New Brighton Lighthouse

Last updated

New Brighton Lighthouse
Perch Rock
New Brighton Lighthouse 1243656.jpg
New Brighton Lighthouse and Perch Rock
New Brighton Lighthouse
Location Liverpool Bay
New Brighton, Merseyside
England
OS grid SJ3086794677
Coordinates 53°26′40″N3°02′32″W / 53.444334°N 3.042309°W / 53.444334; -3.042309
Tower
Constructed1683 (first)
ConstructionGranite tower
Height28.5 metres (94 ft)
ShapeTapered cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
MarkingsWhite tower and red lantern
OperatorPrivate owner [1] [2]
HeritageGrade II* listed building  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Light
First lit1830 (current)
Deactivated1973–2016
Focal height23 m (75 ft)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Characteristic Fl W(2) R(1)

New Brighton Lighthouse (also known as Perch Rock Lighthouse and called Black Rock Lighthouse in the 19th century) is a decommissioned lighthouse situated at the confluence of the River Mersey and Liverpool Bay on an outcrop off New Brighton known locally as Perch Rock. Together with its neighbour, the Napoleonic era Fort Perch Rock, it is one of the Wirral's best known landmarks. [3]

Contents

History

New Brighton Lighthouse Perch Rock Lighthouse 10.jpg
New Brighton Lighthouse

The name comes from a Perch; a timber tripod supporting a lantern first erected in 1683 as a crude beacon to allow shipping to pass the rock safely. As the Port of Liverpool developed in the Nineteenth Century the perch was deemed inadequate as it required constant maintenance and only produced a limited light. Construction of the present tower began in 1827 by Tomkinson & Company using blocks of interlocking Anglesey granite using dovetail joints and marble dowels. It was designed to use many of the same construction techniques used in the building of John Smeaton's Eddystone Lighthouse 70 years earlier. [4] Modelled on the trunk of an oak tree, it is a free standing white painted tower with a red iron lantern. It is 29 m (95 ft) tall. It was first lit in 1830 and displayed two white flashes followed by a red flash every minute; the light-source was thirty Argand lamps, mounted on a three-sided revolving array (ten lamps on each side, with red glass mounted in front of one side). [5] There were also three bells mounted under the gallery to serve as a fog signal; they were tolled by the same clockwork mechanism that caused the lamps to revolve. [6]

The lighthouse was in continuous use until decommissioned in October 1973 having been superseded by modern navigational technology. Although the lighting apparatus and fog bell have been removed, the lighthouse is very well preserved and retains many features lost on other disused lighthouses. [7] It was restored and repainted in 2001 when an LED lightsource was installed which flashed the names of those lost at sea; including all the 1,517 victims of the sinking of the Titanic . [8] At low tide, it is possible to walk to the base of the tower, but a 25-foot ladder is needed to reach the doorway. The lighthouse is privately owned and maintained by the Kingham family, and is a Grade II* listed building. [9] [10]

Another plan to illuminate the lantern using LEDs and solar panels was achieved with a grant from the Coastal Revival and New Brighton Coastal Community Team (NBCCT) and has been operating (albeit only to be seen from land) since 2015. The new light replicates the old characteristic of two white flashes followed by a red flash. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longships Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in England

Longships Lighthouse is an active 19th-century lighthouse about 1.25 mi (2.0 km) off the coast of Land's End in Cornwall, England. It is the second lighthouse to be built on Carn Bras, the highest of the Longships islets which rises 39 feet (12 m) above high water level. In 1988 the lighthouse was automated, and the keepers withdrawn. It is now remotely monitored from the Trinity House Operations & Planning Centre in Harwich, Essex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leasowe Lighthouse</span> Disused lighthouse in Leasowe, Wirral, England

Leasowe Lighthouse is an historic lighthouse in Moreton on the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England. The lighthouse was built in 1763 by The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company to guide shipping safely to the Port of Liverpool and is the oldest lighthouse built from bricks in the United Kingdom. The lighthouse became obsolete and was closed in 1908. The last lighthouse keeper was a Mrs. Williams, the only known female lighthouse keeper of the period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nab Tower</span> Anti-submarine tower off the Isle of Wight, England

The Nab Tower is a tower originally planned for anti-submarine protection in the English Channel in World War I. It was sunk over the Nab rocks east of the Isle of Wight to replace a lightship after the war, and is a well-known landmark for sailors as it marks the deep-water eastern entry into the Solent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Perch Rock</span> 1820s military fort, New Brighton, Merseyside, England

Fort Perch Rock is a former defence installation situated at the mouth of Liverpool Bay in New Brighton. Built in the 1820s to defend the Port of Liverpool, it is now a tourist attraction and museum. It has been used as a venue for musical concerts and has been listed as a Grade II* Listed Building. The Fort's cafe "The Mess" is open daily from 9 am. A World War 2 escape room concept "Escape The Fort" runs within the fort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Brighton, Merseyside</span> Coastal resort in northern England

New Brighton is a seaside resort and suburb of Wallasey, in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England, at the northeastern tip of the Wirral peninsula. It has sandy beaches which line the Irish Sea and mouth of the Mersey, and the UK's longest promenade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trevose Head Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse on the north coast of Cornwall, England

Trevose Head Lighthouse is a lighthouse on Trevose Head on the north Cornish coast at grid reference SW850766 lying to the WSW of Padstow and was sited here as there was previously no light from Land's End to Lundy and it would be visible from Cape Cornwall to Hartland Point.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Anthony's Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse

