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The Nore, London

Historical Description

Nore, The, an anchoring-ground in the estuary of the Thames, 3 miles NE of Sheerness, 3½ SSE of Shoeburyness, and 47 E of London Bridge. It is called distinctively the Great Nore; it adjoins another anchorage extending south-westward from it to the mouth of the Medway, and called the Little Nore; it lies immediately E of a narrow shoal, 1½ mile long, called the Nore Sand; it has from 7 to 10 fathoms of water, with a tidal rise of 14 or 15 feet; it is the place where ships cast anchor on entering the Thames, and whence ships from the port of London take their departure to all parts of the world; and it has on its N side, in lat. 51º 29' N and Ion. 48' E, a famous floating light for guiding the navigation. It is the first in order of seniority among its kind, for at this station the first lightship set afloat on the coast of England was permanently laid in the year 1730. The first light was put up by Mr Hamblin, who obtained a patent for it, and made trial of it on a vessel called the Experiment; the light was speedily recognized as of great value, and was soon placed under the control of the Trinity Board. In 1855, for purposes of distinction, the light was made revolving. The lightship is 96 feet long by 21 broad; her tonnage is 156; her hull, masthead, and globe are painted red, and the name Nore is painted in large white letters on each broadside. It cost, with apparatus, about £5000, and it costs about £1200 a year to maintain.

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5

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