Belle Tout lighthouse
Encyclopedia
The Belle Tout lighthouse (also spelled Belle Toute lighthouse) is a decommissioned lighthouse
and British landmark located at Beachy Head
, East Sussex
. It has been called "Britain's most famous inhabited lighthouse" because of its striking location and use in film and television. In 1999, the Grade II listed building was moved in one piece
to prevent it from succumbing to coastal erosion
.
s in the 17th and early 18th centuries and a petition to erect a lighthouse started around 1691. The calls were ignored for over 100 years until The Thames, an East Indiaman, crashed into the rocks of Beachy Head. The petition gained momentum with the support of a Captain of the Royal Navy and Trinity House
, the official lighthouse authority, agreed to attend to the matter. Having witnessed the incident himself, John 'Mad Jack' Fuller
, MP for Sussex
, used his influence and some of his personal wealth to fund the lighthouse construction.
The first Belle Tout lighthouse was a temporary wooden structure that started service on 1 October 1828. The construction of the permanent granite
lighthouse began in 1829 and it became operational on 11 October 1834. Its use of 30 oil lamps meant that the lighthouse would require 2 gallons of oil every hour.
over the years and the rocky area started to be covered by the light.
The Belle Tout was in service until 2 October 1902, when a new lighthouse was built at the bottom of the cliffs. Trinity House sold off the building in 1903, after which time it changed hands several times. One purchaser was Sir James Purves-Stewart, who constructed an access road and upgraded the building.
During the Second World War
the building was left empty. It was badly damaged by Canadian artillery
fire, although the lighthouse itself was not the target: the guns were firing at wooden silhouettes of tanks which ran up the hill along rails to the east of building. The trace of the railway track is still discernible. After the local council took ownership in 1948, the decision was made to restore the lighthouse because of its historical significance. Building work was carried out under lease in 1956 and the lighthouse was brought up to date with modern amenities.
In 1986, the BBC
purchased the lease to Belle Tout for the filming of mini-series The Life and Loves of a She-Devil
and a year later it featured in the James Bond
film The Living Daylights
. From 1996 the lighthouse has been used as a family home and, in 2007, the building was put up for sale again. It now includes six bedrooms and large walled gardens.
The lighthouse was further immortalised in the song "Belle Tout" by British rock band Subterraneans
, and in the movie B Monkey starring Asia Argento
. The glass round room which once housed the light itself was featured on the popular BBC television show Changing Rooms, wherein it was re-designed by celebrity interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen
.
17 metres (56 ft) away from the cliff face. The 850-ton lighthouse was moved using a pioneering system of hydraulic jacks which pushed the building along four steel-topped concrete beams that were constantly lubricated with grease. The site should now be safe for many years and has been designed to enable further moves as and when they are required.
. The trust was wound up in May 2008.
. It had been bought for £500,000 and a further £700,000 was spent restoring it. The original access road was too close to the edge of the cliff; the payment of an easement fee to build a new road had to be negotiated with the local council.
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
and British landmark located at Beachy Head
Beachy Head
Beachy Head is a chalk headland on the south coast of England, close to the town of Eastbourne in the county of East Sussex, immediately east of the Seven Sisters. The cliff there is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain, rising to 162 m above sea level. The peak allows views of the south...
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
. It has been called "Britain's most famous inhabited lighthouse" because of its striking location and use in film and television. In 1999, the Grade II listed building was moved in one piece
Structure relocation
A structure relocation is the process of moving a structure from one location to another. There are two main ways for a structure to be moved: disassembling and then reassembling it at the required destination, or transporting it whole. For the latter, the building may be pushed on temporary rails...
to prevent it from succumbing to coastal erosion
Coastal erosion
Coastal erosion is the wearing away of land and the removal of beach or dune sediments by wave action, tidal currents, wave currents, or drainage...
.
Construction
Beachy Head saw numerous shipwreckShipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
s in the 17th and early 18th centuries and a petition to erect a lighthouse started around 1691. The calls were ignored for over 100 years until The Thames, an East Indiaman, crashed into the rocks of Beachy Head. The petition gained momentum with the support of a Captain of the Royal Navy and Trinity House
Trinity House
The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond is the official General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales and other British territorial waters...
, the official lighthouse authority, agreed to attend to the matter. Having witnessed the incident himself, John 'Mad Jack' Fuller
John 'Mad Jack' Fuller
John Fuller , better known as "Mad Jack" Fuller , was Squire of the hamlet of Brightling, in Sussex , and is well known as a builder of follies, and as a philanthropist, patron of the arts and sciences, and a supporter of slavery...
