Lightvessel (the Nore)
Barco-faro (Nore)
- Date
- 1731 (puesta en servicio, 1734) · confidence medium
- Place
- Thames Estuary (the Nore), England, United Kingdom
- Credited to
- Robert Hamblin and David Avery
- Field
- Movement
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A moored ship with lamps at the masts marking a dangerous sandbank where no tower can be built. The first was moored at the Nore, at the mouth of the Thames.
Both 1731 (first ship, Hamblin and Avery's patent) and 1734 (effective service) are cited; there are hints of medieval precedents.
What it led to
- marking of banks and approaches without a fixed tower
- lightships in ports all over the world
- Trinity House's aids-to-navigation network