Editing Eddystone Lighthouse (section)

== The need for a light ==
The Eddystone Rocks are an extensive reef approximately {{convert|12|mi|km}} SSW off [[Plymouth Sound]], one of the most important naval harbours of England, and midway between [[Lizard Point, Cornwall]] and [[Start Point, Devon|Start Point]]. They are submerged at high spring tides and were so feared by mariners entering the English Channel that they often hugged the coast of France to avoid the danger, which thus resulted not only in shipwrecks locally, but on the rocks of the north coast of France and the Channel Islands.<ref>{{cite book |first=Samuel|last=Smiles|title=The Lives of the Engineers|year=1861|volume=2|page=16|url=https://archive.org/stream/livesofengineers02smil#page/16/mode/2up}}</ref> Given the difficulty of gaining a foothold on the rocks particularly in the predominant swell it was a long time before anyone attempted to place any warning on them.