Lighthouses of Anguilla

Anguilla is a self-governing British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands at the extreme northeastern corner of the Caribbean Sea. The population is about 13,500. In the 1960s, Anguillans rebelled against incorporation in the larger colony of St. Kitts-Nevis. As a result, Britain agreed in 1969 to establish Anguilla under a separate administration.

The territory includes the island of Anguilla and a number of smaller islands and cays; the most remote of these is Sombrero, 55 km (34 mi) to the northwest. Though it is a tiny bit of land, Sombrero is important to navigators because it lies precisely at the point of entry to the Caribbean for many ships arriving from Europe.

Navigational aids in Anguilla are maintained by the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume J of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 110.

General Sources
Online List of Lights - Leeward Islands: Photos by various photographers posted by Alex Trabas.
Lighthouses in Anguilla: Photos available from Wikimedia.
Lighthouses in the Caribbean: Aerial photos posted by Marinas.com.

2001 Sombrero Light, October 2009
with bases of the 1962 lighthouse (left) and the 1868 lighthouse (right)
photo copyright Capt. Ted Hinrichs; used by permission

Lighthouse
Sombrero (1-3): 2001 (station established 1868). Active; focal plane 28 m (92 ft); white flash every 10 s. Approx. 15 m (50 ft) round tower, painted white. No lantern. Trabas has Capt. Ted Hinrichs's photo (also seen above), and Marinas.com has aerial photos. Google's fuzzy satellite view of the island shows its resemblance to a broad-brimmed hat. This light station guards the Anegada Passage, the most important route into the Caribbean from Europe. Sombrero was claimed by the U.S. in 1856, and an American company arrived to mine the island's guano deposits. However, in 1867 the U.S. agreed to recognize British sovereignty over the island. The first lighthouse, shown in a Wikimedia historic photo, was constructed in the following year. Heavily damaged by Hurricane Donna in 1960, this historic lighthouse was replaced in 1962 by a 28 m (92 ft) square pyramidal skeletal tower with square central cylinder, mounted on a concrete base. The concrete base and keeper's house of the 1962 tower and the ruined base of the 1868 tower remain today. Vince Cate has a page of 1997 photos of the island showing the 1962 lighthouse. Lighthouse keepers continued to live on the island until 2001, when Trinity House, the British lighthouse service, donated and installed the modern tower. Located on the island 55 km (34 mi) northwest of the main island of Anguilla. Accessible only by boat. Site open, if you can get to it, tower closed. Site manager: Government of Anguilla. ARLHS ANG-001; Admiralty J5650; NGA 14712.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: South: St. Martin | West: U.S. Virgin Islands

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