WHITEFORD LIGHTHOUSE: This cast-iron lighthouse, the only sea-washed cast-iron lighthouse in the UK, was built in 1865 with the increase in trade coming from Llanelli and Burry Port. It marks the South side of the channel to Llanelli harbour and is located just above low-water mark. The heavy cast-iron plates which make up the seven rings are bolted together with external flanges unlike other cast-iron towers which have them internal. There are copper glazing bars as befits Llanelli's copper-exporting prominence. Despite its presence, a major shipwreck took place nearby in 1868. 18 or 19 vessels had been towed out of Llanelli by steam tugs to proceed by sail. As they rounded Whiteford Point the wind died and a heavy swell lifted the boats up and down until their backs broke on the sands. Within an hour 16 of the boats were total wrecks. It was a quiet night and those ashore were oblivious to the drama at sea but the morning revealed a scene of devastation with broken boats and the bodies of sailors lying all the way from the point to Burry Holms. In 1764, John Wesley, crossed the estuary on horseback (with a guide!) from around this point and over to Pembrey. What looks like an old metal causeway out to the lighthouse is reputedly the remains of fish traps. A good source for information on the Whiteford Lighthouse is 'Gower', the journal of the Gower Society, vol 56, 2005, an article entitled 'The Second Whiteford Lighthouse' by Jack Hartley, pp 13-34.
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