The Chaine Memorial Tower is a memorial

Memorial

A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....

 to James Chaine

James Chaine

James Chaine was an Irish shipping businessman and a Conservative Party politician from County Antrim.The son of James Chaine of Ballycraigy and his wife Maria née Whittle from Antrim, he was educated in Blackheath and in 1863 he married Henrietta Creery from Newcastle, County Down.Chaine was...

, a former Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Larne

Larne

Larne is a substantial seaport and industrial market town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a population of 18,228 people in the 2001 Census. As of 2011, there are about 31,000 residents in the greater Larne area. It has been used as a seaport for over 1,000 years, and is...

, County Antrim

County Antrim

County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...

. It is a cylindrical stone tower lighthouse

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....

 with a conical roof, situated on the west side of entrance to Larne Lough

Larne Lough

Larne Lough is a sea lough or inlet in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The lough lies between Islandmagee and the mainland. At its mouth is the town of Larne...

Chaine developed Larne's short sea route to Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 as well as establishing the town as a transatlantic port. The memorial, built in 1888, is a replica of an Irish Round Tower

Irish round tower

Irish round towers , Cloigthithe – literally "bell house") are early medieval stone towers of a type found mainly in Ireland, with three in Scotland and one on the Isle of Man...

. The memorial is situated at the mouth of Larne harbour in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

, and reached via Chaine Memorial Road. There is access from Curran Road via Bay Road.

The plaque which adorns the memorial is now difficult to read. It reads that the monument was erected by the...

"....contributions of every class in this mixed community irrespective of creed or party, all cordially united in esteem and affection for the Memory of JAMES CHAINE of Ballycraigy and Cairncastle Co. Antrim who represented this County in the Imperial Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland from February 1874 till 4 May 1885 when his early and lamented death in his 44th year of his age deprived his native County of one who had worked indefatigably for its interests especially in developing and improving the natural capabilities of the harbour of Larne and establishing its connection with Great Britain, the United States of America and with the inland parts of this County."

On the 1st of July 1899, an oil powered navigational light was installed 22 metres up the tower (The tower being a total of 28 metres in height). The light was installed to aid the navigation of the Hunter Rock, a submerged rock approx 5 miles off shore.

The light was converted to coal gas in 1905, before finally being converted to electric in the latter part of 1935. During April 1948 the supply was changed from DC

Direct current

Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...

 to AC

Alternating current

In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....

.

Maintaining the Light now falls under the remit of the attending keeper at Ferris Point Lighthouse on the other side of the Harbour.

External links

• Chaine Tower Commissioners of Irish Lights