Due to being a coastal nation (with lots of changeable weather and hazards like rocks and cliffs), England has many lighthouses. Some are no longer in use (used for tourist information or even holiday homes).
But many are still working lighthouses, although most now operate automatically from Trinity House, rather than by a lighthouse keeper.
Not all lighthouses have red and white stripes (this is done to make them stand out against white cliffs, which is why say Beachy Head lighthouse is this blend of colours). Other lighthouses are white, and some are tall and others short and fat!
A Brief History of English Lighthouses
Lighthouses in England date back to Roman times, when fire (before lamps) was used to guide seafarers. Later came lighthouse keepers whose job would be to keep the lamps burning, though of course it was a solitary job.
The ‘Scottish lighthouse mystery’ that has puzzled people for years, was recently probably solved. Three men working in the Highlands mysteriously disappeared, while keeping watch in a lighthouse.
It’s now believed that one was swept to sea, and the other drowned, trying to save him.
In 1514, Henry VIII (not a very nice man who kept beheading wives and did awful things to the Catholic Church) did do one good thing, and that was to create Trinity House, which today is still in charge of maintaining and protecting England’s lighthouses.
Noteworthy Lighthouses and Their Stories
Smeaton’s Tower, Plymouth
This is one of England’s best-known and best-loved lighthouses, named after John Smeaton, who used interlocking stones to build it, to withstand strong waves.
This museum is no longer in use, so it’s used as a museum, and many people visit to admire the sweeping harbour views from the top.
Beachy Head Lighthouse, Sussex
This is another iconic English lighthouse, built in the 1900s by workers who lived in huts on the chalk, while it was being built. Before that, a beacon sat on top of the cliffs, but when it was foggy, sailors could not see it.
Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset
This is a curious ‘lighthouse on legs’ that is raised on nine wooden stilts. It was built to warn ships to keep away from dangerous sands (you may know that Weston-super-Mare and other areas are home to dangerous sinking mud).
Southwold Lighthouse, Suffolk
This pretty lighthouse is unusual, in that it stands within the town, near high street homes and shops. However, despite fears of automation leading it to not be of use, it’s still a working lighthouse.
Start Point Lighthouse, Devon
This lighthouse sits on one of the most exposed areas of the English coast. Built in 1836, the fog signal building collapsed in 1989, due to coastal erosion. A free-standing alternative now stands in its place, protected by a retaining wall.
Greenwich Lightvessel
This is England’s moving lighthouse, a ship fitted with lamps and fog horns. This striking red ship once guarded the busy Thames approach. Now retired, it serves as a reminder of the genius of building lighthouses.
Preservation and Continuing Relevance
Lighthouses were built to withstand strong weather, but today the main issue is coastal erosion (and companies wishing to buy retired lighthouse, for commercial purposes).
Thankfully, Trinity Houses uses donations to maintain both working and retired lighthouses, and to help protect their legacy long into the future.
England’s lighthouses are far more than ‘towers with flashing lamps’. They are reminders of risk and rescue, and the power of the sea.
Recently, a rare job came up as a lighthouse keeper, asking for someone with a good head for heights, happy to work alone, able to change lightbulbs and must like seagulls!
England’s Version of Exxon Valdez
England had its own serious oil spill in 1967, when a tanker struck Pollard’s Rock in Cornwall, spilling millions of gallons of oil, which affected the coast in France, Guernsey and Spain.
Recently, 4500 containers of Vanish stain remover washed up on a Cornish beach, after 18,000 fell off a container ship (so the rest are still at sea somewhere).
The local sea turned pink, and thankfully many volunteers helped to clean up the sea, to help wildlife. However others faced fines, as they drove to the beach to pick up free bottles of Vanish, and drove them home. We have a long way to go.
An Illustrated Guide to Britain’s Lighthouses
The Legendary Lighthouses of Britain is a gift book focused on 100 lighthouses, each one illustrated by artist Roger O’Reilly.
