Bishop Rock

In the late 13th century, when the Isles of Scilly were under the jurisdiction of John de Allet and his wife Isabella, anyone convicted of felony "ought to be taken to a certain rock in the sea, with two barley loaves and a pitcher of water and left until the sea swallowed him up". The rock was originally recorded as Maen Escop in 1284 and Maenenescop in 1302. In Cornish, Men Eskop means "Bishop's Stone", whilst Men an Eskop means "the Stone of the Bishop". The outer rocks to the west of St Agnes also used to be known as the Bishop and Clerk, but exactly how they acquired these similar names is not known for certain. East of Bishop Rock are the Western Rocks and the Gilstone Reef, where…

Bishop Lighthouse is often referred to as "King of the lighthouses". With a height of 49 m the lighthouse is the tallest in England, together with Eddystone Lighthouse. The second granite lighthouse: £34,559 Below and inside the lighthouse are 10floors with spiral staircase to the 2nd floor with a door (made from gun metal (likely bronze) and installed in 1887) that leads down an external metal (likely bronze) ladder to climb down to the large exterior base. From the base another metal ladder provides access to a stone staircase to the waterline. Prior to automation, the floors of the lighthouse were occupied as follows in 1911 (with later changes of use noted in italics):