St Catherine'S Lighthouse

St Catherine's Lighthouse is a lighthouse located in Niton and Whitwell, built between 1838 and 1840. It was designed by Walker and Burgess and underwent alterations in 1875 when its height was reduced to 86 feet due to mist, which involved removing the upper stage and part of the middle stage. The lighthouse features a stuccoed octagonal tower with two stages, machicolations, and a castellated parapet topped with a conical light, ball finial, and weathervane.

In 1932, a lower two-storey tower was added to the south side to house a foghorn, designed to match the shortened main lighthouse, but with an open arcade on the ground floor. These two towers are locally referred to as the Cow and the Calf. To the west of the main tower, there is a doorway with the date 1838 above it and a ground floor projection with a gable above. Attached to the east is the Head Lighthouse keeper's house, which is a single storey with a curved front and a round-headed window facing east.

This lighthouse was one of the first in the world to be illuminated by electric light, which was installed in 1888. It is the third lighthouse built on this site; the first was an old medieval pharos connected to St Catherine's Oratory, and the second was an unfinished lighthouse started in 1785 that was abandoned due to dense mists. St Catherine's Lighthouse was constructed following the wreck of the 'Clarendon' in Chale Bay on October 11, 1836.