The little house you can see 1.8 km offshore (1 nautical mile) on the north island of the Saint Quay archipelago is a lighthouse built between 1848 and 1850.

Coastal shipping was important, not only along the coast but also with the Channel Islands and England. Today’s ships are equipped with geolocation systems, but in the past fishing and transport vessels were under sail. If the wind was against them, they had to “sail” in the channel, sometimes at night, a dangerous operation in the absence of beacons.

For many years, sailors and shipowners had been asking for a light to be installed. In 1840, the Ministry of Public Works adopted the opinion of the Lighthouse Commission on the need to light Harbour Island. This was to be the first “lighting” of the bay. After 3 years of work, the Harbour lighthouse was lit on 6 May 1850.

The lighthouse’s lighting system, located on the 13m-high square turret, was powered by shale oil (petroleum). The light was fixed, white; the red sector was not installed until 1899. Two keepers living in the small adjoining dwelling (7m x 7m) were responsible for maintaining it. Around the house, there is a landing stage, a very small garden and a low wall that, according to oral tradition, the keepers decorated with shells. A little further on, a storeroom that no longer exists. The red star, symbol of the lighthouses and beacons, decorates its west façade.

The lighthouse on Île Harbour was manned until 1892, when the original lighthouse was replaced by a “permanent” lighthouse powered first by petrol and then by dissolved acetylene, manufactured in Lézardrieux. A visit was scheduled every fortnight. The Portrieux fire warden was responsible for looking after both Portrieux and Harbour in the event of an incident, and a dinghy in the Portrieux harbour enabled him to reach Harbour.

In 1935, the acetylene system was replaced by a propane supply and the fixed light was converted into a blackout light.

The Île Harbour lighthouse is owned by the maritime authorities and supervised by the lighthouses and beacons subdivision in Lezardrieux. Electrified in 1977, it now runs on solar energy.

Red and white occulting light. On a current rate of 4 seconds. Range of approximately 9 miles on a clear day.

Maritime buoyage in the Bay of St-Brieuc

Until the end of the 19th century, France lagged far behind England in terms of coastal lighting and beacons. In Brittany, there was only one lighthouse, built in 1692 at Pointe Saint Mathieu and another in 1701 at Cap Fréhel. Everywhere else was in darkness, with constant shipwrecks.

After the creation of the lighthouse commission in 1811, under the impetus of Leonor Fresnel, the first general lighting project was presented in 1825. It was the starting point for the programme to build all the major lighthouses, particularly in Brittany and thanks to Léonce Reynaud, to whom we owe 131 lighthouses… and our harbour light. Many thanks to him!