Headlight of the Old woman

Construction and startup

November 30th 1861, the Commission of the headlights delivers an favorable opinion to the construction of a headlight of 3rd order on the rock (which announces the dangerous passages and the reefs along the coasts, like those of 3rd order) and the engineers are invited to present a preliminary draft in 1862. This preliminary draft however is deferred because of financial problems but also because of other building sites as that of Ar Men have just been undertaken.

The project is taken again 10 years later, but the director of the Service of the Headlights recognizes that “the construction of a headlight on the Old woman is deferred with a more or less distant future and the better known difficulties of accosting can even make envisage an abandonment of the project” with Paris on June 1st 1872. The Commission of the headlights joined together on January 14th 1873 confirms this opinion and concludes that “the exceptional difficulties that this work presents oblige to especially defer the execution in the presence of the similar work undertaken on the Ar Men rock”.

While waiting, the fire of Tévennec and the lamp of the Strong current, lit in 1874, mitigate this absence.

Feasibility studies

The construction of the headlight of the Old woman is confirmed only following one series of feasibility studies.

It is in 1879 that a first series of five unloadings is carried out on the rock, during which the rock, the mode of the current and the conditions of accosting are studied. Pêcheur S of the island of Center arrive during these accostings, gladly badly liking, to carry out some drillings where the organeaux ones of Amarrage are sealed. Masons having taken part in the construction of the Ar Men headlight will carry out 6 cubic meters of Maçonnerie in the low parts, appreciably improving the points of accosting of which most important allows to approach the rock by the North-East.

The following year, in 1880, ten accostings are carried out. The organeaux ones and straps fixing are fixed, which will make it possible to establish the base of a solid mass which will be used thereafter as platform of unloading of the construction materials. This solid mass is established using 37 cubic meters of masonry.

The public Minister for Labor Carnot emits a dispatch on January 29th 1881 indicating that “information collected and results obtained during the two campaigns of 1879 and 1880, it arises that one can establish a headlight on the rock the Old woman, under conditions of expenditure in connection with the services to return perfectly”. A credit of 100 000 francs is voted in April 1882.

If work is officially considered, the company is announced difficult: indeed, in this maritime zone, there is in quasi permanence of current violent ones who surround the rock of Gorlebella because of his reclining position in the direction of the currents. These elements offer only few sheltered zones, and especially during a short amount of time.

In the south lie of low. In the east and the west, any parking is current interdict because of of which speed varies between 6 and 15 nodes. The Old woman is in fact accessible only by the northern face only three days before and after the quarter moon, provided the sea is perfectly calm. If the sea is agitated, one can attend a movement from 40 to 50 meters in this zone.

In spite of these many difficulties, the building site is announced less perilous than the Ar Men construction. This is related to the fact that the rock emerges from fourteen meters above the open seas, and extends on fifty meters in length and twenty meters in width, thus making it possible to build a platform of twenty meters out of ten.

The engineer Fenoux, who was responsible for the construction of the headlight, had estimated that it would be possible to carry out a five month campaign per annum, at a rate of one day of good weather on two during the six days of each district, which would represent approximately thirty accostings per annum.

Construction

January 29th 1881, the public Minister for Labor gives his final agreement for the construction of this headlight after two years of studies. From there, work is organized from the island of Center, where the materials (stones of size) are stored. The engineer in load of the monitoring of work, the Probestau driver, settles on the island. The construction of the Old woman taking place after that of Ar Men, the experiment brought by the construction of this one is made profitable. Thus, the construction campaigns begin on May 1st from each year. The workmen are embarked in a small steamer which takes in trailer a gross decked Chaloupe containing construction materials as well as the Canot S of accosting. Mouillage S are installed to allow the vapor and the launch to wet:

three Corps-mort S wet in the south-west of the rock makes it possible to moor the launch during the Flot and part of the Jusant, at small distance from the Mât S of load installed on the rock;
a buoy is a little with the variation, where damping vapor;
if the spring tides are too important, the vapor will wet in Baie of the departeds where it is held ready to intervene with the least signal.

The first accostings are made profitable to establish a small shelter built in a hollow in the east of the rock. This shelter is used to accommodate the workmen, their vivres and their tools, which makes it possible the team to work with the levelling down of the rock without stopping when time was not too bad.

