South Bishop Lighthouse and associated buildings

The South Bishop Lighthouse and associated buildings stand within a walled compound and are built on two levels. The lighthouse tower sits at the summit of the rock and is connected to the first floor of the accommodation block by a corridor. The buildings are constructed primarily of rendered granite rubble, whitewashed, with the accommodation block featuring lined-out render and tooled dressings, including angle quoins and architraves. It has a hipped slate roof with a black axial stack. Originally a symmetrical pair of keepers' dwellings, the westernmost was reduced in height and converted into an engine room in the 1970s. The surviving accommodation block now comprises a hipped roofed two-storey building, with a flat-roofed porch with a moulded cornice to the right of the entrance. It has paired windows to the left (some partially blocked), with similar windows above, and a single window over the entrance. A similar window is found in the east gable return. All windows have been renewed within their original openings. A single-storey continuation to the west of the accommodation block represents what remains of the second keepers’ house; it retains a matching porch to the left and has blocked windows in its side elevation. At the rear of this building, and on a higher level, a corridor connects it to the tower via a four-centred arched doorway. The tower is 11.3 metres high, slightly tapering from a plinth with tooled dressings. It features a single north-facing window with a round-arched sash window containing radial glazing and a stressed architrave. A heavy modillion cornice supports a lantern walkway, with plain bellied cast-iron railings. The circular lantern (dated 1838) has gridded glazing above a solid iron-plate base and a conical roof with a cowl, replacing the original ball finial.

The buildings are enclosed by low walls of limewashed rubble, forming part of the original design by James Walker, though a section at the rear of the tower has been replaced with concrete walling.

Stairs parallel to the rear wall of the dwelling provide access to the corridor, which features moulded four-centred arches at each end. The tower has a mural stone stair with a plain cast-iron rail. A cast-iron tube, formerly used for the weights of the clockwork rotative mechanism, extends the full height of the tower, with its base located in the basement storeroom. The service-room floor rests on four cast-iron beams. A cast-iron staircase leads from the service room to the lantern gallery, where a modern Stone Chance optic was installed in the 1970s; the lantern floor itself is modern.