La Tour de Vinde

{{Infobox lighthouse

| name = La Tour de Vinde
Noirmont Point Light

| image = File:La Tou d'Vînde Jèrri.jpg

| image_width =

| caption = La Tour de Vinde

| location = St Aubin's Bay
Saint Brélade
Jersey

| coordinates = {{coord|49.165270|N|2.168036|W|display=inline,title}}

| yearbuilt = 1915

| yearlit =

| automated =

| yeardeactivated =

| foundation =

| construction = stone tower

| shape = cylindrical tower with the light on a mast

| marking = black tower with a horizontal white band

| height = {{convert|10|m|ft}}

| focalheight = {{convert|18|m|ft}}

| lens =

| currentlens =

| lightsource =

| intensity =

| range = {{convert|13|nmi}}[http://phares.du.monde.free.fr/phare06/pag1026.html Feu de Noirmont Point] Phares du Monde

| characteristic = Fl (4) W 12s.

| fogsignal =

| racon =

| country =

| countrynumber =

| countrylink =

| managingagent = Jersey Harbours{{cite rowlett|jey|accessdate=13 January 2016}}

| heritage =

| module =

}}

La Tour de Vinde (aka Noirmont Tower) is a Martello tower that the British erected between 1808 and 1810 to command the approaches to St Aubin's Bay, Jersey. The tower stands at the foot of the cliffs of Noirmont Point, in the Vingtaine de Noirmont in the Parish of Saint Brélade. During the occupation of the Channel Islands in World War II, the Germans erected Battery Lothringen on the top of Noirmont Point. The site of the tower is accessible at low tide by foot, though the tower itself is closed to the public.

La Tour de Vinde is painted black and white to serve as a daymark for sailors. Since 1915 it has housed a light that at night flashes every 12 seconds. The tower is currently under the purview of the Harbour & Airport Committee.

Name

The name comes from the Norse, where "vinde" means to tack or go about.Hals Michelet (1914), p.270. Once a sailing vessel heading for St Aubin's Bay had passed the point it could tack to approach the harbour.

Description

The tower was armed with a single 18-pounder gun on its top; there was a second 18-pounder in a battery at its base.Clements (1999), pp.87–88. The tower supports the second floor via arches instead of a central pillar.Grimsley (1988), p.43. The tower's diameter is {{convert|26|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} and it stands {{convert|23|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} high.Clements (1999), p. 169.

Citations

References

Clements, William H. (1998) Towers of Strength: Story of Martello Towers. (London: Pen & Sword). {{ISBN|978-0-85052-679-0}}.
Grimsley, E.J. (1988) The Historical Development of the Martello Tower in the Channel Islands. (Sarnian Publications). {{ISBN|978-0-9513868-0-4}}
Hals Michelet, Maren Bastin (1914) First year Norse. (The Free Church Book Concern).
Sutcliffe, Sheila (1973) Martello Towers. (Cranbury, NJ: Associated Universities Press).