La Vieille ("The Old Lady" or "The Wrass") is a lighthouse in the département of Finistère at the commune of Plogoff, on the northwest coast of France. It lies on the rock known as Gorlebella (Breton for "farthest rock"), guiding mariners in the strait Raz de Sein, across from the companion lighthouse Tourelle de la Plate—also known as Petite Vieille ("Little Old Woman"). It is among the small class of lighthouses around the coasts of France carrying the moniker "hell", due to a remote position in rough seas.
Initial planning talks began as early as 1861, though the construction project was not confirmed until twenty years later. Fierce tides limited the period in which building work could take place to less than half of each year. After five years, construction was complete and its beam first shone in 1887. The light is occulting, with a range of ; a foghorn was installed in the early twentieth century.
La Vieille achieved notoriety in the 1920s when two disabled war veterans were stranded there for weeks by storms, their health deteriorating. They were employed under a new law reserving the job of lighthouse keeper to those who had served in the war. The tremendous difficulties experienced in getting them back to shore led to the repeal of the new law. In 1995 it was the penultimate French lighthouse to become automated, a process delayed due to the keepers on-site staging a protest against the task being carried out.
Construction and history
Planning
On 30 November 1861, the French (the Lighthouse Commission) decided in favour of constructing a "3rd order" lighthouse on Gorlebella rock, inviting engineers to carry out a pilot study the following year. The study was postponed, however, due to funding difficulties as well as other construction projects such as Ar Men having just begun.
The project resumed ten years later, but the (Lighthouse Service) director was forced to admit on 1 June 1872 that "construction of a lighthouse on La Vieille will be postponed for the foreseeable future, and the difficulties encountered in embarking on the rock could even see it abandoned altogether". A meeting convened on 14 January 1873 agreed that "the exceptional difficulties that this public work presents compels us to postpone the project, particularly given the presence of similar work being undertaken on the rock of Ar Men".
In the meantime the lanterns of nearby Phare de Tévennec and the Île-de-Sein light partially compensated for the continuing lack of a lighthouse.
Construction was preceded by a series of feasibility studies. In 1879, the first of five landings at the rock was carried out, during which currents and ease of docking at the site were assessed. Fishermen from the Île de Sein, begrudgingly or otherwise, successfully established the first mooring points. Six cubic metres of stonework were built for the base, with the help of stonemasons who had already worked on the lighthouse of Ar Men. This enabled the rock to be boarded from the north-east.
The following year, a dozen more landings were carried out. Mooring rings and securing bars were implanted, which acted as a solid base that could subsequently be used as a landing platform for building materials. This foundation was built out of 37 cubic metres of stone work.
The Minister of Public Works, Sadi Carnot, issued a statement on 29 January 1881 that "from information gathered and results obtained during the 1879–80 initiatives, it is clear we can establish a lighthouse on the rock of Vieille, with the amount to be spent in alignment with the services required." A credit of 100,000 francs was approved in April 1882.
Although the project had been given the go ahead, the conditions promised a difficult road ahead. In this area of the sea, strong currents surround the rock of Gorlebella almost permanently, due to its location in the direction of the currents. Its few sheltered areas are accessible only for short periods.
Shallow waters lay to the south. Toward the east and west currents ranging from 6–15 knots prevent mooring. Consequently, La Vieille could only be approached from the north side, and even then only during the three days either side of the quarter moon, if the sea is perfectly calm. In rough seas, whirlpools of 40 to 50 metres can be present.
Despite these obstacles, construction turned out less dangerous than at Ar Men. This is due to the fact the rock juts 14 metres above high tide. This shape made it possible to erect a solid 20 metre by 10 metre platform.