Casquets lighthouses per ton of ship when vessels passed the rocks and in turn he paid Trinity House 50 pounds per year for the right to run the lighthouses. The lighthouses reverted to Trinity House in 1785. They were converted to oil lamps with metal reflectors which were first used on 25 November 1790; and upgraded again with apparatus to rotate a beam of light in 1818. This had a clockwork mechanism which was wound up every hour and a half and gave one flash every 15 seconds. The lighthouses were badly damaged and the lanterns smashed in a severe storm on
Cape Romain Lighthouses the few remaining lighthouses of its period in the U.S. In 1853, $20,000 was appropriated to build a second lighthouse nearby, and to remove an old wind mill on Mill Island. A wick house, boat house, and two more dwellings were added nearby. During construction, builders noticed that the new brick tower leaned toward the mainland. The lean has worsened over the years and today the tower is more than three feet off plumb. Light keepers accessed the first order Fresnel lens after climbing 212 spiraling, cast-iron steps. The light was lit by oil lamp, with a revolving beam visible