About Hartland Point Lighthouse

Hartland Point is a 99m (325 ft) high rocky outcrop of land on the northwestern tip of the coast of Devon. It is 5 km (3 miles) north-west of the village of Hartland. The point marks the western limit (on the English side) of the Bristol Channel with the Atlantic Ocean continuing to the west. This location was known to the Romans as the 'promontory of Hercules'.

Hartland Point Lighthouse was built by Trinity House in 1874 under the direction of Sir James Douglass. It was blessed by Frederick Temple, Bishop of Exeter, who later became Archbishop of Canterbury. Built on a large rock at the tip of the point, it was threatened by the undermining action of the sea to such an extent that rock had to be broken from the cliff head behind the lighthouse to fall on the beach and form a barrier against the waves. Unfortunately this procedure had to be repeated at frequent intervals as the deposits were washed away whenever a North Westerly gale coincided with a high spring tide. Eventually it became necessary to construct a permanent barrier, and a sea wall 30 m (98 ft) long and 6 m (20 ft) high was built in 1925.

Prior to automation in 1984 the station was manned by four keepers, who lived in dwellings attached to the lighthouse with their families. The keepers' dwellings were demolished when the station was automated, to allow for the construction of a helipad next to the tower. Today the lighthouse is monitored from the Trinity House Operations Centre at Harwich in Essex.