The island of Anglesey, off the coast of North Wales, must be rounded by coastal shipping making the passage up or down the western seaboard, and as a consequence of its position in a busy seaway has several major lights.
Skerries was built first, followed a century later by South Stack and Point Lynas, the latter after the wreck of the Rothesay Castle on Puffin Island at the entrance to the Menai Strait in 1830.
The Liverpool master pilots had already been consulted about the necessity for a light on the shore at Black Point, or Trwyn-du, but no action was taken until late in the 1830s when Trinity House built the present station. The lighthouse is situated on a low-lying rock surrounded by shingle beaches about half a mile south of Puffin Island. The circular stone tower is distinguished by three black bands.
The lighthouse was originally manned by two keepers, however these were withdrawn in 1922 when the lighthouse was converted to unwatched acetylene operation.
Trwyn Du Lighthouse was converted to solar power in 1996, work to modernise the station included the development of a unique operating mechanism to work the 178kg fog bell. The lighthouse is now monitored and controlled from Trinity House’s Planning Centre in Harwich, Essex.