to the present day.
    [Show full text]
  • Landslides at Beachy Head, Sussex
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by NERC Open Research Archive Landslides at Beachy Head, Sussex Beachy Head (Figures 1 and 2) is a famous natural and historic site and tourist attraction on the south coast. The cliff top area is part of the Downland Country Park managed by Eastbourne District Council. The section of cliff surveyed at Beachy Head is situated to the east of the modern lighthouse. The survey spans a 400 m south-facing stretch of beach with a cliff height of between 120 and 160 m. Figure 1 Cliffs and lighthouse at Beachy Head Figure 2 Field sketch at Beachy Head As part of a programme of work monitoring coastal erosion and landsliding at several sites around the coast of Great Britain, BGS has surveyed the cliffs at Beachy Head in Sussex using terrestrial LiDAR — see Terrestrial LiDAR Survey Techniques Geology The geology of the cliffs at Beachy Head consist of Cretaceous chalk comprising the Seaford Chalk and Lewes Nodular Chalk formations (formerly called the Upper Chalk Formation) overlying the New Pit Chalk Formation (formerly part of the Middle Chalk). The New Pit Chalk Formation (Turonian) in the lower part of the cliff is largely obscured by chalk debris. This is principally blocky, white firm to moderately hard chalk with numerous marls. Flint occurs sporadically or in seams in different part of the formation. Overlying the New Pit Chalk Formation is the Lewes Nodular Chalk Formation, which is Turonian to Coniacian in age. This consists of hard nodular chalk and chalkstone, which is locally porcellaneous.
    [Show full text]
  • THE TRINITY HOUSE LUNDY ARCHIVE: a PAPER in MEMORY of the LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS of LUNDY by R.W.E
    Rep. Lundy Field SOc. 44 THE TRINITY HOUSE LUNDY ARCHIVE: A PAPER IN MEMORY OF THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS OF LUNDY By R.W.E. Farrah 4, Railway Cottages, Long Marton, Appleby, Cumbria CAI6 6BY INTRODUCTION The approaches to the Bristol Channel along the northern coast of Cornwall and Devon offer very little shelter for the seafarer during severe weather conditions. Lundy, however, situated at the mouth of the Channel central to the busy sea lanes, is one exception and has provided an important refuge on the leeward side of the island throughout the historic period. Before the navigational aids of the lighthouses were built, the island must also have proved hostile to the mariner, especially during hours of darkness and poor visibility. The number of shipwrecks and marine disasters around the island bear testimony to this. The dangers were considerable; although the tidal streams to the west of Lundy are moderate, they are strong around the island. There are several bad races, to the north-east (The White Horses), the north-west (T)1e Hen and Chickens) and to the south-east. There are also overfalls over the north-west bank. Some appreciation of the dangers the island posed can be seen from the statistics issued by a Royal Commission of 1859 who were reporting on a harbour refuge scheme. They noted that: "out of 173 wrecks in the Bristol Channel in 1856-57, 97 received their damage and 44 lives were lost east of Lundy; while 76 vessels were lost or damaged and 58 lives sacrificed west of Lundy, thus showing the island to be nearly in the centre of the dangerous parts" (quoted in Langham A and M, 1984,92).
    [Show full text]
  • THE LIFE-BOAT the Journal of the Royal National Life-Boat Institution
    THE LIFE-BOAT The Journal of the Royal National Life-boat Institution VOL. XXXIV SEPTEMBER, 1955 No. 373 THE LIFE-BOAT FLEET 155 Motor Life-boats 1 Harbour Pulling Life-boat LIVES RESCUED from the foundation of the Life-boat Service in 1824 to 30th June, 1955 - - 79,260 Notes of the Quarter H.R.II. THE DrKF. OF lives were rescued. The category to attended a meeting of the Committee which the greatest number of services of Management of the Institution on was rendered was that of motor the 14th of July. 1955. Licutenant- vessels, steamers, motor boats and General Sir Frederick Browning was barges. There were 20 launches to in attendance. The Duke of Pklin- vessels of this kind and 45 lives were burgh is ex-qfficio a member of the rescued. There were 15 launches to Committee of Management as he is fishing boats and 13 to yachts, but as Master of the Honourable Company of many as 20 lives were rescued from Master Mariners. This was the first yachts and only 4 from fishing boats. time he had attended a meeting, There were 6 launches to aircraft, 3 and during his visit to headquarters he to small boats and dinghies and 2 to examined with great thoroughness the people who had been cut off by the drawings of all the types of life-boat tide. Life-boats were launched 3 being built today. Within a week of times to land sick men, and there were attending the meeting the Duke of 3 launches following reports of distress Edinburgh, on a visit to the Scilly signals which led to no result.
