Rhossili Coastguard 1960s

Last Updated on Tuesday, 16 June 2009 13:46

Outside the Lookout at Rhossili are four concrete slabs with iron rings embedded in each of them. We often have visitors asking what these are. They are the anchor points for the cable stays that held the flag pole that was there when the Lookout was a Coastguard Station.

The photos were passed to us from Sian Musgrave Head Warden with the National Trust who tells us they were originally from Robert Lucas.

Note the black cone. It used to be the case that weather forecasts would be sent, by telegraph, to Harbourmasters and other coastal stations like Coastguard Look Outs. Warnings of gales would be passed on to ships in inshore waters by means of hoisting "Cones" on flagpoles. The shape of the cone indicated the direction of the gale. Cone with the point down indicated south. Cone with point up indicated north. Two cones together with one point up and the other point down, indicated east and finally two cones together, joined at the points indicated west.

This system of cones was introduced by Robert Fitzroy in 1861.

Coastguard_History