Lights at Sea - Soilshaghyn er y Cheayn

On 1st February 1818, the lights of two lighthouses on the Calf were lit for the first time and were used until 1875. Built 560 feet apart, the lights were synchronised to revolve at the same time with the line of their lights pointing to the dangerous submerged Chicken Rock, about one mile south of the Calf of Man. Robert Stevenson & Co, the company which built many Scottish lighthouses, constructed these first lighthouses.

Chicken Rock is a small tidal reef. Its name is said to be derived from the number of storm petrels living there, known as "Mother Carey’s Chickens".

The Northern Lighthouse Board began construction of the lighthouse on Chicken Rock itself in 1869 and work was completed on 1st January 1875. The 123 foot high lighthouse was built of white granite brought from Dalbeattie in Scotland to Port St Mary, where each block was carefully shaped before being shipped over to the rock to be assembled. Badly damaged by fire in 1960, the tower is now un-manned but has an automatic light and fog signal.

The Northern Lighthouse Board also built an additional lighthouse on the Calf. Completed in 1968, the tower is 312 feet above sea level. This lighthouse continues to function today in place of the two earlier Stevenson lighthouses.

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