, MP for Sussex
Sussex (UK Parliament constituency)
Sussex was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...
, used his influence and some of his personal wealth to fund the lighthouse construction.
The first Belle Tout lighthouse was a temporary wooden structure that started service on 1 October 1828. The construction of the permanent granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
lighthouse began in 1829 and it became operational on 11 October 1834. Its use of 30 oil lamps meant that the lighthouse would require 2 gallons of oil every hour.
Decommission and sale
The lighthouse was not as successful as had been hoped, with two significant flaws leading to an alternative being sought. The cliff-top location caused problems when sea mists obscured the light, significantly reducing the distance that it would reach. Vessels that sailed too closely to the rocks would not be able to see the light because it was blocked by the edge of the cliff. However, the cliffs of Beachy Head suffered intense coastal erosionCoastal erosion
Coastal erosion is the wearing away of land and the removal of beach or dune sediments by wave action, tidal currents, wave currents, or drainage...
over the years and the rocky area started to be covered by the light.
The Belle Tout was in service until 2 October 1902, when a new lighthouse was built at the bottom of the cliffs. Trinity House sold off the building in 1903, after which time it changed hands several times. One purchaser was Sir James Purves-Stewart, who constructed an access road and upgraded the building.
During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the building was left empty. It was badly damaged by Canadian artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
fire, although the lighthouse itself was not the target: the guns were firing at wooden silhouettes of tanks which ran up the hill along rails to the east of building. The trace of the railway track is still discernible. After the local council took ownership in 1948, the decision was made to restore the lighthouse because of its historical significance. Building work was carried out under lease in 1956 and the lighthouse was brought up to date with modern amenities.
In 1986, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
purchased the lease to Belle Tout for the filming of mini-series The Life and Loves of a She-Devil
The Life and Loves of a She-Devil
The Life and Loves of a She-Devil is a 1983 novel by British feminist author Fay Weldon about a highly unattractive woman who goes to great lengths to take revenge on her husband and his attractive lover...
and a year later it featured in the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film The Living Daylights
The Living Daylights
The Living Daylights is the fifteenth entry in the James Bond series and the first to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent 007. The film's title is taken from Ian Fleming's short story, "The Living Daylights"...
. From 1996 the lighthouse has been used as a family home and, in 2007, the building was put up for sale again. It now includes six bedrooms and large walled gardens.
The lighthouse was further immortalised in the song "Belle Tout" by British rock band Subterraneans
Subterraneans (band)
Subterraneans are an art-rock band from London, England. Fronted by former Angelhead vocalist and songwriter Jude Rawlins, they also feature former Wave guitarist Carl Homer, former Solstice bass player Robin Phillips, and Van der Graaf Generator drummer Guy Evans.-Film, Theatre and...
, and in the movie B Monkey starring Asia Argento
Asia Argento
Aria Asia Anna Maria Vittoria Rossa Argento is an Italian actress, singer, model and director.-Family and early life:...
. The glass round room which once housed the light itself was featured on the popular BBC television show Changing Rooms, wherein it was re-designed by celebrity interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen is a successful homestyle consultant best known for his appearances on the BBC television programme Changing Rooms...
.
Coastal erosion
By 1999 the erosion of the cliffs was threatening the foundations of the building and drastic steps had to be taken to stop it from falling into the sea. On 17 March 1999 in a remarkable feat of engineering work the Belle Tout was movedStructure relocation
A structure relocation is the process of moving a structure from one location to another. There are two main ways for a structure to be moved: disassembling and then reassembling it at the required destination, or transporting it whole. For the latter, the building may be pushed on temporary rails...
17 metres (56 ft) away from the cliff face. The 850-ton lighthouse was moved using a pioneering system of hydraulic jacks which pushed the building along four steel-topped concrete beams that were constantly lubricated with grease. The site should now be safe for many years and has been designed to enable further moves as and when they are required.
Belle Toute Lighthouse Preservation Trust
The "Belle Toute Lighthouse Preservation Trust" was formed in 2007 to bring together a non-profit organisation that could raise the funds to purchase the lighthouse so that it can be opened as a tourist attraction and Bed and BreakfastBed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...
. The trust was wound up in May 2008.
Restoration and conversion to a bed and breakfast
In January 2010, the lighthouse appeared on Channel 5 in a programme named Build a New Life in the Country. This showed how it was purchased in 2008 and converted into a luxury bed and breakfastBed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...
. It had been bought for £500,000 and a further £700,000 was spent restoring it. The original access road was too close to the edge of the cliff; the payment of an easement fee to build a new road had to be negotiated with the local council.