Rudyerd, indeed, may be considered to be the father of the science of modern lighthouse designing, because the lines that he evolved have never been superseded for exposed positions even in these days of advanced engineering science, greater constructional facilities, and improved materials. Rudyerd’s ingenuity and skill received a triumphant vindication when the American engineers set out to build the Minot’s Ledge and Spectacle Reef lighthouses, inasmuch as these men followed slavishly in the lines he laid down, and their achievements are numbered among the great lighthouses of the world to-day.
Rudyerd built his tower with infinite care, although he was harassed in his operations by the depredations of French privateers, who haunted this part of the British coast. On one occasion the whole of the men were surprised while at their work, and were borne off in triumph as prisoners of war to France. Louis XIV., however, heard of the capture, and the privateers, instead of being honoured for the catch, as they anticipated, were strongly reprimanded and compelled to release their captures. “Their work is for the benefit of all nations. I am at war with England, not with humanity,” was the Sovereign’s comment; and by way of compensation the prisoners were loaded with presents and reconveyed to the rock, to resume their toil.
For forty years Rudyerd’s structure defied the elements, and probably would have been standing to this day had it not possessed one weak point. It was built of wood instead of stone. Consequently, when a fire broke out in the lantern on December 4, 1755, the flames, fanned by the breeze, rapidly made their way downwards. The keepers were impotent and sought what refuge they could find under projecting crags below, as the lead which had been employed in construction melted into drops and rained down on all sides, so that the unfortunate men were exposed to another and more alarming danger. In fact, one man, while watching the progress of the fire, was drenched with a shower of molten metal, some of which, he declared, had entered his open mouth and had penetrated into his stomach. When rescued he was writhing in fearful agony, but his story was received with incredulity, his comrades believing that the experience had turned his brain and that this was merely one of his delusions. When the man died, a post-mortem examination was made, and the doctors discovered ample corroboration of the man’s story in the form of a lump of lead weighing some seven ounces!