The waters off Black Nore have one of the largest tidal ranges in the world, reaching about 14.8 m at Avonmouth.[5] This produces fast tidal streams and short windows for safe navigation. Approaches are marked by shifting sandbanks, such as the Welsh Hook and the English and Welsh Grounds, where depths and channels change continuously as the seabed moves.[6]
Combined with exposure to sometimes severe Atlantic storms, these factors make this stretch of water particularly hazardous.
The lighthouse sits on a small outcrop where the estuary opens out into the Bristol Channel. Before its light was decommissioned, the lens array flashed twice every ten seconds.[7].
History
The light was first lit on 19 April 1894.[8] In December 1900, the steamship Brunswick grounded on a sandbank known as the Welsh Hook, between Black Nore and the English and Welsh Grounds Lightship, while en route from Liverpool to Bristol.[9][10][11] The vessel later capsized and sank, and over a century later its wreck was positively identified through hydrographic surveys carried out by the Bristol Port Company.
Until World War II the lighthouse was lit by gas, supplied from the gas main and stored in tanks nearby. [3] To begin with it displayed a light which was cut off twice in quick succession every twenty seconds, and had a range of 11 nautical miles (20km; 13mi).[12] The rotating optic was installed in 1908 and flashed twice every ten seconds.[13] Its drive mechanism was wound up daily by the Ashford Family until 1941 when the light was converted to automatic operation.[3] Remarkably, it was only in 2000 the winding and drive mechanisms were replaced by electric motors.[14]
Decommissioning, preservation and succession
After it became unneeded for navigational purposes, the lighthouse was decommissioned on 27 September 2010. The building was set for demolition,[15] but was instead sold to the newly-founded Blacknore Lighthouse Trust CIC (Community Interest Company.) This was incorporated specifically for its preservation and for putting it into a form of public ownership. A nominal fee of £1 in October 2011 secured the freehold and the building.[16]
On incorporation in May 2011, the company’s Community Interest Statement set out its purpose as follows:
"...to preserve and maintain Blacknore Lighthouse for as long as it is practical to do so as a landmark in good and serviceable condition."
"...to protect in perpetuity all of the land included within the freehold of Blacknore Lighthouse from development."
"...Serviceable condition does not require operation as a functioning beacon."[17]
At the time of incorporation, the Trust also adopted bespoke Articles of Association rather than model articles, establishing a structure intended to safeguard the lighthouse as a community asset.[17]
The lighthouse was granted Grade II listed status on 24 June 2011 by English Heritage (now Historic England), recognising its historical and architectural significance.[18]
This rescue initiative was the vision and life's work of local Bill Shier, who was often to be seen around the lighthouse for more than a decade later.[19]
The official handover took place the following January,[15] and later that year the optic was returned to the lighthouse on a ten-year loan from Trinity House.[20] The optic originally floated on a mercury bath, a common method used in traditional lighthouses to reduce friction and allow the lens to rotate smoothly. The mercury was later removed by Trinity House when the light was modernised, and, according to those involved in the work, areas that had come into contact with the mercury were sealed off with shellac following its removal.[21]
An initial small grant from the local council boosted contributions from a number of local residents, who also loyally supported the Trust with regular monthly payments over the years.[22][23]
As well as insuring the building, Blacknore Lighthouse Trust CIC managed the maintenance of the building's exterior as well as it could between 2011 and 2022.
Comparison of photographs from 2010 and 2025 shows that the white paint on the lighthouse’s ironwork has weathered noticeably over that period. In recent images, sections of the structure exhibit a yellowish discolouration along with rust staining, particularly on the joints, bracket supports, ladder and gallery. These changes are most pronounced where different metal components meet and are consistent with the effects of a marine environment on painted cast iron.
According to local people familiar with the lighthouse, Bill Shier often introduced himself as the 'lighthouse keeper' and gave detailed impromptu talks on the grass in front of the building. Occasionally, public open days were held as part of the national Heritage Open Days programme.[24][25]
On 29 April 2025, Companies House published a First Gazette notice for compulsory strike-off, indicating that the company was at risk of being dissolved due to non-compliance, such as failure to file accounts or annual returns.[26]
This action was discontinued on 20 May 2025 after an appeal by a third party.[27]
However, a further First Gazette notice for compulsory strike-off was issued on 9 September 2025, placing the company once again on course to be struck off and dissolved.[28]
The unaudited abridged accounts of Blacknore Lighthouse Trust CIC for the year ending 31 May 2023 report total assets of £856, total liabilities of £9,770, and net assets of –£8,920, indicating that the company was operating at a deficit at that time.[29]
On 9 September, 2025, Trinity House returned to the site of the lighthouse to dismantle the 'optic' which had been on loan since 2011, after the loan period was discovered to be overdue by several years. Using a side-hatch above the gallery facing inland, they removed the eight Fresnel lens components mounted on brass as well as the bronze gear wheel which was originally used to rotate the optic via a pinion when the light was 'flashing.'
Trinity House taking back the optic they had loaned to Black Nore LighthouseOne of eight Fresnel lenses making up the optic, taken out of Black Nore Lighthouse on 9 Sept, 2025
The removal of the optic took place unpublicised, without ceremony and unobserved except by a few locals arriving independently from time to time, from the properties directly opposite the site. (See picture, right.)
The building retains its grade II listed building status but now without the optic which in many ways characterised it.
Once complete, the strike-off process breaks the 'asset lock' which was central to the purpose of the Blacknore Lighthouse Trust CIC and retained the lighthouse in a form of public ownership since 2011. The property then becomes 'bona vacantia' and reverts to the Crown on the day of dissolution of the CIC. Beyond that its future ownership is not certain at the time of writing.
Please note: The building has been incorrectly listed as a business and a tourist attraction. It is not a business, has never been regularly open to the public, and it does not have a postal address. Navigation apps give a false impression that it is a destination andare directing people to a private residential address on land with no public access.
Pleaserespect the privacy of local residents living on the private estate behind the lighthouse and do not follow directions from these apps, which wrongly suggest access is possible by vehicle or on foot through private land. It is not.
↑ "Total exemption small company accounts made up to 31 May 2012". Companies House. 12 April 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2025. Earmarked reserves received: Portishead and North Weston Town Council Grant £1,500; Waitrose Community Matters £280; Friends of Blacknore Lighthouse £3,495.
↑ "Total exemption small company accounts made up to 31 May 2012". Companies House. 12 April 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2025. Primary finance is to be raised by annual subscription from local households. Additional funds are to be solicited from outside sources and from fundraising events. Turnover comprises the value of grants and donations received.
↑ "Black Nore Lighthouse". GooseyGoo. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2025. Keep an eye out for the chance to for a guided talk about the lighthouse during the Heritage Open Days – HERE!
↑ "Society News". Weston-super-Mare & District Family History Society. 19 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2025. Another place which attracted my attention was the Black Nore Lighthouse ... [during] the Heritage Open Days.
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