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St. John's Point
The four stamps issued in 1998 are the
first issue by Great Britain to incorporate the date of issue in
microprinting. The text is "1998©" in the lower right corner of the
first stamp where the arrow points. These figures appear on all four
stamps in the same location.
The 20p stamp shows the lighthouse at St. John's Point, County Down,
Northern Ireland, which was established in 1844. St. John’s Point is
at the end of a narrow peninsula which juts into Donegal Bay, south of
the village of Inver. The colours of the lighthouse were changed to
black and yellow in 1954. The stamp shows a contemporary* chart in the
background. The band at the foot of the stamp shows the lighting
characteristics - 'group quick flashing x 2'.
The Smalls
The 26p stamp shows the
lighthouse at The Smalls, Pembrokeshire, Wales. The current tower was
built in 1859 by James Douglass and was automated in the 1980s. The
chart is dated 1988. The light is 'group flashing x 3'.
Needles Rock
The famous Needles Rocks lighthouse on the Isle of
Wight on England's south coast is shown on the 37p stamp. The Isle of
Wight guards the approach to the famous port of Southampton, from
where many trans-atlantic voyages started.} This lighthouse was also
built in 1859, by James Walker and the stamp shows it as it was at the
turn of the century. The chart dates from 1908 and the light is
'single occulting'.
Bell or Inchcape Rock
On the 43p stamp is the lighthouse on Bell Rock (or
Inchcape Rock) 11 miles south-east of Arbroath, Scotland. It was built
in 1911 by Robert Stevenson (ancestor of poet Robert Louis Stevenson),
and marks a dangerous reef. The tower is the oldest rock lighthouse
still in operation in Britain and is shown as it appeared in the
mid-19th century. The chart is dated 1842 and the light is
'alternating white and red'.
Eddystone Light
The 63p stamp features Henry Winstanley's original
Eddystone Lighthouse, off Plymouth, Devon as it looked when first lit
in 1698. The chart is from the mid-18th century, and the light's
character is 'fixed steady light.'
Information from:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Estates/3337/light.html
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