Hurst Point Light House

Following the filming device manufacture and research into sites which the device could be positioned within, I decided to take a trip to Hurst Point Lighthouse, which is located to the West of the Solent on the South Coast of England in Hampshire, indicating the line of approach through the Needles Channel. The lighthouse was established in 1786, however the current white circular 26 meter high tower was built in 1867. The lighthouse stands at the seaward end of a 1.5 mile shingle spit which extends from Milford-On-Sea, adjacent to Hurst Castle.

The Needles and Needles Lighthouse off the Isle of Wight are visible in the distance beyond the spit

The lighthouse was automated in 1929. Unfortunately public access into the lighthouse is highly restricted and to great disappointment I was not able to view the interior of the tower. From the exterior the lighthouse is a stunning building, beautifully pristine, and with its circular form, I can only predict a perfectly spiralling staircase within.

I could vaguely peer through one of the windows which revealed the spiral staircase escalating up around the interior walls of the tower, with a circular void through the centre. This would be an absolutely ideal location to spiral my filming device through, where the architecture would completely embody the characteristics of the filming device.

Inside Hurst Castle is a Trinity House Lighthouse exhibition, where I found the following drawings of the structure.

Lighthouse plan, image from Trinity House Lighthouse Exhibition

Lighthouse section, image from Trinity House Lighthouse Exhibition

The exhibition also showed an interior perspective of the lighthouse through a short film, which illustrates the lighthouse keeper ascending the spiral staircase up to the first order lens.

Image from Lighthouse-Duo website

Lighthouse interior, image from Trinity House Lighthouse Exhibition

As I mentioned previously, I was unable to view the internal space of the lighthouse and subsequently the prospect of being able to carry out my filming method within the structure is highly unlikely. I have also had unsuccessful response from Dungeness Lighthouse in Kent and St Catherine's Lighthouse on the Isle of White. This is a huge disappointment and leaves me considering how I can still tie this research into my project...