Barbados Lighthouses

South Point Lighthouse, Cove Bay, Barbados

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Barbados Lighthouses

The island of Barbados, located in the Atlantic to the east of the other islands of the Lesser Antilles, has four historic lighthouses. Three are listed as active, although there are reports that they are not always in service. All four are endangered by neglect and are much in need of restoration.

South Point Light was built on the island in 1852. It had originally been exhibited at London’s Great Exhibition in 1851. After the exhibition it was dismantled, brought to the island and reassembled. The most recent restoration was in 2004 when the 27 meter (89 foot) tall cast iron tower was repainted in its traditional red and white horizontal bands. The image above was taken in 2006, just a couple of years after this recent restoration. As its name implied, South Point Light is located near the southernmost point of the island.

East Point Lighthouse, Ragged Point, St Philip Parish, Barbados

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East Point Lighthouse, or Ragged Point as it is also known, was built in 1875. It is a 28.5 meter (97 foot) stone tower topped with its lantern and gallery. The tower is white with the lantern and watch room black. The keeper’s house and other buildings surrounding the tower are all in ruins. Officially, the light was “temporarily extinguished” in 2007. A red warning light was activated on the tower in 2011. As can be seen from this 2006 image, even before it was officially decommissioned, the glass in the lantern was broken and the tower in poor condition. Ragged Point is situated on a bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean about 2km northwest of East Point, the easternmost point on the island.

The third lighthouse we visited during our stay on the island was Needhams Point. This lighthouse, built in 1855, is much smaller at only 13 meters (43 feet) tall. It consists of an octagonal masonry tower with lantern and gallery, painted white, with the lantern and gallery black. This inactive light is now on the grounds of a Hilton Hotel which owns the lighthouse. It has been restored and repainted but due to its location does not offer any opportunity to capture a reasonable image.