Swindon Album    Swindonweb.com    Back to Grand Central   7 Wonders Index 1: Brunel Tower    2: Hanging Baskets    3: The Double Helix of Carfax    4: The Lighthouse 5: Vavoom Statue    6: St Zvlkx Cathedral    7: The Elgin Llamas

Wonder Number Four:

The Lighthouse on Alexandra Road

The Lightouse which now stands in Alexandra road is the only survivor of the Great Global Warming Scare of 1832 when local councils all over England were persuaded that rising sea levels would make inland towns like Swindon a major shipping hazard. When the danger had receded by 1838 and the instigator of the building process jailed for fraud, the Swindon Town Council were embarassed but ingenious - what better way to give a reading light to the good folk of Swindon in the dark days before electricity? For sixty years the lamp swept around the city between the hours of eight and ten, allowing those within its influence a chance to read in bed, albeit in only two second bursts every half minute.

The lighthouse restored to its former glory.

The view from the bus station.	Very useful landmark if you've had a skinful and need to find the bus station.

When electrification and a drop in the price of candles doused the great lamp forever, the lighthouse's future looked bleak until it was converted into a bell tower for the local Chapel of St Zvlkx, a use that ensured its survival into the twentieth century. Now restored to its former glory, the Lighthouse on Alexandra Road is known equally well, not only as a tourist attraction but also as a useful landmark for Swindon residents who have got a bit spiffed and need to get their bearings to the bus station.

Visitor's Information: Visitor's centre open all year round but with limited entries - best book early for a time slot. Allow half an hour for a conducted tour to the restored lamp room. How to find it: The Lighthouse can be found on Alexandra Road, just off Station Road. Visitors to the Spiral on Carfax street nearby can make use of a 'two for one' ticket offer. Another Wonder, the statue of Lola Vavoom, is only a short walk away. Nearest Skyrail: Railway Station. Telephone: City 199

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