Abandoned for 35 Years, This Atlantic Lighthouse Was Purchased for £1 — Now It’s Becoming Wetherspoons’ First Offshore Pub
Perched on a lonely rock in the middle of the Atlantic, battered by waves and winds for decades, the Bishop Rock Lighthouse—once a proud guardian of Britain’s westernmost waters—has found a new and rather unexpected future. After standing abandoned for more than 35 years, this legendary lighthouse has been purchased for just £1, and plans are underway to transform it into Wetherspoons’ first-ever offshore pub.
The idea sounds almost unbelievable—a pub at sea, accessible only by boat or helicopter, inside one of the world’s most remote and resilient structures. But behind the eccentricity lies a story of heritage, innovation, and the British knack for turning the impossible into a pint-worthy reality.
A Beacon Lost to Time
The Bishop Rock Lighthouse, standing on a tiny islet off the Isles of Scilly, was first lit in 1858. For more than a century, it served as one of the UK’s most iconic maritime beacons, guiding countless vessels safely past the treacherous rocks at the edge of the Atlantic.
But with the advancement of modern navigation systems and automated lights, the lighthouse’s human keepers were withdrawn in the late 1980s. Since then, it has remained silent—its windows dark, its iron staircase rusting, and its walls lashed by storms.
For over three decades, the lighthouse became a ghostly monument to an era gone by. Tourists occasionally passed by on sightseeing boats, snapping photos of the lonely tower jutting from the sea, but few imagined it would ever come back to life.
Bought for the Price of a Pint
That changed earlier this year, when the Trinity House, the authority responsible for Britain’s lighthouses, listed the property for a token sale. The condition: the buyer must preserve the structure and find a sustainable use for it.
Enter Wetherspoons, the UK’s most prolific pub chain, known for converting old banks, churches, and theatres into drinking establishments. When the company’s founder, Tim Martin, heard about the lighthouse’s availability, he reportedly said it was “too good to resist.”
Wetherspoons offered £1 for the rights to the building—symbolic, but with a promise to invest millions in its restoration. The proposal to turn it into a fully functional offshore pub was both daring and oddly fitting. After all, Wetherspoons has a long history of reviving historic sites and giving them new life.
Engineering a Pub in the Middle of the Ocean
Converting a 19th-century lighthouse into a modern pub is no small feat. Engineers face the challenge of bringing electricity, water, and safety systems to a structure that stands on a rock barely larger than its base.
Plans revealed to the press include:
Solar panels and micro wind turbines to power the site.
A desalination unit to provide fresh water.
Reinforced glass panels to withstand Atlantic storms.
A helipad platform and limited boat access for deliveries and staff.
Inside, the design will preserve the lighthouse’s spiral staircase and stone walls, blending rustic heritage with maritime charm. The top floor, once the lantern room, will become a 360-degree viewing lounge, offering guests panoramic views of the endless sea.
Wetherspoons’ architects have described the concept as “the most isolated pub in the world”—a place where visitors can quite literally have a pint at the edge of civilization.
A Toast to History
The transformation is not only about novelty; it’s also a tribute to the lighthouse keepers who once risked their lives maintaining the light.
Wetherspoons announced that the pub will be named “The Keeper’s Rest”, in honor of those who manned the tower before automation took over. Historical exhibits, old photographs, and salvaged equipment will be displayed throughout the interior, turning the pub into a mini-museum of maritime life.
Each room will tell a story—of storms weathered, ships saved, and the stubborn human spirit that once defined life on the lighthouse. The bar menu, fittingly, will feature seafood specialties, Cornish ales, and a custom brew called “The Lighthouse Lager.”
