For nearly 120 years the St Catherine’s or ‘Fowey Light’ has been the main guiding light for vessels approaching Fowey Harbour, covering the hazards of Cannis Rock off Gribben Head to the west of Fowey and the craggy rocky shore to the east.

Advances in technology have meant that the vintage light’s lenses and prisms are no longer in use and these have been removed and restored by local enthusiasts to preserve this piece of local maritime history. The light is on display in Fowey’s Museum along with all manner of other interesting artefacts – go along and take a look!

In medieval times the chapel of St Catherine stood on the clifftop overlooking the approaches to Fowey Harbour and a light was kept burning there as a lighthouse.

By 1900, the Harbour Commissioners had become concerned that the harbour light at Whitehouse was not visible enough from seaward and particularly poor for ships approaching from the east and agreed to relocate the light from Whitehouse to St. Catherine’s Point.

In 1904, work was started to build the lighthouse which had been designed by William Tregarthen Douglass, his family were infamous in lighthouse construction including the Eddystone Lighthouse off Plymouth and Bishop’s Rock Lighthouse to the west of the Isles of Scilly.  Work was also undertaken to lay a gas pipe to supply the light, this was in preference to Acetylene gas which was deemed too difficult as it would involve getting heavy gas cylinders to this isolated location.

St Catherine’s light shone for first time on 7th January 1905 and a man named Captain Beale became the first lighthouse keeper promoted from lamp lighter.

The white light flashes every 5 seconds and was visible for 15 miles, a flashing mechanism on the gas burner was used at this time with red filters placed inside the lighthouse frame to give the light’s red sectors that indicate the hazards of Cannis Rock to the west and Polruan’s Washing Rocks to the east.

During WWII, the lighthouse was camouflaged and its use was restricted. It was reported as back in action in May 1945 but the gas equipment was declared obsolete. Thankfully an electricity cable was laid by the Army who were garrisoned at St. Catherine’s Castle during the war. The light was then powered by electricity supplemented by battery backup in the event of power failure.

Over the years the lighthouse keepers tended the light and the associated buildings, and until the 1980’s, a small allotment with privet hedges was also cultivated on the clifftop in front of the lighthouse.

For the last 20 years the lighthouse has been ‘off-grid’ with its modern LED lights being powered by wind and solar energy. The red lighthouse structure remains as a visual aid and local landmark but the lantern which it once housed was removed as it had suffered some vandalism and was considered by the Commissioners to be a piece of local maritime heritage that should be preserved and admired.

The Harbour Commissioners would like to thank the local volunteers including Marcus Lewis and former Fowey Harbour Master, Capt. Mike Sutherland for their efforts to preserve the light and its history.

For more information on the maritime history of Fowey see Capt. Mike Sutherland’s website www.foweyharbourhistory.com

Further documentation can also be found in Cornwall’s Archives Kresen Kernow

Photo (left to right) Marcus Lewis, Bob Passmore and Mike Sutherland – volunteers involved in the restoration of the light