A network of flaming tributes to the Queen will stretch throughout the country on Thursday.
Beacons marking the Platinum Jubilee will be lit at 9.45pm at sites including the Tower of London, Windsor Great Park, Hillsborough Castle and the Queen’s estates of Sandringham and Balmoral, along with the tops of the UK’s four highest peaks.
The first beacons will be lit in Tonga and Samoa in the South Pacific, and the final one in the central American country of Belize.
The principal beacon outside the Palace – a 21-metre-tall Tree of Trees sculpture for the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative – will be illuminated by a senior member of the royal family, and images will be projected on to the Palace.
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The history of jubilee beacons
Over the next 70 days, as we countdown to the #PlatinumJubilee Central Weekend, we’ll be sharing an image a day of The Queen – each representing a year of Her Majesty’s 70-year long reign.
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) March 24, 2022
🧵 Follow along our #70for70 countdown
Lighting beacons to celebrate Royal Jubilees, Weddings and Coronations is a long-held tradition.
The flaming displays might appear on top of mountains, church and cathedral towers, castle battlements, on town and village greens, country estates, parks and farms, along beaches and on cliff tops.
In 1897, beacons were lit to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. In 1977, 2002 and 2012, beacons commemorated the Silver, Golden and Diamond Jubilees of The Queen, and in 2016 Her Majesty’s 90th birthday.
On Thursday, there are four types of beacons being lit:
- A free-standing beacon fuelled by bottle gas
- A beacon brazier with a metal shield
- A bonfire beacon
- Bishops Frome Strawman
Platinum Jubilee beacons in Dorset
Milton Abbas – precise location not listed
Bournemouth - close to the Jon Egging memorial on East Overcliff Drive
Berwick St John Parish Council – precise location not listed
Wareham Town Council – Howard’s Lane car park
Wimborne Minster Town Council, Colehill Parish Council and Pamphill and Shapwick Parish Council – Wimborne Cemetery, Wimborne
Studland Parish Council – location not listed
Blandford Forum Town Council – Railway Arches, Blandford Forum
Bere Regis Parish Council – Bere Regis
Poole - Sandbanks
Sydling St Nicholas Parish Council – Eastfield Hill, Sydling St Nicholas, Dorchester
National Trust, North and West Dorset – Thorncombe Beacon, Bridport
Island and Royal Manor of Portland Court Leet – The Beacon Ground, Priory Corner, Portland
Sandford Orcas, Queen Thorne, Sherborne – Above Mitre Inn, Sandford Orcas
Wareham Town Council – Howards Lane Car Park, Wareham
Sturminster Newton Town Council – Railway Garden, Old Market Hill, Sturminster Newton
Corton Denham Village Hall – Corton Denham Hill, Corton Denham
Stratton Parish Council – Grimstone Down, Stratton
Minterne Estate – Field at Bakers Plain, Cerne Abbas
Corfe Castle Platinum Jubilee Committee – East Hill, Corfe Castle, Wareham
Christchurch Town Council – Mudeford Quay, Christchurch
Frampton Parish Council – Frampton
West Parley Parish Council – The Memorial Hall, West Parley
East Lulworth Parish Council – Icehouse Field, Lulworth Castle, East Lulworth, Wareham
Spetisbury Parish Council and Charlton Marshall Parish Council – Spetisbury Rings, South Farm, Spetisbury
Dorset Council – Durlston Castle, Durlston Country Park, Swanage
Newman Farming Partnership – Castle Hill, Cattistock, Dorchester
Charmouth Parish Council – Charmouth Beach/Foreshore, Lower Sea Lane, Charmouth
Broadwindsor Fun Group – Allotments opposite Broadwindsor School, Broadwindsor
Kimmeridge Village Hall – Kimmeridge Bay, Kimmeridge, Wareham
Lyme Bay NCI Unit – Near Lyme Bay NCI Station, Lyme Bay
Parish of Melcombe Horsey and Hilton – Melcombe Park, Ansty, Dorchester
Membury Merry Makers & Membury Parish Council – Membury Castle, Membury
Rotary Club of Gillingham (Dorset) - Harding's Lane Recreation Ground, Gillingham
Yetminster Jubilee Celebration Committee – St Andrew's Church Tower, Yetminster
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