LIGHT-HOUSE. 



fcended from room to room as the fire increafed, and were 

 at lad obliged to take refuge, from the fall of burning tim- 

 bers, in a cavity of the rock, from which they were relieved 

 by a boat the next morning. The wind, unfortunately, blew 

 from the eaft, and though it caufed fuch a fwell as to pre- 

 vent landing, did not break on the houfe fo as to extinguifh 

 the fire ; and thus, in a few days, the whole was deftroyed, 

 except the iron cramps in the rock. 



It is remarkable, that whilil; one of the light keepers, at 

 the commencement of the fire, was looking up at the fire in 

 the cupola of the lantern, a body of melted lead (howered 

 down upon him, and he declared a quantity had palTed down 

 his throat into his ilomach. He lived only 1 2 days after being 

 talien on fhore ; and on opening the body, a mafs of lead 

 was taken from the Ilomach, weighmg more than feven 

 ounces. The curious fact, of his having 12 days furvived fo 

 alarming an accident, was communicated by his attendant 

 furgeon, Dr. Spry, to the Royal Society, bat the ciicum- 

 llance appeared lo improbable, that it did not, at firlt, meet 

 that credit, which future experiments on animals proved he 

 was entitled to. 



On the news of the fire reaching London, the proprietors 

 (for by the fde of Capt. Lovel's original leafe, the property 

 of the light-houfe was now in many hands,) immediately 

 took meafures to reftore it, and appointed one of their mem- 

 bers, Mr. Rob. Wefton, to the fole managefnent of their 

 affairs, and he being recommended to Mr. John Smea- 

 ton, F. R.S., by the prefident 01 the Royal Society, employed 

 this gentleman to devife the means, and fuperintend the erec 



taining the fire-place L, from which the fmoke afccnds by,a 

 copper funnel m, through the bed room M and lantern N, 

 to the ball on the top of the cupola O. The afcent from room 

 to room is by the perforations through the middle of each 

 floor, a moveable ftep ladder being ufed for the attend- 

 ants; but llore may be drawn up from the lower room 

 into any other. P is the railing forming the balcony ; 

 its floor is covered with v.ry thick (beet lead, turned 

 down over the cornice Q, which furmounts the co- 

 lumn fif the building. R is the ftone bafeiiient of the lan- 

 tern, and N the glazed part : the cupola O is fupported by 

 eight caft-iron ftandards, bet^teen which the copper win- 

 dow frames are fixed : the ftandardi have claws at bottom, 

 which are fcrewed to flat iron bars relting upon the llone 

 work. By this means the whole lantern is framed together ; 

 and to ftrengthen it, the window frames are call with di- 

 agonal bars, as fiieun in Jg. 2. The whole lantern is held 

 down by eight bolts at its angles, paffing down through 

 the balcony floor ; one of thcfe is feen at ^ : S is the door 

 to the balcony. The lantern is lighted by 24. candles ar- 

 ranged in two iron circles, one fix feet four inches diameter, 

 containing 16 lights ; and the other, three feet four inches 

 diameter, holding eight candles. Tiiefe circles are fufpenced 

 by cords going over pullies, fo that they mutually rife 

 and fall parallel, and counterbalance each other. By this 

 arrangement either circle can be diawn down to fnuff the 

 candles, which is done every half hour, without lofino- the 

 whole light. Having thus defcribcd the general outline 

 of the building, the minutia of its ccnllruclion comes next 



tion, of a new building. Mr. S., whofe originality of genius, to be defcribed, and the manner of uniting the ilones com- 



and foundnefs of juiigment, have fince been fa generally pofing it. The feCtion,_^. 2, fhews the feveral fleps wiiich 



known, was at that time juft entering into his profeflion as a were cut in the rock to engraft llie ftone work upon, 



civil engineer, but immediately devoted himfelf to the confi- J^'S^- I, 2,3, Sec. denote the different courfes of llone, eacii 



deration of the light-houfe, and foon determined upon of whichniakes a level furfacev/ich the ilep it is fitted into, 



