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BOOKS ABOUT THE ISLES OF SCILLY

Bishop Rock cover

Bishop Rock Lighthouse, by Elisabeth Stanbrook

Designed to protect one of the most dangerous stretches of sea in the British Isles, Bishop Rock lighthouse is exposed to the awesome power of the unrestrained Atlantic Ocean at the very edge of the dramatic Western Rocks on the Isles of Scilly. It stands as a tribute to an amazing feat of Victorian engineering by three generations of the Douglass family working for Trinity House.

The workforce struggled with great skill, courage and tenacity, in often dangerous conditions. Supplies of building materials, the accommodation for the workmen, initially on the remote rocky islet of Rosevear, and communications were challenging in the extreme. The first lighthouse, constructed from iron, fell victim to a violent storm in 1850, and was replaced by a granite tower in 1858. The relentless battering by sea and weather resulted in it being strengthened in the 1880s.

This book tells the story of the lighthouse, its construction and steady improvement, the workers who built and maintained it, the lighthouse keepers who ensured it was always available, and of the relief boatmen who provided the vital link. Drawing extensively on original documents, contemporary photographs and plans, the book publishes many here for the first time.

ISBN 978 0 906294 69 7. 184 pages, 86 illustrations. Soft back. £16.00

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Scilly's Heritage Books

Scilly's Archaeology

Cornwall's Lighthouse

Quality guides to some of the more interesting aspects of Scilly's heritage, each book is by a recognised expert and contains a good introduction as well as a gazetteer of places to visit. Always well illustrated with photographs, maps and drawings, they have a common format of 48 A5 pages with a distinctive full colour cover.
Scilly's Archaeological Heritage, by Jeanette Ratcliffe
The Isles of Scilly are rich in archaeological remains representing over four thousand years of occupation. These monuments are remarkably well preserved owing to the fact that they are largely built of stone and lie mainly on moorland or uninhabited islands untouched by modern farming. Produced by the Cornwall Archaeological Unit.
ISBN 978 0 906294 53 6. 89 illustrations. £4.50
Scilly's Building Heritage, by Peter Madden
The architecture of the Isles of Scilly reflects the environmental conditions and the economic and social background of an isolated island community. Some of the buildings are of national importance but generally the architecture is quiet and unostentatious, reflecting its context. 120 buildings are illustrated and described.
ISBN 978 0 906294 36 9. 151 illustrations. £3.50
Scilly's Wildlife Heritage, by Adrian Spalding & Pat Sargent
Home to species found noweher else in Britain, the Isles of Scilly have a unique wildlife, often augmented by rare migratory birds and other travellers. This is the first general but comprehensive account of the wildlife of the Scillies, and is illustrated almost entirely in full colour.
ISBN 978 0 906294 44 4. 69 illustrations, many in colour. £3.95
Cornwall's Lifeboat Heritage, by Nicholas Leach
Great heroism by lifeboatmen in the past two centuries has saved many lives. This book recounts how the service developed in Cornwall and Scilly, and the progress in design of lifeboats. All past and present stations are described with many colour illustrations.
ISBN 978 0 906294 43 7. 105 illustrations, many in colour. £4.50
Cornwall's Lighthouse Heritage, by Michael Tarrant
The coasts of Cornwall and Scilly have been feared by sailors since seafaring began and nearly one thousand known wrecks has resulted in the greatest concentration of lighthouses anywhere in the world. Victorian engineering ingenuity and skill is described as well as the human aspect of 'living in a lamp-post'.
ISBN 978 0 906294 62 8. 78 illustrations £4.50

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