By Hook or by Crook

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Our son in Ireland attended a conference in Waterford, Ireland and told us that he'd been past Hook Lighthouse on a boat tour. The tour guide told them that the lighthouse is the world’s oldest operational lighthouse although Wikipedia says it is the second oldest operational lighthouse. It was built 800 years ago and some of the walls are up to 4 metres thick. The upper tier originally supported the beacon fire. This was later replaced by a coal-burning lantern in 1671. In 1791, a whale-oil lantern was installed, followed by gas lights in 1871. 1911 saw the use of paraffin oil and a clockwork mechanism which had to be wound every 35 minutes. Finally in 1972, electrical power was installed. Throughout its life, a variety of methods were used during periods of fog to warn shipping. The lighthouse also features in the phrase ‘By Hook or by Crook’ which was supposedly spoken by Cromwell. He is said to have stated that that area of Ireland would be conquered 'by Hook or by Crook'. Hook Head is where the lighthouse stands and Crook is a small village on the opposite side of the channel. I started off to talk about the saying by hook or by crook but got carried away by the story of the lighthouse. I hope you enjoyed reading about it anyway! The photo is mine of a lighthouse at Cape Naturaliste in Western Australia.