Phare de la Coubre

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

History

From 1690, a wooden beacon capable of carrying a lantern was installed at the tip of la Courbe. Overturned by a storm in 1785, it was replaced by a stone tower 26m high which would survive until 1850 and which appears to have carried a light. In 1830, a proper lantern was finally installed, at the top of a wooden tower 8.50m high. It was lit on 1st December 1830 and accompanied by a keeper's house in 1835. In 1840, this scaffolding was replaced by a stone tower of 13m, set in the middle of the keeper's house. The tower was raised by 5m in 1843, following the advance of the dunes. As navigation required a larger lighthouse, a pyramidal tower of fir, 28m high, replaced the stone tower in 1860, maintained until 1895. A more solid lighthouse was envisaged in 1883. The project for a metal tower was abandoned in favour of a tower in granite and limestone, 50m high, built from 1892 to 1895. The lighthouse was protected from the advance of the dunes by concrete plates, but it eventually collapsed in 1907. The new lighthouse was rapidly constructed thanks to the use of cement concrete, according to the project designed by engineers Alexandre and Modelsky. The concrete lighthouse, 64m high, is of cylindrical plan and follows the "trumpet" type. Its crowning imitates that of 1895: simplified entablature borne by semicircular-arch consoles, solid balustrade with hipped rail. The concrete, laid in layers, is only partially reinforced (corbels and outer skin). The cylindrical cage is entirely covered with white and blue opaline tiles and contains a suspended spiral metal staircase of 300 steps. At 35m high, a small chamber corbelled on cast-iron consoles contains a directional light with red and green sectors, which allows entry into the "western channel" while avoiding the shallows. Between two flat concrete vaults, the watch room is entirely covered with oak panelling. Above, the lantern chamber, also panelled, contains the baldachin of four cast-iron columns which supports the old mercury tank formerly moved by a counterweight system, now disappeared. The cylindrical lantern, with bronze and iron frame, is covered by a copper dome surmounted by a large gas decompression sphere. The base of the dome is decorated with lion heads and an openwork copper crown. Two original oak benches are still in place and follow the curved shape of the lantern. At the centre, a cast-iron column fitted with a threaded socket carries the new mercury tank, operated by an electric motor. Around the lighthouse, several buildings were constructed from the outset (dwellings for engineers and keepers, engine room and stores).