The Smalls Lighthouse

The Smalls Lighthouse is a 42-meter high tower made of interlocking granite ashlar. It has a circular shape and tapers from a stepped base. The entrance is located above the base and is accessed by a bronze ladder set into the wall. The tower features paired gun-metal doors and gun-metal shutters on the windows. A moulded cornice crowns the projecting lantern gallery, which is topped with a facetted octagonal lantern. A helipad on the roof is supported by a new framework that replaces the original gallery railings.

Inside, a sloping passage leads through the thickness of the wall from the entrance. A fine granite spiral stair ascends from the entrance level to the winch room. A similar stair in the next stage was removed when generators were installed in 1978. The upper stages of the tower are accessed by a stone mural stair, and each of the three floors contains a single room with curved panelled doors, although other internal joinery and fittings have been replaced. The upper storey houses a sector light, and a cast-iron staircase leads to the lantern floor. The optic is mounted on a cast-iron base with circular piers and moulded brackets. The revolving catadioptric lens may date from the late 19th century; the original light was fixed, as noted in a publication from 1871, and the truncation of the cast-iron brackets of the inner gallery likely occurred when a secondary optic was added.