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
Mark Smeaton costume dramatic film "Anne of the Thousand Days". In it, Smeaton is depicted as being tortured by Cromwell's henchmen. In 1971, Michael Osborne portrayed Smeaton in the second episode of "The Six Wives of Henry VIII". One scene shows the knotted rope being twisted onto his eyes. The character of Mark Smeaton appeared in the second season of Showtime's "The Tudors" and was portrayed by David Alpay. In the series, he is depicted as having a sexual relationship with Anne's brother, George Boleyn. It is believed that Smeaton being portrayed as homosexual may have been based on the theories of