eredling a ftone building ; and reafoned, that by making the The feventh is the firft com.plete courfe. Fig. 2. is a plan 



building very heavy, and uniting all the ftones firmly together, 

 he ihould obtain fuch a weight and ftrength, as would firmly 

 refift the united action of the wind and water. He determined 

 upon dovetailing the ftones together, as being a more fecure 

 method than cramping with iron, and not liable to inter- 

 ruption from the work getting wetted, as would almoil: un- 

 avoidably happen in fuch an expofed fituation. On the whole, 

 tlie building he erefted, and which is now ftanding, may be 

 confidered as the moft perfeft light-houfe in exiftence, and 

 gives exampies of the beft kinds of mafonry. We have there- 

 fore given drawings of it in the FUle of Light-houfe, which 

 are taken from a fuperb work in foho, publilhed by Mr. 

 Smeaton in 1791, entitled " Narrative of the Building, and 

 Defcription of the Conftruction of the Eddyftone Liight 



of the rock, (hewing the courfes i, 2, and 3, laid in their 

 places, and exhibiting the dovetails which are cut in each 

 ftep to hold the feveral ftones in their places ; and thefe 

 ftones are fo formed as to enlock the others with them iu 

 a manner which will prevent any ftone quitting its pofition. 

 The dark fliaded ftones are moor ftones, while the lighter 

 forts are Portland ftone. Fig. 4. is a plan of the feventh 

 or firft complete cOm-fe, ftiewing a central ftone with four 

 dovetails uniting it to four others, and thefe tying in the 

 remainder. All the folid courfes arc laid in this manner to 

 the fourteenth, which, as before mentioned, completes the 

 entire folid. Every courfe is laid in fuch a manner upon the 

 one beneath it, that all the joints break each other, as 

 mafons term it, that is, immediately above and below the 



The feveral courfes are retained upon each other, to prevc.it 

 them Hiding fideways, by means of joggles, which Ere 

 plugs or cubes of h^rd bl.ick marble, (hewn by the dark 

 fquares m fig. 2, and in the plan, jfj. 4, to be received 

 one-half through every two adjacent courfes. All the courfes 

 of the euiire fohds have a central joggle f, and eio-ht 



houfe with Stone." It is from the fame fource the whole joints of any courfe the middle of a fohd ftone is difpofed 

 of this article has been compiled. --n, r . , 



Fig. I. is a fouth elevation of the whole houfe, andj^. 2. 

 a feftion of the fame. A reprefents the landing place ; B a 

 natural cave in the eaft fide of the rock; D an iron rod, 

 ferving as a rail to hold by in paffing up fteps cut in the 

 rock, to the foot of the ladder occaiionallv put out from 



the entry door at E. At F is a cafcade of water, pouring others, g, arranged in a circle round it, as fliewn in Jig" ^ 

 over a low part of the rock, but this j^ only momentary, for Above the entire folid, the centre ftone is omitted to leave 

 the fwell will in an inftant caufe it to iet the other way. In the well-hole for the ftair-caie, X, or rather, it is com- 

 Jig. 2. fl B ftiews the upright face of the rock, and the line pofcd of four ftones, united by hook or dovetail joints, to 

 «i the general direction of its ^rain or Hope. In this figure it form, when put together, one piece, large enough to Jiave 

 is feen that, as high as the firft 14 courfes of ftone work, the the well-hole through its centre, and the exterior ftones are 

 budding is entirely folid. Here the entry F comme-.ces, but united to it as a central piece in the lame manner, as_/ff, 4. 

 excepting this cavity, and the ftaircafe X, the foad ftiil con- In thefe courfes the continuity of the ftones being fomewhat 

 tinues to the floor of the lowell chamber G, which is the broken, double the number of joggles, h, and thole halt" 

 ftore room, and H the door at which the ftores are drawn up the fize, are introduced between the courfes. It is to be 

 and received. I is the upper ftore room ; K the kitchen c jn- obferved, that none of the joggles, except ihc centre OHes, 



B .; come 



