St Agnes Lighthouse

St Agnes Lighthouse stands at Middle Town on St Agnes in the Isles of Scilly. Trinity House built it in 1680, and the light was first lit on 30 October 1680. It was only the second lighthouse station Trinity House established, after Lowestoft. The tower is 23 metres tall and stands 42 metres above mean high water, and the gun ports built into its walls are an unusual feature for a lighthouse.

The light burned coal in a brazier on top of the tower until 1790, when it was converted to oil lamps with reflectors. Bishop Rock Lighthouse was completed in 1858 and took over as the main landfall light, and St Agnes was decommissioned in 1911 once Peninnis Lighthouse on St Mary’s replaced it. The tower is still maintained as a daymark for shipping, and it is a Grade II* listed building and a scheduled monument.

As a daymark the tower is meant to be seen from the sea and the surrounding islands, and it makes a useful landmark when walking St Agnes. The replacement light is described on the Peninnis Lighthouse page, and Isles of Scilly covers how to reach the islands.