In 1841 major renovations were made, under the direction of engineer Henry Norris of Messrs. Walker & Burges, including complete repointing, replacement water tanks and filling of a large cavity in the rock close to the foundations. In 1845 the lighthouse was equipped with a new second-order fixed catadioptric optic, manufactured by Henry Lepaute of Paris, with a single multi-wick oil lamp, replacing the old lamps and reflectors. This was the first time that a fully catadioptric large optic (using prisms rather than mirrors above and below the lens) had been constructed, and the first such installation in any lighthouse. A new lantern was constructed and fitted to the top of the tower in 1848, as the original had proved unsatisfactory for housing the new optic.