Start Point runs sharply almost a mile into the sea on the south side of Start Bay near Dartmouth. The lighthouse - sited at the very end of the headland - guides vessels in passage along the English Channel. James Walker designed Start Point Lighthouse in 1836 and it owes much to the gothic movement in architecture of the time, with its battlemented parapet. Two white lights were originally exhibited, one revolving and one fixed to mark the Skerries Bank; a fixed red subsidiary light still marks this hazard. The optic used was the first of its kind used by Trinity House.