    [Show full text]
  • Ship Shape As We Embark Upon a Project to Replace THV Patricia, We Take a Look at the Project Set-Up, Fact-Finding Missions and Progress So Far AUTUMN 2019 | ISSUE 31
    The Trinity House journal // Autumn 2019 // Issue 31 Ship shape As we embark upon a project to replace THV Patricia, we take a look at the project set-up, fact-finding missions and progress so far AUTUMN 2019 | ISSUE 31 9 10 1 Welcome from Deputy Master, Captain Ian McNaught 13 2-4 Six-month review 5 News in brief 6 Coming events 7-8 Appointments/obituaries 9 27 Staff profile 10-12 THV Patricia replacement 13-14 Royal Sovereign decommissioning 15 Lundy North modernisation 16-17 Portland Bill upgrade 18 38 Swansea Buoy Yard lift 19-21 World Marine AtoN Day 22-24 Investments on the way IALA and the inception of an IGO Welcome to another edition of Flash; our staff have been hard at work driving forward 25 a number of projects with a great deal of progress to show for it. Many thanks are due IALA AtoN Manager course to everyone who contributed news and features to the issue, as always. Multi-skilled project teams have been working on two significant projects: one to 26-31 procure a vessel to replace the 1982-built THV Patricia, and another to manage the Charity update safe removal of the now-deteriorating Royal Sovereign Lighthouse. Elsewhere it was great to see the twin successes of Maritime Safety Week and 32-35 World Marine Aids to Navigation Day—both on 1 July—as our maritime partners at Partner profile: UK the Department for Transport and IALA further commit themselves to raising the Hydrographic Office profile of the national and global maritime sector.
    [Show full text]
  • Historically Famous Lighthouses
    HISTORICALLY FAMOUS LIGHTHOUSES CG-232 CONTENTS Foreword ALASKA Cape Sarichef Lighthouse, Unimak Island Cape Spencer Lighthouse Scotch Cap Lighthouse, Unimak Island CALIFORNIA Farallon Lighthouse Mile Rocks Lighthouse Pigeon Point Lighthouse St. George Reef Lighthouse Trinidad Head Lighthouse CONNECTICUT New London Harbor Lighthouse DELAWARE Cape Henlopen Lighthouse Fenwick Island Lighthouse FLORIDA American Shoal Lighthouse Cape Florida Lighthouse Cape San Blas Lighthouse GEORGIA Tybee Lighthouse, Tybee Island, Savannah River HAWAII Kilauea Point Lighthouse Makapuu Point Lighthouse. LOUISIANA Timbalier Lighthouse MAINE Boon Island Lighthouse Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse Dice Head Lighthouse Portland Head Lighthouse Saddleback Ledge Lighthouse MASSACHUSETTS Boston Lighthouse, Little Brewster Island Brant Point Lighthouse Buzzards Bay Lighthouse Cape Ann Lighthouse, Thatcher’s Island. Dumpling Rock Lighthouse, New Bedford Harbor Eastern Point Lighthouse Minots Ledge Lighthouse Nantucket (Great Point) Lighthouse Newburyport Harbor Lighthouse, Plum Island. Plymouth (Gurnet) Lighthouse MICHIGAN Little Sable Lighthouse Spectacle Reef Lighthouse Standard Rock Lighthouse, Lake Superior MINNESOTA Split Rock Lighthouse NEW HAMPSHIRE Isle of Shoals Lighthouse Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse NEW JERSEY Navesink Lighthouse Sandy Hook Lighthouse NEW YORK Crown Point Memorial, Lake Champlain Portland Harbor (Barcelona) Lighthouse, Lake Erie Race Rock Lighthouse NORTH CAROLINA Cape Fear Lighthouse "Bald Head Light’ Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Cape Lookout Lighthouse. Ocracoke Lighthouse.. OREGON Tillamook Rock Lighthouse... RHODE ISLAND Beavertail Lighthouse. Prudence Island Lighthouse SOUTH CAROLINA Charleston Lighthouse, Morris Island TEXAS Point Isabel Lighthouse VIRGINIA Cape Charles Lighthouse Cape Henry Lighthouse WASHINGTON Cape Flattery Lighthouse Foreword Under the supervision of the United States Coast Guard, there is only one manned lighthouses in the entire nation. There are hundreds of other lights of varied description that are operated automatically.
