Ray of Hoe


SMEATON’S Tower on Plymouth Hoe has become a landmark for Devon. It was built on the Eddystone Reef in 1759 costing £40,000 and once stood proudly as a beacon 14 miles out at sea. Its creator, Yorkshire man John Smeaton, used 1,000 tonnes of granite blocks for the exterior of his tower and Portland stone for the inside to construct it.


Illuminated by 24 candles, the lighthouse was


first lit in the autumn of 1759 and stood at 22m. In 1810 oil lamps with reflectors replaced the candles, which were substituted with lenses 35 years later.


The design of the tower acted as a template for lighthouse design, but problems persisted by the mid-19th century as the sea was rocking the structure.


The upper part of the lighthouse was taken


down and rebuilt at Plymouth Hoe and was reopened in September 1884, where it still stands today.


What’s left of the original structure is still visible at Eddystone reef. Devon has many other lighthouses dotted


around the coastline including Hartland Point, Start Point, Eddystone, Berry Head, Lundy South and North, Bull Point and Crow Point.


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