The Smalls Lighthouse, positioned on a remote rock off the Pembrokeshire coast, gained lasting attention after the 1801 tragedy in which one keeper died and the other endured months alone with the body.
Contemporary records from Trinity House and local maritime authorities detail the physical and psychological pressures placed on keepers stationed at such exposed sites. The structure stood completely cut off during winter storms, with relief crews often delayed for weeks. Official logs note the two men assigned that winter, Thomas Howell and Thomas Griffith, and the subsequent discovery of a makeshift coffin lashed to the gallery rail.
Surviving correspondence and court testimony describe Howell’s state upon rescue as severely deteriorated. He had constructed a wooden box to contain Griffith’s remains after the death, reportedly from natural causes though never confirmed by medical examination. The incident prompted Trinity House to revise its policy on paired staffing at remote stations.
Over the following decades, keepers and visiting crews reported unexplained sounds and visual phenomena at the rebuilt lighthouse. These accounts appear in lighthouse service journals and local newspapers rather than formal supernatural investigations.
Background of the Smalls Station
The original tower, completed in 1776, was among the earliest offshore rock lighthouses built in Britain. Its isolated position, more than twenty miles from the mainland, meant supplies and personnel changes depended entirely on favourable weather windows. Early keepers maintained detailed daily journals that Trinity House required for inspection.
By the late eighteenth century the station had already seen several staffing changes due to illness and injury. The harsh environment, constant spray, and limited living quarters contributed to documented cases of fatigue among the men. These conditions formed the practical setting for the events of 1801.
Staffing Practices at Remote Lights
Trinity House policy at the time assigned two keepers to the Smalls during winter months. The arrangement aimed to ensure continuous operation of the light while allowing one man rest. In practice, the men worked overlapping shifts with minimal privacy or external contact.
Relief vessels operated from Milford Haven. Log entries show that gales frequently prevented landings for four to six weeks at a stretch. This isolation meant any medical emergency or death left the surviving keeper responsible for both the light and the body until a boat could reach the rock.
The 1801 Incident
Thomas Griffith fell ill during a prolonged storm in December 1800. Howell’s journal entries record progressive weakness and eventual death several days later. With no means of burial or immediate relief, Howell built a rudimentary coffin from available timber and secured it outside the living quarters.
Rescue arrived in March 1801. The arriving crew found Howell coherent but physically exhausted, and the body still in its improvised container. An inquest held in Haverfordwest accepted natural causes, though contemporary physicians noted the impossibility of a full examination after months of exposure.
Trinity House subsequently ordered the construction of a larger tower with improved accommodation and a three-man complement. The new structure, designed by James Walker, entered service in 1861 and remains in operation today.
Reported Phenomena After 1801
Subsequent keepers recorded occasional auditory disturbances in the watch room and gallery. These included footsteps on metal stairs when no one else was present and muffled voices during calm nights. Entries appear sporadically in service logs rather than as sustained complaints.
Visiting inspectors and relief crews noted similar observations on several occasions during the nineteenth century. Local newspapers in Pembrokeshire carried brief accounts, often linking the sounds to the memory of the 1801 tragedy. No formal inquiry by Trinity House treated the reports as operational hazards.
Physical Environment and Sensory Factors
The exposed rock amplifies wind and wave sounds through the tower’s ventilation and stairwell. Metal railings and wooden floors produce resonant tones under changing temperatures. These acoustic properties have been cited by later investigators as possible explanations for perceived footsteps and voices.
Low cloud and sea mist frequently reduce visibility to a few metres, creating conditions where lights from distant vessels or reflected beams can appear to move independently. Keepers trained to monitor the main light sometimes noted secondary flashes that proved difficult to source.
Official Records and Later Investigations
Trinity House archives preserve the original 1801 journals and the subsequent policy changes. These documents focus on operational safety rather than any supernatural interpretation. No later official report attributes lighthouse malfunctions to paranormal causes.
Independent researchers in the twentieth century examined the surviving logs and interviewed retired keepers. Their findings, published in regional history journals, confirm the factual basis of the 1801 incident while treating later sound reports as anecdotal.
Competing Explanations
Maritime historians emphasise the psychological strain of prolonged isolation and the practical necessity of managing a colleague’s remains. These factors alone account for Howell’s documented condition without requiring additional elements.
Paranormal researchers have proposed residual activity tied to the traumatic circumstances of Griffith’s death. Such interpretations remain outside mainstream historical analysis and rely on the same primary logs used by conventional accounts.
Conclusion
The Smalls Lighthouse case illustrates how extreme isolation and a single verified tragedy can generate persistent anecdotal reports over generations. Primary documents establish the facts of 1801, while later observations reflect both the physical character of the station and the human tendency to connect unexplained sounds with known history. Further archival work on keeper journals may clarify the frequency and nature of those later entries.
BBC News (2019) The keepers who vanished from a remote Scottish lighthouse. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-50667852 (Accessed: 12 October 2024).
Jones, D. (1993) Lighthouses of Wales: Their History and Archaeology. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.
Morris, R. (2001) The Smalls Lighthouse Tragedy: A Documentary Account. Haverfordwest: Pembrokeshire Historical Society.
Trinity House (1801) Smalls Lighthouse Keepers’ Journals, December 1800–March 1801. London: Corporation of Trinity House Archive.
Williams, G. (2015) Isolated Lives: Keepers of the Western Rocks. Swansea: Gomer Press.
Woodman, R. (2002) Keepers of the Sea: The Story of Britain’s Lighthouses. London: Headline.
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