The Lighthouse Residential Block, Link Building, Sheds (Now Used As Garage, Engine House for Lights and Stores) and Wall at Anvil Point is a Grade II listed building in the Dorset local planning authority area, England. First listed on 21 March 1983. Lighthouse.
The Lighthouse Residential Block, Link Building, Sheds (Now Used As Garage, Engine House for Lights and Stores) and Wall at Anvil Point
- WRENN ID
- late-soffit-linden
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Dorset
- Constituency
- South Dorset MP: Lloyd Hatton (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 21 March 1983
- Type
- Lighthouse
- Address
- The Lighthouse Residential Block, Link Building, Sheds (Now Used As Garage, Engine House for Lights and Stores) and Wall at Anvil Point, Lighthouse Road, Swanage
- OS grid reference
- SZ 029 769
- Coordinates
- 50.592, -1.96006
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Lighthouse Residential Block, link building, sheds (now used as a garage, engine house for lights, and stores), and wall at Anvil Point were built in 1881 by Trinity House. This well-preserved group includes the lighthouse, a residential block, and storage facilities, all surrounded by a whitewashed Purbeck Stone wall. The other structures feature rendered walls and slate roofs.
The main residential block is a single-storey building designed in a slightly "Tudor" style, resembling contemporary almshouse blocks. It contains a house at each end for permanent staff and quarters for a relief keeper in the center. The roof is hipped with a cross-gable in the middle, and there are four rendered chimney stacks with oversailing courses. The windows have raised cement surrounds that mimic projecting quoins and include timber mullions and transoms.
At the north end of the compound, there is a range of sheds that match the style of the main block. One shed serves as a garage, another functions as the engine house for the light, and the remaining ones are used for storage. These also have rendered walls and gabled slate roofs.
The lighthouse is located south of the residential block and is connected to it by a narrow single-storey link building. The lighthouse has a circular plan and features one stage below the light itself, which has four windows similar to those in the residential block. Below the light is a gallery supported by a continuous moulded stone course, with cast iron railings that have ornamental standards. The light has diagonal glazing bars and a sloping metal roof, topped with a circular drum that carries a weather vane.
To the south of the lighthouse, within the compound, there is a modern Coastguard's Lookout, which is not listed. The compound entrance is marked by square stone piers and wooden gates.
Local climate
The Lighthouse Residential Block, Link Building, Sheds (Now Used As Garage, Engine House for Lights and Stores) and Wall at Anvil Point receives an average of 820 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 51% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 84% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 7 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 95% of listed buildings. Of these, 3 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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