It is on August 5th 1882 which masonries of the base are begun. The construction of the tower, its platform, as of part of interior work is completed in 1886 after three seasons of work. The other part of interior work finishes in 1887. Masonry is roughcast with the Portland cement of Boulogne wasted with sea water for the base and the platform, and with fresh water in addition in order to better guarantee the healthiness of the residences.

The study and construction are directed from 1879 to 1885 by the chief engineer of the Ponts and Chaussées Fenoux. It is the chief engineer Considere who directs it in 1886 and 1887. The ordinary engineer Miniac follows the building site throughout his unfolding.

The fire of the Old woman ignites finally on September 15th 1887. The completion date of the work, 1887, is concerned the lathe.

Structure and installation

The architecture of the Old changing of an esthetic concern but also of that to avoid with the navigators confusing it with the tower close to Tévennec. For this reason the headlight has a quadrangular and squat form, slightly crenelated. This tower is square and semi-cylindrical on its northern face, and widens towards the base. The structure of the headlight was built out of stone of size to Bossage S of Granite gray of the island of Center, whereas the tower and the angles of the building are out of coated blue granite hardcores of Kersanton. The crenellation of the tower is a Encorbellement on Corniche with Modillon S which supports a stone balustrade of size. The lantern is covered with a roof curvature in Zinc, whereas the headlight itself is covered with a terrace.

The interior of the headlight was arranged to ensure effectiveness. Thus, one finds at the ground floor the water cistern and various materials of accosting. One finds with the upper floor four superimposed parts yesterday accommodating the oil cisterns respectively, of gas oil aujourdhui, the kitchen, the room to be slept and the room of day before. Under the lantern, a small part accommodates the generators.

A new system of changing of the guards by unloading with carriage and Tour Temperley will be installed during the summer 1926. It was dismounted since the automation of the headlight in November 1995. From now on, the access to the headlight is done by hélitreuillage.

History of the signal

During its history, the fire of the Old woman will have lit the strong current of Center in various ways:

the first fixed light is lit on September 15th, 1887. It was with red and green white sectors and had a focal distance of 50 cm. At the same moment, two fires of the Pointe of the Strong current die out;
In 1898, fire is equipped with a system with screenings every 5 seconds.
In 1904, the burner is reinforced by a burner with Pétrole with Incandescence;
a signal of Brume is added on November 15th, 1913;
the signal current with 3 screenings (2+1) white, red and green and with 5 sectors white, reds and greens, of a range of 18 miles, is installed in 1939.

The Combustible S also varied:

Mineral oil, installed in 1887
Vapor oil, installed in 1898
electric Automation in 1995

The generators were used for the life of the guards, but not directly with the operation of the fire of the headlight, which runs on oil until 1995.

At the time of the Second world war, fire is evacuated on January 21st 1944 and is relit only on June 1st 1945.

Its electrification with the island of Center took place in 1992 and its automation on November 14th 1995. It was the last but one French headlight with being automated, before Kéréon.

Life in the headlight

Guards and raises

The headlight was normally permanently occupied by two guards, statements regularly, but not at the same time. Two high-speed motorboats came to supply it, the Blodwen and the Velléda , both pennies the dependence of the Phares and beacons of Finistere.

The changing of the headlight of the Old woman proceeded always in the same way: the high-speed motorboat was to approach more close possible headlight, in spite of the uproar of the waves and the swell. Once in the vicinity, the crew hung the rope launched by the guards. This rope was called Cartahu, and was used for the installation of a to and from. Then, the passenger “capelait himself”, i.e. it made sure of a belt of rescue, then was installed with its luggage with - califourchon on a kind of large balloon which slipped along the cartahu. In surging weather, the operation was particularly delicate and difficult. By storm, it was generally impossible.

At the time of the changings, and this for all the headlights using the cartahu, it is initially the guard " montant" who used the " ballon". Once on the unloading dock, it passed to the guard " descendant" its life jacket, then helped to operate to and from to ensure the descent of his/her colleague on the high-speed motorboat, followed transfer of the supply. This procedure guaranteed the permanent presence of at least two men on the headlight, which was essential not only to ensure the service, but also to carry out the changing under good conditions.

