thumb|right|An artist's impression of one of the Bude Lights installed at Trafalgar Square, London, in 1845.
A Bude-Light was a very bright oil lamp (later, in its modified form, a gas lamp) invented by Sir Goldsworthy Gurney, patented by him on 8 June 1839 and named after Bude, Cornwall, where he lived.
History
Lighthouse experiments
As first developed, the light worked by introducing pure oxygen into the centre of an Argand burner. It was claimed to be a cheap way of producing a bright light: the unburned carbon in the oil flame burned incredibly brightly and an intense, white light was produced from the weak yellow flame of the oil lamp. In 1838, Gurney reported the results of his initial tests to Michael Faraday, who recommended the proposal to Trinity House for possible use in lighthouses. It was trialled on an experimental basis in Orford Low Lighthouse in 1839, where its flame was observed to be 2.5 times as powerful as a flame of the same size on a conventional oil lamp; its use in lighthouses was not pursued, however, due to high running costs.
Houses of Parliament
The chair of the parliamentary lighthouse committee, however, Joseph Hume, was involved in the reconstruction of the Palace of Westminster at the time and saw a potential opportunity for their use there. In May 1839, he presented his lamp to a select committee of the House of Commons; subsequently their use was trialled in the temporary Chamber of the House of Commons (at the time the Chamber was unsatisfactorily lit by large numbers of 15-inch candles, earlier experiments with both Argand lamps and gas lighting having thus far failed). The chemical changes brought about by this precision mechanical arrangement achieved 'an effulgence adequate to every purpose of internal and external illumination'. Self-regulating Atmospheric Bude-Lamps (enclosed in airtight glass containers, with eduction tubes to remove the fumes and heat) were soon successfully installed in the temporary Commons chamber (and operated 'at a cost of only twelve shillings per night, whereas that of the candles previously used there amounted to six pounds eleven shillings per night');
Commemoration
thumb|left|upright|Bude Light 2000
In the seaside resort town of Bude a commemorative installation, also referred to as the Bude Light, was erected to mark the millennium and remember the Bude Lights' inventor, Goldsworthy Gurney. It was designed by artist Carole Vincent and Anthony Fanshawe. Apart from a light at its apex, it is lit internally with fibre-optics displaying star constellations, and has a small seating area positioned around the light.