Practical seamanship
and boatbuilding
SMEATON'S
TOWER
CHRISTOPHER SEVERN
In 1755 the Eddystone Lighthouse
was consumed by fire, but still the general opinion was that Nothing
but WOOD will last upon the Eddystone. Nonetheless, John Smeaton, the
world's first civil engineer, was determined to build a lighthouse of
stone on the infamous reef of red rocks fourteen miles out from Plymouth
in the English channel. 
It
was a revolutionary design and it became the prototype for other wave-washed
lighthouses.Based on Smeaton's own account, and illustrated with Smeaton's
engravings and the author's dramatic drawings, Smeaton's Tower tells
the true story of how the third Eddystone Lighthouse was built, and
describes in detail the scale of the achievement.Interwoven with the
historical story is a fictional tale of mystery, revenge and love.
Christopher Severn gained a degree
in architecture and a post graduate diploma at the Architectural Association.
Here
he tutored for some years whist working in London Architectural practices.
He first became involved with Smeaton's Tower in 1999 when he began
work on the proposed conservation of the Lighthouse with Frans Nicholas
Architects. Seeing the stones stripped of their paintwork, and reading
Smeaton's diaries and Narrative brought the remarkable story of the
lighthouse's construction to life.
153 x 234 mms • 372 pages Illus • ISBN 0 954275098• Price: £13.95 pbk
© Seafarer Books Ltd 2006
102 Redwald Road • Rendlesham • Suffolk IP12 2TE •
UK