Name and Location

The Douglas Head Lighthouse, officially registered as Registered Building No. 149 by the Isle of Man Government, sits at the southern end of Douglas Bay on the Isle of Man. Its official address is South Quay, Douglas IM1, with coordinates 54° 8′ 35.95″ N, 4° 27′ 57.0″ W.

2. Construction and History

The lighthouse was constructed between 1857 and 1858, with the first light being lit in 1858. It was designed by John Robinson, then-Chief Engineer of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. The purpose of the lighthouse is to guide vessels into Douglas Harbour and warn of the rocky headland.

3. Architecture and Materials

The lighthouse has a Mid-Victorian functional design and features a cylindrical stone tower with an integrally attached single-storey keeper's cottage (now roofless). The structure was built using local Manx stone, originally rendered and painted white, with cast-iron lantern and gallery railings. The tower height is approximately 10 meters, and the lantern diameter is approximately 3 meters.

4. Light and Navigation

The focal plane of the lighthouse is about 30 meters above sea level (speculative). It exhibits a characteristic group-flashing white light every 15 seconds. The range of the light is approximately 18 nautical miles (speculative). The optic was originally a fixed lens with red/white sectors, but it has since been automated and electrified.

5. Accessibility and Visiting

The Douglas Head peninsula is open to the public, with a walking path from the Quarterbridge car park leading past old tea rooms and military fortifications to the lighthouse headland. However, the tower entry is not normally open to visitors. Facilities include a car park and restroom at Broadway, as well as a café and historic amphitheatre nearby. Guided tours occasionally run by Manx National Heritage – check local listings.

6. Notable Views and Landscape

The surrounding area offers panoramic views across Douglas Bay to Groudle Glen and the northern hills. The lighthouse also overlooks the harbour entrance, making it an important aid to navigation.

7. Anecdotes and Folklore

The headland and foreshore have featured in local films and postal card art, but there is no single famous anecdote associated with this lighthouse. However, the site has a rich history of shipwrecks, with numerous 19th-century strandings on the headland rocks leading to the construction of the lighthouse.

8. Technical and Operational Details

The lighthouse was automated around 1980 (exact year unconfirmed) and is now an active aid to navigation under the authority of the Isle of Man Government. It feeds into local AIS and Coastal RADAR network systems.

9. Further Information

For further information, consult Admiralty Chart UKHO Chart 2697 (Douglas to Laxey Bay), UK-IOM Notice to Mariners: local series, or refer to Jones' "Lighthouses of the Irish Sea" (2005) and Manx Electric Railway Society's "Guide to Douglas Head".