Peninnis Lighthouse

Peninnis Lighthouse stands on the exposed outer headland at the southernmost point of St Mary’s, overlooking St Mary’s Sound and the approach to Hugh Town harbour.

The idea of a navigation light at Peninnis dates back to 1716, when William Whiston proposed an unusual scheme involving a “Ball of Fire, or Light” that would be thrown into the air at intervals throughout the night. His aim was to create a distinctive navigation aid that could be easily distinguished from the existing light on St Agnes and other local signals. However, the ambitious plan never came to fruition.

Peninnis Lighthouse was built in 1911 to guide vessels safely into St Mary’s Sound and Hugh Town harbour, replacing the earlier lighthouse on St Agnes. The structure consists of a 45-foot steel tower mounted on an open lattice base.

Designed as a semi-attended station, Peninnis did not require a resident lighthouse keeper. The original third-order optic was operated by a clockwork mechanism, which needed regular winding. In 1922, the lighthouse was converted to acetylene gas and became one of the first gas-powered lighthouses to operate automatically. Although there was no longer a full-time keeper, an attendant still visited regularly to maintain the equipment and ensure the light was functioning correctly.

In 1992, Peninnis Lighthouse was converted to electricity. Further modernisation followed in 2011, when the range of the light was reduced from 17 to 9 nautical miles, and the original optic was replaced with an energy-efficient LED lantern mounted externally on the gallery.

Peninnis Lighthouse is easily reached on foot from Hugh Town, with a coastal path leading around the dramatic headland. A walk up nearby Buzza Hill, above Porthcressa Beach, offers views across the islands and the chance to discover a prehistoric entrance to a Bronze Age burial chamber.

Sir Cloudesley Shovell and HMS Association

Further along the coast from Peninnis, past the airport, is Porth Hellick.

On 22nd October 1707, the Royal Navy suffered its worst peacetime disaster when four Royal Navy warships were lost off the Isles of Scilly during a severe storm, with the loss of between 1,400 to 2,000 sailors.  One of these vessels was the HMS Association, Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell’s flagship. The Association was returning from the Battle of Toulon in the War of the Spanish Succession when she struck the Outer Gilstone Rock.  This disaster led to the establishment of longitude to improve navigation.

Sir Cloudesley Shovell’s body was found washed ashore at Porth Hellick, and a memorial along the beach path commemorates this occasion. Shovell was later buried in Westminster Abbey with full state honours.

The cannon from HMS Association can be found in Tresco Abbey Garden alongside the former St Agnes Lighthouse cresset.

A further relic from the ship can be found in St Mary the Virgin Church, Hughtown, St Mary’s.