Lighthouse

mrcoradour

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22 Mar 2012 - 10:00 AM

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The waters around the Lizard, the most southerly point in Britain, have always been a hazardous shipping zone and, long before the first tower was built here, there had been demands for a lighthouse to guide and warn approaching vessels. Legend suggests that protests from local villagers actively caught up in wrecking and looting prevented this from happening until 1619, when Sir John Killigrew started the process. However, lack of financial backing would seem a more logical explanation, since Killigrew paid for the construction himself. His attempts to recuperate his investment by collecting from passing ships he presumed would be grateful for the guiding lights failed and so, only four years after its erection, the first Lizard lighthouse was demolished in 1623 and Killigrew was declared bankrupt.