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All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Patrimoine
  3. Normandie
  4. Manche
  5. 50400 Granville

  6. Chausey Lighthouse (or Chausey Islands Lighthouse)

 Chausey Lighthouse (or Chausey Islands Lighthouse) à Granville dans la Manche

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine maritime
Phare classé MH
Manche

Chausey Lighthouse (or Chausey Islands Lighthouse)

    De Chausey
    50400 Granville
Phare de Chausey ou phare des îles Chausey
Phare de Chausey ou phare des îles Chausey
Phare de Chausey ou phare des îles Chausey
Phare de Chausey ou phare des îles Chausey
Phare de Chausey ou phare des îles Chausey
Phare de Chausey ou phare des îles Chausey
Phare de Chausey ou phare des îles Chausey
Phare de Chausey ou phare des îles Chausey
Phare de Chausey ou phare des îles Chausey
Phare de Chausey ou phare des îles Chausey
Phare de Chausey ou phare des îles Chausey
Phare de Chausey ou phare des îles Chausey
Phare de Chausey ou phare des îles Chausey
Crédit photo : Alainauzas - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1800
1900
2000
1842
Project initiated
27 mai 1848
Commissioning
15 septembre 1903
New perspective
9 mars 1945
Partial destruction
1949
Electricity
11 mai 2009
MH classification
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

The lighthouse in full; the plate of the plot with the walls and the powder shop, excluding the building of France Télécom (cad. BC 81, lieudit Chausey): inscription by order of 11 May 2009

Key figures

Léonce Reynaud - Owner Architect of the lighthouse, inspired by Carteret's.
Charles-Félix Morice de la Rue - Associate engineer Assisted Reynaud in designing plans.
Secrétaire d’État Lefous - Project Initiator Construction began in 1842.
Jobert et Deschamps - Entrepreneurs Work was carried out from 1846 to 1848.

Origin and history

Chausey Lighthouse, located on the Grand Island of Chausey Archipelago near Granville, was built between 1846 and 1847 to secure a maritime area made perilous by its numerous islands. Launched in 1842 by Secretary of State Lefus, this project completed the 1825 signal plan, which provided for only one lighthouse in Granville. The engineers Léonce Reynaud and Charles-Félix Morice de la Rue were inspired by the Carteret lighthouse, already designed by Reynaud, to design a square tower made of local blue granite, attached to a building for the guards. The construction, entrusted to Kenyan entrepreneurs, used exclusively quarries stones on the island.

The lighthouse was commissioned on 27 May 1848 and was equipped with an initial oil-fired optic, replaced by mineral oil around 1875. In 1903 a new optic (third order flashlight) was installed, followed by an electrification in 1949 after damage sustained by a German attack in 1945. Between 1955 and 1957, an EDF engine room was added to power the island. Automatized in 2008, the lighthouse is now managed by the Granville Lighthouses and Tags Subdivision. It was listed as a historical monument in 2009, including its walls and powder shop.

Architecturally, the lighthouse stands out for its 19-metre square tower, topped by a corbelled dice balustrade, aligned with a rectangular stone building. Custodian accommodation, designed for comfort, included independent rooms with alcoves and cabinets. The site also includes appendices such as a laundry (1885), cellars, and a well. The current lens, dated 1959, is a BBT mercury tank with a 23-mile range white flashing light powered by a 250 W halo lamp.

Chausey's lighthouse played a key role in regional maritime signage, complemented by two secondary lights on the archipelago (La Crabière and Le Pignon). Its history reflects the technological developments of French lighthouses, moving from vegetable oil to electricity, while maintaining its role as an essential beacon for navigation in the English Channel. Today, there remains an architectural and technical witness of the 19th century, protected and still active.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum