Chance would be a fine thing
Following my recent post about the Souter Point lighthouse in South Shields, Jack Kirby at Thinktank (the Birmingham science museum) mentioned the lighthouse optic they’ve got in their collection, from Longstone Lighthouse, off the Northumberland coast.
It’s by Chance Brothers, a Birmingham firm that specialised in precision optical technology such as lighthouse lenses, as well as being responsible for glazing the Crystal Palace, the Houses of Parliament and the dials of Big Ben.
Houses of Parliament (NMeM / Royal Photographic Society / Science & Society)
As Jack pointed out, we’ve got a superb Chance Brothers lighthouse optic on show too – ours is from the Eilean Glas light on Scalpay in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. You can see it in Making the Modern World, and it’s on loan to us from the wonderful National Museums Scotland.
Eilean Glas lighthouse optic, 1907 (Science Museum / Science & Society)
These optical systems use the clever Fresnel lens system, in which the light is focused and directed by concentric rings of prisms. This makes them much lighter than one-piece lenses (though the glass in the Eilean Glas optic alone weighs three tons) and more powerful beams were made possible, saving lives at sea.
Bella Bathhurst’s book ‘The Lighthouse Stevensons’ tells the story of a remarkable family of engineers that designed lighthouses around the Scottish coast (including Eilean Glas), and is well worth a look.
Toby Chance said,
April 17, 2010 at 8:13 pm
Regarding your post on the Souter Point lighthouse, I wonder if you have come across my book Lighthouses: the race to illuminate the world, published in 2008. It’s an account of how Chance Brothers became the world’s leading lighthouse manufacturer. Bella Bathhurt’s book is an excellent review of the Stevenson’s contribution to lighthouse engineering. My book aims to cast the Chance dynasty in a similar vein.
David Rooney said,
May 6, 2010 at 2:45 pm
Hi Toby, thanks for the comment. I do indeed have your book on my Wishlist and it is getting close to the top. I’m looking forward to reading it. Best wishes, David Rooney.