No5el Fouquet, Jean Donnart, Michel Rozenn and Guy Lasbleiz spend their last night on the headlight before his automation on November 14th 1995. Indeed, protesting against this decision, Jean Donnart and one of his colleagues had refused a preceding changing, which explains the presence of four guards in the headlight during its extinction instead of two. Since, the headlight is operated by remote control from the island of Center.

Corsican reserved employment of the Old woman

Following the First World War, the France counted many broken Gueules in its population. A law, promulgated in February 1924, created “jobs reserved” for these people. This employment was supposed being less painful than the average, and was guards of public gardens, usher S of ministries, employees, rural policeman and rural factor. But one could find also there the occupation of guard of headlight.

Thus in 1925, two Corsica S was named with “the Hell” of the Old woman. Sirs Terracini (affected with the headlight on June 3rd, 1925) and Ferracci (affected on November 22nd) were both wounded with a lung, and the first had the divided muscles of the right-hand man, while the second had in his body a ball which could not have been extracted by the surgeons the time, and which could sometimes move. Their physical condition was not thus probably adequate to assemble and descend the 120 steps from the tower and to carry out the perilous exercise of the changing.

Since they included/understood the difficulty of the trade, they took several times the Ministry their change, which was refused each time. Accustomed to the Corsican climate more lenient, the moral one of the two men did nothing but decrease. The conditions of stay in the headlight, moisture, the howls of the wind, the gigantic face of the Vague S and their spray, sometimes higher than the tower (thirty-three meters) were a martyrdom for these two men. They quickly became depressed. In spite of that, fire ignited every night.

The third week of December 1925, time became execrable. The strong current of Center was in permanent boiling, not leaving any respite to the two men. The visibility being null, the changing was impossible with the means of the time. The chief warden was with ground, the two Corsicans alone “on board”. The black flag, hazard warning signal, were quickly hoisted. In spite of their courage, the supply craft could not sufficient approach the Old woman, the boat of the balisor Leon Bourdelles missing to be absorbed with all its occupants.

Two months later, with the favor of a break, the two men had been seen in sorry state. At this time there, it was the fog which prevented any visibility. February 19th 1927, fire died out, and the siren did not function already any more. Consequently, a Goélette of Paimpol, the Surprise , went to be thrown on the rocks of Plogoff.

More than one week later, the boat of Ravitaillement could approach sufficiently to launch the Cartahu. “Courageously, in spite of the state of the sea, the supply craft Clet Coquet is turned over Sunday afternoon towards the headlight, taking along with the chief warden Kerninon his own son who agree to replace to him also one of the Corsicans”. But both mutilated did not have the force to make use of this mode of passage. A team of young Breton sailors, and swimming in the icy sea, fixed on ropes and thanks to a rope, succeeds in then putting foot on the small island and bringing back, consequently way, the two survivors. Those were “black like demons and literally in scraps”. These two guards were assigned thereafter to continental headlights.

Their martyrdom was médiatisé following the Naufrage and the business, which makes great noise until Paris, caused the total ban at sea to employ disabled ex-serviceman in the headlights.

Others

Jean Grémillon carried out the film Gardiens of headlight in 1929, telling the history of a child whose father is guard of the Old woman.
Anatole Braz wrote a novel, the Guard of the Fire , whose action proceeds in the headlight of the Old woman.
the actor Jean Rochefort is the godfather of the headlight of the Old woman.

References

General sources

“the epopee of the headlights of Finistere”, in Fish-wagon 53;
“Guards of headlights of the Strong current of Center”, in Fish-wagon 68;
Jean Puloc' H, “headlights of our islands and their guards”, in the Echo of the Islands (October 30th, 1993);
Anne Lessard, “the headlight of the Old woman” on the site Bretagne.com (June 2005);
Section Maritime security - Headlights and Beacons on the site of the Departmental management of Equipment (DDE) of Finistere;
Card “the Old woman” on the site of the DDE of Finistere, source of certain images;
Inventory of the headlights, carried out of April 1st 2001 at May 15th 2002 by the Ministry for the Culture.

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