'This historic tower is the oldest lighthouse on the island and
the first cast iron lighthouse built in the Western Hemisphere.'
the first cast iron lighthouse built in the Western Hemisphere.'
The Nautical Magazine:
A Journal of Papers on Subjects Connected with Maritime Affairs,
Volume 15
Brown, Son and Ferguson, 1846
Alexander Gordon,
Mem. of the Inst. of Civil Engineers
22, Fludyer Street, Whitehall,
8th March, 1846
Jamaica. - Having been applied to by the commissioners for erecting and maintaining a lighthouse at Morant Point, Jamaica, I considered the character and value of the more recent lighthouses at home, especially that of St Catherine, in the Isle of Wight. But the site at Jamaica being on a coral rock at the eastern extremity of an extensive morass, occasionally subject to inundation by the sea, and urged as I was to furnish some design capable of expeditious execution, because of the extremely unhealthy nature of the spot, I soon abandoned the notion of attempting so lofty a structure in masonry, as it would have required several years time, and the lives of many of the European masons must have been sacrificed by the climate and the swamp, even supposing that the numerous shocks of earthquakes which have since been felt at the site might not have shaken it down. These considerations with the knowledge of the limited funds at the disposal of the Commissioners, induced me to propose and recommend a cast iron lighthouse tower.
In March 1841 the Commissioners in Jamaica adopted my report, and directed me to proceed in the construction of the entire lighthouse, in London, having the tower made of cast iron; and by the month of October following, I reported that the whole was completed, had been erected and tried in London. In December 1841, the lighthouse in pieces and in packages, arrived out at Port Morant, and my assistant Mr Grove, with two workmen from England, proceeded to carry out the written instructions I had given him.
Morant Point is very low, and at the extremity of a vast morass, over which all the parts of the lighthouse had to be transported, and a road over the morass had to be constructed by Mr Grove, and huts to be erected for his workmen, before he could commence the erection of the tower.
On the 26th of July, 1842, the lighthouse was complete, and ready for lighting. It was permanently lighted on the 1st of November, 1842, and has been continued in operation with satisfaction to all parties ever since, without any repair, other than painting, whilst the repairs of the St Catherine lighthouse, were;- in the year 1843 £159 0s. 2d., and special repairs £211 9s. 9d. - together £370 9s 11d.
The total expense of the Jamaica lighthouse completely erected and lighted in England, taken to pieces, packed, and put on board in the Thames, was £3,500. Some courses of Bramley fall stone, cut and shipped, to be used as a foundation, to prevent the filtration upward of salt water, through the coral rock, to the injury of the iron, cost £300 more. If the same lighthouse had been erected at St Catherines, and of the same altitude, it would have cost less than £4,000. The present lighthouse at St Catherines cost £11,600, which looks like an unnecessary expenditure of £7,600; and the repairs of this more expensive lighthouse for the year 1843, stated above, ought not to be lost sight of.
The lower part of the Jamaica tower is filled in, 25 feet high, with concrete to give weight and stability, and to prevent vibration. Plate II, [below] shows the lighthouse, as it now appears when looking seaward, and the huts are those in which the workmen lived during the time of erection of the lighthouse.
A Journal of Papers on Subjects Connected with Maritime Affairs,
Volume 15
Brown, Son and Ferguson, 1846
Alexander Gordon,
Mem. of the Inst. of Civil Engineers
22, Fludyer Street, Whitehall,
8th March, 1846
Jamaica. - Having been applied to by the commissioners for erecting and maintaining a lighthouse at Morant Point, Jamaica, I considered the character and value of the more recent lighthouses at home, especially that of St Catherine, in the Isle of Wight. But the site at Jamaica being on a coral rock at the eastern extremity of an extensive morass, occasionally subject to inundation by the sea, and urged as I was to furnish some design capable of expeditious execution, because of the extremely unhealthy nature of the spot, I soon abandoned the notion of attempting so lofty a structure in masonry, as it would have required several years time, and the lives of many of the European masons must have been sacrificed by the climate and the swamp, even supposing that the numerous shocks of earthquakes which have since been felt at the site might not have shaken it down. These considerations with the knowledge of the limited funds at the disposal of the Commissioners, induced me to propose and recommend a cast iron lighthouse tower.
In March 1841 the Commissioners in Jamaica adopted my report, and directed me to proceed in the construction of the entire lighthouse, in London, having the tower made of cast iron; and by the month of October following, I reported that the whole was completed, had been erected and tried in London. In December 1841, the lighthouse in pieces and in packages, arrived out at Port Morant, and my assistant Mr Grove, with two workmen from England, proceeded to carry out the written instructions I had given him.
Morant Point is very low, and at the extremity of a vast morass, over which all the parts of the lighthouse had to be transported, and a road over the morass had to be constructed by Mr Grove, and huts to be erected for his workmen, before he could commence the erection of the tower.
On the 26th of July, 1842, the lighthouse was complete, and ready for lighting. It was permanently lighted on the 1st of November, 1842, and has been continued in operation with satisfaction to all parties ever since, without any repair, other than painting, whilst the repairs of the St Catherine lighthouse, were;- in the year 1843 £159 0s. 2d., and special repairs £211 9s. 9d. - together £370 9s 11d.
The total expense of the Jamaica lighthouse completely erected and lighted in England, taken to pieces, packed, and put on board in the Thames, was £3,500. Some courses of Bramley fall stone, cut and shipped, to be used as a foundation, to prevent the filtration upward of salt water, through the coral rock, to the injury of the iron, cost £300 more. If the same lighthouse had been erected at St Catherines, and of the same altitude, it would have cost less than £4,000. The present lighthouse at St Catherines cost £11,600, which looks like an unnecessary expenditure of £7,600; and the repairs of this more expensive lighthouse for the year 1843, stated above, ought not to be lost sight of.
The lower part of the Jamaica tower is filled in, 25 feet high, with concrete to give weight and stability, and to prevent vibration. Plate II, [below] shows the lighthouse, as it now appears when looking seaward, and the huts are those in which the workmen lived during the time of erection of the lighthouse.