    [Show full text]
  • The Story of Our Lighthouses and Lightships
    E-STORy-OF-OUR HTHOUSES'i AMLIGHTSHIPS BY. W DAMS BH THE STORY OF OUR LIGHTHOUSES LIGHTSHIPS Descriptive and Historical W. II. DAVENPORT ADAMS THOMAS NELSON AND SONS London, Edinburgh, and Nnv York I/K Contents. I. LIGHTHOUSES OF ANTIQUITY, ... ... ... ... 9 II. LIGHTHOUSE ADMINISTRATION, ... ... ... ... 31 III. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OP LIGHTHOUSES, ... ... 39 IV. THE ILLUMINATING APPARATUS OF LIGHTHOUSES, ... ... 46 V. LIGHTHOUSES OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND DESCRIBED, ... 73 VI. LIGHTHOUSES OF IRELAND DESCRIBED, ... ... ... 255 VII. SOME FRENCH LIGHTHOUSES, ... ... ... ... 288 VIII. LIGHTHOUSES OF THE UNITED STATES, ... ... ... 309 IX. LIGHTHOUSES IN OUR COLONIES AND DEPENDENCIES, ... 319 X. FLOATING LIGHTS, OR LIGHTSHIPS, ... ... ... 339 XI. LANDMARKS, BEACONS, BUOYS, AND FOG-SIGNALS, ... 355 XII. LIFE IN THE LIGHTHOUSE, ... ... ... 374 LIGHTHOUSES. CHAPTER I. LIGHTHOUSES OF ANTIQUITY. T)OPULARLY, the lighthouse seems to be looked A upon as a modern invention, and if we con- sider it in its present form, completeness, and efficiency, we shall be justified in limiting its history to the last centuries but as soon as men to down two ; began go to the sea in ships, they must also have begun to ex- perience the need of beacons to guide them into secure channels, and warn them from hidden dangers, and the pressure of this need would be stronger in the night even than in the day. So soon as a want is man's invention hastens to it and strongly felt, supply ; we may be sure, therefore, that in the very earliest ages of civilization lights of some kind or other were introduced for the benefit of the mariner. It may very well be that these, at first, would be nothing more than fires kindled on wave-washed promontories, 10 LIGHTHOUSES OF ANTIQUITY.
