For many people, the only thing they know about Lundy is that it’s an area which features in the Shipping Forecast. The shipping area itself is roughly triangular and is bordered by Land’s End in England, Rosslare in Eire and Fishguard in Wales. The area is vast with the island of Lundy taking up a minute proportion of it in the eastern part. However, knowing the weather forecast likely to affect the area over the coming 24 hours is important to any seafarers who happen to be within, or about to enter, this area.
With the opening up of the colonies in the New World at the start of the 17th century, Bristol became an important shipping hub. In the following century, the export of coal from mines in South Wales to both national and international destinations, led to continued growth in trade passing through the outer Bristol Channel. In spite of the island’s small size, it proved to be a constant hazard to these vessels, particularly at night or when thick fog was present.
Since the beginning of the 19th century, more than 200 vessels have met their end in the vicinity of Lundy and, whilst some have been refloated and towed to safety elsewhere, the vast majority have broken up and become wreckage on the seabed. Indeed, it is said that probably more ships have perished close to the island than adjacent to any other equivalent length of coast in Britain. Sadly, many dozens of seamen have lost their lives too, as tragic consequences of these shipwrecks.
A haven in a storm
Whilst forming a distinct hazard to shipping, the island also provided a lee shore during storm events. Even though the island had no recognised harbour, vessels with sufficiently small draught could shelter close-in at the Landing Bay in a westerly or south-westerly storm, protected by the added shelter of Rat Island. Larger ships would typically seek shelter off the southern part of the east side of the island, an area on navigational charts known as Lundy Roads and marked by an anchor motif indicating a safe anchorage.
Lundy's lighthouses
Given the danger of Lundy to shipping, towards the end of the 18th century a proposal was made to the Board of Trustees of Trinity House (the general lighthouse authority for England and Wales) requesting that the island be marked by the presence of a lighthouse. The proposal was agreed and a design was commissioned from Daniel Asher Alexander of a tower standing 97 feet (30 m) tall, built from the island’s granite in 1819.
The site chosen for the lighthouse was at the top of Beacon Hill, 469 feet (143 m above sea level). This remains the highest base for a lighthouse in Britain, a consequence of which being that it was often obscured by fog and thus ineffective in its purpose. Various alterations to the light were made, including the addition of a second light half way up and then at the base of the tower, but the fog problem remained.
Around 1861, a Fog Signal Battery was built half-way down the cliffs on the west coast, a little to the north of the main lighthouse. Here were positioned two 18 pound guns which were sounded once every fifteen minutes in foggy weather (increased to once every ten minutes from 1876).
A solution for ship owners to the problem of fog at Lundy was finally reached in 1897 when two new lighthouses (Lundy North and Lundy South) were built at the north and south ends of the island. Each had its own distinctive fog signal. The original lighthouse (which became known as the Old Light) was decommissioned with the adjacent Lighthouse Keepers’ Quarters being converted into visitor accommodation during the 1970s by the Landmark Trust.
Historic wrecks at Lundy and their protected status
Certain sites, buildings and ruins on and around Lundy are designated as Scheduled Monuments. This includes one subtidal wreck site within the MPA and one just outside the MPA. There are also two wreck sites within the MPA which have been designated as Protected Wrecks. Every historic shipwreck site which is registered by Historic England (part of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport) as either a Protected Wreck or a Scheduled Monument is allocated a unique National Heritage List for England (NHLE) Entry Number.
A Scheduled Monument is a designation normally covering monuments found on land or in the intertidal area, which the Secretary of State considers are of national importance and that the protection which comes with scheduling would assist in the monument's conservation. Lundy hosts 44 such sites, including the Marisco Castle, numerous standing stones and the Gun Battery at Brazen Ward. However, in 2019 designation of such monuments was extended into the subtidal, with the first to be added to the List being HMS Montagu. Another wreck, the South Australian, which lies just outside the MPA boundary to the north-east, is also a listed Scheduled Monument. Public access to Scheduled Monuments is not restricted (unless repair works are being undertaken).
A Protected Wreck site will include the remains of a ship or boat which meets the criteria set out in the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 which can be protected, thus helping to prevent uncontrolled interference. Access to a Protected Wreck site (typically by scuba divers) is by licence only. At Lundy, there are a number of individuals (and one company) who have registered to become licencees of one or both of the Protected Wreck sites (renewed on an annual basis). If you are a diver wishing to visit one or other of the Protected Wreck sites, you must add your name to one of the registered licencees on the day you intend to dive, who will then be responsible for informing you of what you should and should not do when diving on the wreck. The licencee must be present on the surface at the site whilst you are diving.
