Sentinels of the Sea - R.G. Grant

Last year brought the publication of a great book titled Seashaken Houses by Tom Nancollas which was the history and story of 7 lighthouses around the UK. This book is less about the narrative history of lighthouse and instead concentrates on the design of lighthouses and combines architectural drawings with illustrative sketches and photographs.

The first chapter of this book gives an overview to the history of the lighthouse and further chapters investigate the, sometimes perilous, business of building lighthouses together with the evolution of the lights and lenses that they house. Another chapter looks at the life of a lighthouse keeper; not just the isolation of that life but all of the other challenges that came with them . . . sometimes made more onerous by a series of regulations that national bodies imposed on their keepers.

What stands out from this book is the beauty of the designs of these buildings and the variations that exist in the designs both geographically and from nation to nation.

Hardback. 160 pages.

Measurements:

19.6cm x 30.4cm x 2.2cm