Douglass Road

Nicholas Douglass was one of the principal lighthouse engineers of his day. His two sons, James and William, became major figures in the world of lighthouse design and construction. James became engineer-in-chief to Trinity House in 1862, and 16 years later came to Plymouth to put a new lighthouse on the Eddystone Reef.

Smeaton’s earlier tower was sound enough, but the rock it was on was causing concern, as was the amount of light it emitted. Using the tender Hercules, which Douglass had had built to assist the construction of lighthouses, the work was completed in two years. Much of it was carried out under the charge of his son William. James Douglass was knighted soon after the new Eddystone Light had been lit in 1882.

Meanwhile, William stayed on, with the task of dismantling the Smeaton tower and re-erecting it on the Hoe, in place of the Trinity House sea-mark there. Long afterwards, two Douglass sisters were still here, in Seymour Road, Mannamead, in the house currently occupied by the BBC.