Flat Holm Lighthouse, Glamorgan - The current Flat Holm Lighthouse is 98 feet tall and about 160 feet above mean high water. The development of the lighthouse from 1739, through 1820 to the present day design dating from 1866, being the year after Penarth Dock was opened.

The illustration is taken from Mr. Bob Jory's educated account of the history of the island entitled 'Flat Holm Island' [1317] and the credit is given to Trinity House for the provision of the above detail of the development of the lighthouse. The lighthouse was manned by three keepers until May 1988 but is now fully automatic and remotely monitored. [273]

'The Black (or Ship) Rat has been a problem in the past. Lighthouse keepers, who were adept at telling colourful  stories, recalled seeing "hundreds of pairs of eyes" watching them as they walked at night, between their quarters and the Lighthouse. "There was some truth in these stories," says Robert Jory. "When I stayed on the island some 35 years ago rat-catching was something of a sport. A dozen large traps similar to the small mouse traps placed around the farmhouse would be set off in a matter of minutes. However, a pest control officer was called in and did a very effective job. the only rats we found were two mummified ones in Lighthouse Battery." [1317]