Smeaton's Tower stood were becoming eroded. Each time a large wave hit, the lighthouse shook from side to side. Smeaton's Tower ceased operation in 1879 with the illumination of Douglass's Tower on an adjacent rock. In 1882 the upper part of Smeaton's Tower was dismantled and rebuilt as a memorial to Smeaton on a new base on Plymouth Hoe, replacing the triangular obelisk that had been built there by Trinity House as a navigation aid in the early 19th century. It was opened to the public by the Mayor of Plymouth on 24 September 1884. The foundation and stub of the old
William Henry Oliphant Smeaton William Henry Oliphant Smeaton William Henry Oliphant Smeaton (24 October 1856 – 31 March 1914), sometimes using the pen name Oliphant Smeaton, was a Scottish writer, journalist, editor, historian and educator. He was popularly known for his writing on Australian life and literature for various British publications as well as for his adventure and children's fiction novels during the 1890s. Later in his career, Smeaton also published books on Scottish antiquities and edited English literary text, ballads and collections of verse and prose. His best known work, "The Life and Works of William Shakespeare" (1911), was especially successful and enjoyed