Pendeen lighthouse and keepers' cottages with courtyard walls

Pendeen Lighthouse and keepers' cottages with courtyard walls were completed in 1900. They were designed by Sir Thomas Matthews, the Trinity House Engineer-in-Chief, and constructed by Arther Carkeek of Redruth, with the lantern supplied by Messrs. Chance of Birmingham.

The buildings are constructed of painted render over granite rubble, with flat concrete roofs designed to collect rainwater and rendered stacks with cornices on the cottages. The four keepers' cottages are joined to form a rectangular plan, with rear wings. Courtyards behind the cottages are enclosed by stone walls with timber wicket gates leading to outhouses; the lighthouse tower is connected to the cottages via a lobby attached to the centre of the main (west) elevation.

The cottages have raised plinths and flat-faced rustication to window and door surrounds, along with a bold eaves band. They are single-storey buildings with two-light transomed casement windows (some replacements are plastic). They feature plank doors with overlights, and projecting porches to the front and to the left (north) and right (south) returns, which have single-light windows.

The lighthouse tower is 8.6 metres (28ft 6inches) high to the gallery, with a 4.2-metre (14ft) diameter and a 3-metre (10ft) clear height in glazing, featuring standard diamond and half-diamond glazing panels and steel panels in the blank arc. It has a first-order lantern and murette on the gallery, topped by a domed copper roof with a ventilator and weather vane. The tower has single-light windows, a deep cornice, and a gallery walkway with an iron balustrade.

Internally, the cottages retain original joinery. The lighthouse tower has a granite stairway leading to a service room, and an original cast-iron weight tube. A curved oak cupboard is built into the wall, with a glazed upper section and a lower section containing a lead-lined sink. Slate steps lead up to the lantern room, which houses a first-order dioptric optic with an asymmetrical eight-panel design and a 900mm focal length, mounted on a Chance Brothers mercury-float pedestal. The original Argand lamp was replaced by an electric lamp in 1926. The complex is a notable group, including the surrounding walls and engine house. The lighthouse was built following Trinity House’s concern about the treacherous waters around Pendeen Watch.