5/5 Kevin L. 5 years ago on Google
Old
Colombo
Lighthouse or Colombo
Fort
Clock
Tower is
a clock
tower and
was
a lighthouse in Colombo.
The
lighthouse
is
no
longer
operational,
but
the
tower
remains
and
functions
as
a clock
tower.
It
is
located
at
the
junction
of
Chatham
Street
and
Janadhipathi
Mawatha
(formerly
Queens
Road)
in Colombo
fort.The
tower
was
constructed
as
a
clock
tower
in
1856-57
and
completed
on
the
25
February
1857. The
tower
was
designed
by
Emily
Elizabeth
Ward,
the
wife
of Governor Sir
Henry
George
Ward (1797
–
1860). The
construction
was
undertaken
by
the
Public
Works
Department,
under
the
supervision
of
Mr
John
Flemming
Churchill
(Director
General
of
Public
Works).
The
29-metre-high
(95 ft)
tower
was
the
tallest
structure
in
Colombo
at
that
time. The
original
clock
was
commissioned
for
₤1,200
in
1814
by
the
then
Governor Sir
Robert
Brownrigg (1759
–
1833)
but
was
kept
in
a
warehouse,
due
to
economic
reasons,
until
1857
when
it
was
finally
installed.
The
lighthouse
was
deactivated
after
its
light
became
obscured
by
nearby
buildings
and
was
decommissioned
on
12
July
1952. The
modern
Galle
Buck
Lighthouse
was
erected
on
Marine
Drive
as
its
replacement
The
original
Colombo
lighthouse
was
located
on
a bastion on
the
ocean
edge
of
the
fort,
was
a neo-classical structure,
with
a
23 m
(75 ft)
wooden
light
tower
rising
from
a
two-storey
circular
brick
building
and
surrounded
by
an
elaborate colonnade. It
was
erected
in
1829
and
subsequently
demolished
with
the
removal
of
the
fort
ramparts
between
1869
and
1871.
The
clock
mechanism
was
constructed
by
the
renowned
English
clockmakers, Dent,
who
were
also
responsible
for
manufacturing
the
clock
('Big
Ben')
at Westminster
Palace in
1852.
The
clock
tower
was
formally
commissioned
on
25
March
1857.The
bells
in
the
clock
tower
consisted
of
a
main
bell
of
approx.
250 kg
(550 lb)
and
two
auxiliary
bells
of
152 kg
(335 lb).
The
navigational
light
was
moved
to
the
tower
in
1867.The
clockwork
operated
revolving
dioptric
light
was
constructed
by Chance
Brothers.
The
height
of
the
focal
plane
above
sea-level
was
140 m
(460 ft)
and
the
light
was
visible
to
an
eye
elevated
61 m
(200 ft)
above
sea
level
at
a
distance
of
27 km
(17 mi)
in
clear
weather.
The
light
was
a
triple
flash
at
intervals
of
30
seconds,
each
flash
being
of
one
second
duration,
and
each
long
eclipse
of
18
seconds
duration. The
light
was
lit
using kerosene oil.
In
1907
it
was
converted
to
gas.
In
1933
it
was
replaced
with
a
1,500
candle
power
light
powered
by
electricity.
In
October
1913,
the
clock
had
to
be
replaced
with
the
current
clock,
which
has
a
six-foot
dial
glazed
with
opal
glass
for
illumination
and
the
clock
tower
was
re-inaugurated
on
4
April
1914.
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