West Usk lighthouse, St Brides, Newport

Link to French translation

This lighthouse once marked the entrance to the river channel leading to Newport docks. It was the first of 22 lighthouses designed by Scottish architect James Walker, and erected by local builders John Williams and Ben Batchelor. The lantern was lit for the first time in December 1821. Originally the lighthouse stood on a small island. In 1856 land was reclaimed and a road to the lighthouse was created.

Old photo of West Usk lighthouseThe lighthouse, which stands almost 17 metres (55ft) tall, was decommissioned in 1922. It was used as a house but had fallen into disrepair by the Second World War, when it was used as a lookout post.

It was a private home from the late 1960s until 1982, when it again fell into disrepair. Five years later Frank and Danielle Sheahan began a two-year restoration, before opening it as a guesthouse. The lantern room was restored in 1997, with financial help from the Wales Tourist Board and Cadw.

Navigational safety improved further in 1893 with the opening of the automated East Usk lighthouse. Accidents still sometimes happened. In 1909 the steamer Cragoswald, carrying coal from Newport to Italy, collided with another ship at the river mouth. There was a hole in the Cragoswald’s bunker (where the ship’s fuel coal was stored). The ship beached near West Usk lighthouse, where the bunker was manually emptied for repairs before the vessel went to dry dock.

The coast in this area has long been popular for outdoor leisure. In 1905 Newport Cycling Club held a “novelty costume race”, a “slow race” and a “potato race” here. In 1898 a day trip to the lighthouse by seven children and seven adults ended tragically. The horse taking the party home was startled by the lights of another vehicle and swerved, tipping the people out of the carriage and into the reen (drainage channel). Mrs Mary Griffiths of Barnardtown died. 

In 2012 the Institution of Civil Engineers installed a plaque near the lighthouse to commemorate the 150th anniversary of James Walker’s death. He was the ICE’s second president, taking over in 1834 from Thomas Telford, and from 1825 to 1862 was consulting engineer for Trinity House, the charity which has maintained Britain’s lighthouses since Tudor times.

Postcode: NP10 8SF    View Location Map

Website of West Usk Lighthouse

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