    [Show full text]
  • Seas Safe for Centuries. These Wasn't Until the Early 18Th Century
    Lighthouses have played a vital role wasn’t until the early 18th century in shining a light to keep sailors, that modern lighthouse construction fishermen and all who travel our began in the UK. An increased in seas safe for centuries. These transatlantic trade encouraged the buildings are iconic in their own building of lighthouses, their right, and are often found in some of purpose being to warn trading ships the most remote parts of the UK. against hazards, such as reefs and rocks. There are more than 60 Dating back to the Roman times, lighthouses dotted around the UK. Britain’s early lighthouses were often The charity Trinty House looks after found in religious buildings sat on many of these lighthouses to help hilltops along the coast. However, it maintain the safety of seafarers. Lizard Point Lighthouse in Cornwall is the site. It was granted, but with one the most southerly lighthouse on condition… At the time, the Cornish mainland Britain. It is a dual towered coast was rife with piracy and lighthouse off the Cornish coast and has smuggling, and so it was required that stood there since 1619. the light was extinguished when the enemy approached, for fear that it A local man, Sir John Killigrew, applied would guide the unwanted criminals for the first patent for a lighthouse on home. The first lighthouse was Egypt's Pharos of Alexandria, built in the third century BC. The lighthouse of Alexandria was made from a fire on a platform to signal the port entrance. Meanwhile, the world's oldest existing lighthouse is considered to be Tower of Hercules, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that marks the entrance of Spain's La Coruña harbor.
    [Show full text]
  • Ancient Pharology from Google Earth, of a Beautiful Mystery to My Grown up Son and Daughter,Yed and Cristiana Su
    Ancient Pharology from Google earth, of a Beautiful Mystery to my grown up son and daughter,Yed and Cristiana Su The emplacement of some of the most ancient lighthouses known, tentatively explained Beauty and lighthouses Lighthouses are beautiful, more often than not, and, undoubtedly, the seafront context in which we expect to find them is quite inspiring. Arts and literature linger since long time on them, some have become tourist resorts, people even tour dozens of distant lighthouses just to see them, or “collect” them, as notably radio-hams do. Italian radio ham diplomas. WAIL, “worked all Italian lighthouses” Fbook group- one sets up a station, many try to confirm a radio contact Lighthouses' society exist in the anglophone world in particular, often populated not just by passionates, but by former, and now ever more rare figures: present lighthouse wardens. Dr. Trethaway, one of the most noted pharologists, discovered he is the descendant of a lighthouse keeper family as he developed his skills and passion. I am indebted to his site for a number of illustrations here, as well as for a few critical concepts. Today, most lighthouses are unmanned. Chania lighthouse Crete, the base is Venetian, end of XVI century, the tower Egyptian, early XIX. Kjeungskjær lighthouse, Ørland, Norway. Torre de Hercules, Galicia, Spain. A splendid Roman Lighthouse Enoshima, Japan, recently renovated Peggy's Cove, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Types of Lighthouses and their emplacement A modern lighthouse equivalent uses radio waves rather than light, and is usually quite uncute. Cape Peloro navigational radio beacon, Sicily, Messina straits: ugly.
    [Show full text]
  • Lizard Lighthouse, Lizard Point
    U.S. Lighthouse Society ~ Lighthouses of the United Kingdom Lizard Lighthouse (Lizard Point, Cornwall) A NON-PROFIT HISTORICAL & EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY U.S. Lighthouse Society ~ Lighthouses of the United Kingdom History Lizard Lighthouse is a landfall and coastal mark giving a guide to vessels in passage along the English Channel and warning of the hazardous waters off Lizard Point. Many stories are told of the activities of wreckers around our coasts, most of which are grossly exaggerated, but small communities occasionally and sometimes officially benefited from the spoils of shipwrecks, and petitions for lighthouses were, in certain cases, rejected on the strength of local opinion; this was particularly true in the South West of England. The distinctive twin towers of the Lizard Lighthouse mark the most southerly point of mainland Britain. The coastline is particularly hazardous, and from early times the need for a beacon was obvious. Sir John Killigrew, a philanthropic Cornishman, applied for a patent. Apparently, because it was thought that a light on Lizard Point would guide enemy vessels and pirates to a safe landing, the patent was granted with the proviso that the light should be extinguished at the approach of the enemy. Killigrew agreed to erect the lighthouse at his own expense, for a rent of ʺtwenty nobles by the yearʺ, for a term of thirty years. Although he was willing to build the tower, he was too poor to bear the cost of maintenance, and intended to fund the project by collecting from ships that passed the point any voluntary contributions that the owners might offer him.
    [Show full text]