Holyhead Mail Pier Light
Holyhead Mail Pier Light on Salt Island, Anglesey, is an inactive lighthouse which was built by the civil engineer John Rennie in 1821. It is probably the second oldest lighthouse in Wales, after Point of Ayr Lighthouse and is the last of three lighthouses located on the island.
Howth Harbour Lighthouse is a matching tower in Howth, Ireland, also designed by Rennie, for the other terminal of the Irish packet steamer. The lighthouse is of national significance as one of John Rennie's surviving works. He was one of the most eminent engineers of the world's first Industrial Revolution. Of particular importance, in a Welsh context, is the early date of the lighthouse lantern, which was originally lit by gas. Before the conversion to electricity a gas works was located on the island to power the lighthouse, the piers and even part of Holyhead itself. The works were constructed at a cost of £130,000, an astronomical sum at the time.
The tower survives intact and has beautifully curving gallery railings, similar to those at Bardsey Lighthouse. It is no longer in use, although it is used as a navigation reference for sailors.
