I’m a writer of historical fiction now, author of the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures. But I’m also a sailor, and a retired civil engineer. Therefore I was thrilled to discover the Daymark on my walk this afternoon. It’s a really elegant structure. I did wonder if you could use the alignment of the arches to establish a position line, but I doubt it. I suspect the arches are designed for the purposes of structural elegance and economy.
The Daymark was built as an aid to navigation, helping sailors to find the entrance to the River Dart. Charles Seale-Hayne commissioned its construction when he became a founder member of the Dartmouth Harbour Commission in 1863. He later became Paymaster General in the governments of William Gladstone and Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery. Charles Seale-Hayne was clearly a busy man. He was also the first chairman of the Dartmouth and Torbay Railway, as well as Lieutenant-Colonel of the 3rd Battalion Devonshire Regiment.
Archibald Primrose isn’t a Prime Minister that I was aware of before writing this. I’ve written about Prime Ministers who are alumni of Oxford University before, and Primrose was an Oxford man. However he wasn’t at Oxford for long. He left after two years because he bought a horse. Undergraduates weren’t permitted to own horses at that time. So when he was offered the choice between selling the horse or quitting his studies, he chose to leave Oxford. He apparently had three ambitions in life, to win the Derby, marry and heiress, and become Prime Minister. He achieved all three, although he only became Prime Minister because Queen Victoria disliked the other candidates.
Rosebery was not a particularly successful Prime Minister. However the Daymark is still providing a valuable service to mariners. The railway still carries tourists.