Anvil Point Lighthouse #2 (unpublished.duplicate)

The lighthouse was built in 1881 after a number of shipwrecks along the Dorset coast and gives a clear line to the west from Portland Bill and to the east away from the Christchurch Ledge into The Solent. The light was originally illuminated by a Douglass multi-wick mineral oil burner set within a first order revolving 14 panel dioptric optic made by Chance Brothers. This was a new design of lighthouse optic allowing the height of the Fresnel lens to be increased. The lenses stood at 1.88 m high. The lamp was specifically designed by James Douglass. An explosive fog signal was installed in 1894 , sounding once every 10 minutes but later altered to 5 minutes. In the early 20th century a paraffin vapour burner replaced the oil lamp. Built of local stone, Anvil Point Lighthouse gives a clear line to the west from Portland Bill and to the east guides vessels away from the Christchurch Ledge and leads them into the Solent.

The light was originally illuminated by a paraffin vapour burner, and the fog signal was a small cannon giving a loud blast every five minutes. Anvil Point Lighthouse was automated in 1991. The lighthouse is now monitored and controlled from Trinity House’s Planning Centre in Harwich, Essex. In 1960 the lighthouse was modernised and electrified , a new lamp replaced the paraffin vapour burner and a smaller optic - a fourth order 6 panel rotating optic replaced the first order optic which is now housed in The Science Museum. In addition, the explosive fog signal was replaced by a triple frequency electric signal. This was discontinued in 1988.

The lamp had a 1,000 watt filament with an intensity of 500,000 Candela. The range was 19 nautical miles but was reduced to 9 miles in 2010.

The lighthouse was fully automated on 31 May 1991 . In 2012, a LED lamp was installed above the Fresnel lens to serve as the main light.