The nore light
inscribed, as title, lower left, and signed above by the artist. Wyllie described the nore light vessel in his book 'london to the nore' (1905), pp. 165-66. ' "the nore light" is a great strong vessel painted red, with the name in white letters, some six or seven feet high, along the side. Her mast stands in the middle of the ship, surmounted by a red ball and a big lantern, with the machinery for the revolving light built round the mast. At night this is hove up to the hounds. A wonderful ray it sends quivering round the horizon, lighting up for a moment the passing ships, which appear like ghosts and vanish. A horn is sounded in foggy weather, and a gun is fired when vessels are seen to be standing into danger. ’ this finished drawing is probably based on the related sketch, pae1973: its format suggests it may have been done for wyllie's 1905 book but not eventually included. The nore is a sandbank at the mouth of the thames, in the junction fo the thams and medway. It is marked by various buoys and today by a lightship with a revolving light. This ship lies about three miles from the nearest point on the kent coast and about the same distance from the essex coast. It is about 47 miles below london bridge. The first light was placed there as an experiment by mr hamblin in 1731. Trinity house established its first vessel there in 1793. Date: circa May 1900. Dimensions: 153 mm x 330 mm. Collection: Fine art.
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