The Chauveau lighthouse is located off the coast of the town of Rivedoux-Plage, to the south-east of the Ile de Ré, in Charente-Maritime.
It was built from 1839 to 1842 according to plans by the chief engineer Garnier 1200 m from Chauveau Point. 30.70 m high (including 27.30 m above the sea), its purpose is to secure traffic linked to the port of La Rochelle due to the dangerous nature of the Chauveau and Lavardin rocks, which are not visible by high tide…
The plateau on which the building was raised is accessible on foot during high tides.
The Chauveau lighthouse uses a model inspired by the British and implemented some time previously at the Héaux lighthouse in Bréhat, considered the perfect model. It was habitable and furniture adapted to its circular shape had been installed.
With a range of 15 nautical miles (or approximately 27 km), the lighthouse is in the form of a "trumpet tower", that is to say flared: its broad base becomes smaller as it as we get closer to the summit. This profile ensures good seating and greater resistance to wave shock. As a result, this elegant silhouette makes the Chauveau lighthouse the thinnest of all the towers built at sea.
Automated in 1968, not open to the public, the lighthouse must undergo modernization work and should eventually run mainly on wind and solar energy.
Listed in the Inventory, the building can be approached when the sea permits but note that its surroundings are prohibited to fishermen on foot from November 1 to February 28.
Information on +33 5 46 09 39 39.