St Anthony's Lighthouse is the lighthouse at St Anthony Head, on the eastern side of the entrance to Falmouth harbour, Cornwall, UK. The harbour is also known as Carrick Roads and is one of the largest natural harbours in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Sovereign Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse

Royal Sovereign lighthouse was a lighthouse marking the Royal Sovereign shoal, a sandbank 11 km (6.8 mi) offshore from Eastbourne. The structure's distinctive shape was easily recognised as the lighthouse tower is perched above a large platform supported by a single pillar rising out of the water. Originally, the platform was manned by three full-time keepers, accommodation being contained in the 'cabin section' immediately below the platform. Additional accommodation was provided for up to four visiting maintenance workers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Start Point Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in south Devon, England

Start Point lighthouse was built in 1836 to protect shipping off Start Point, Devon, England. Open to the public in summer months, it is owned and operated by Trinity House. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurst Point Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in Hampshire, England

Hurst Point Lighthouse is located at Hurst Point in the English county of Hampshire, and guides vessels through the western approaches to the Solent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolf Rock Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse

Wolf Rock Lighthouse is on the Wolf Rock, a single rock located 18 nautical miles east of St Mary's, Isles of Scilly and 8 nautical miles southwest of Land's End, in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The fissures in the rock are said to produce a howling sound in gales, hence the name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hartland Point Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in Devon, England

Hartland Point Lighthouse is a Grade II listed building at Hartland Point, Devon, England. The point marks the western limit of the Bristol Channel with the Atlantic Ocean continuing to the west. Trinity House, the lighthouse authority for England and Wales, have a lighthouse on the tip of the peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heligoland Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse on the island of Heligoland, Germany

Heligoland Lighthouse is located on Germany's only offshore island, Heligoland. Constructed during World War II as an anti-aircraft tower, it was turned into a lighthouse in 1952. It features the strongest light on the German North Sea coast with a range of 28 nautical miles (52 km) so that it can be seen as far as on the East Frisian or the North Frisian islands and Halligen. The lighthouse is operated by the Tönning water and shipping authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Needles Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse on the Isle of Wight, UK

The Needles Lighthouse is an active 19th century lighthouse on the outermost of the chalk rocks at The Needles on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom, near sea level. Designed by James Walker, for Trinity House at a cost of £20,000, it was completed in 1859 from granite blocks. It stands 33.25 metres (109.1 ft) high and is a circular tower with straight sides. It replaced an earlier light tower on top of a cliff overhanging Scratchell's Bay, which was first lit on 29 September 1786.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gunfleet Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse

Gunfleet Lighthouse is a derelict screw-pile lighthouse lying in the North Sea, six miles off the coast at Frinton-on-Sea in Essex, constructed in 1850 by James Walker of Trinity House. George Henry Saunders was the contractor. Walker and Burges were the Engineers. It is 74 feet (23 m) in height and hexagonal in plan; mounted on seven piles forming a steel lattice and originally painted red. It was first lit on 1 May 1856, replacing a light vessel which had been on station there since 1850.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Catherine's Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse on the southernmost point of the Isle of Wight, England

St Catherine's Lighthouse is a lighthouse located at St Catherine's Point at the southern tip of the Isle of Wight. It is one of the oldest lighthouse locations in Great Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dungeness Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse

Dungeness Lighthouse on the Dungeness Headland started operation on 20 November 1961. Its construction was prompted by the building of Dungeness nuclear power station, which obscured the light of its predecessor which, though decommissioned, remains standing. The new lighthouse is constructed of precast concrete rings; its pattern of black and white bands is impregnated into the concrete. It remains in use today, monitored and controlled from the Trinity House Operations and Planning Centre at Harwich, Essex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casquets lighthouses</span> Lighthouse in the Channel Islands

Casquets Lighthouse is an active lighthouse located on the rocky Les Casquets, Alderney, Channel Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heugh Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in County Durham, England

The Heugh Lighthouse is a navigation light on The Headland in Hartlepool, in north-east England. The current lighthouse dates from 1927; it is owned and operated by PD Ports. It is claimed that its early-Victorian predecessor was the first lighthouse in the world reliably lit by gas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lighthouses on Lundy</span>

The isle of Lundy has three lighthouses: a pair of active lights built in 1897 and a preserved older lighthouse dating from 1819.

References

  1. ↑ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Northwest England". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  2. ↑ Perch Rock Lighthouse Lighthouse Explorer. Retrieved 25 April 2016
  3. ↑ "New Brighton Lighthouse". Liverpool Echo. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  4. ↑ "New Brighton Lighthouse". Merseyside.net. Archived from the original on 16 August 2007. Retrieved 30 June 2007.
  5. ↑ Purdy, John (1845). Memoir, Descriptive and Explanatory: To Accompany the Charts of the Northern Atlantic Ocean. London: R. H. Laurie. p. 8.
  6. ↑ "Lighthouse management : the report of the Royal Commissioners on Lights, Buoys, and Beacons, 1861, examined and refuted Vol. 2". 1861. p. 326.
  7. ↑ "New Brighton Lighthouse". Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 17 August 2007.
  8. ↑ "New Brighton Lighthouse". Lighthouse Digest. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "New Brighton Lighthouse". Merseyside.net. Archived from the original on 16 August 2007. Retrieved 30 June 2007.
  10. ↑ Historic England. "Perch Rock Lighthouse (Grade II*) (1258288)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  11. ↑ "New Brighton lighthouse will shine again for the first time since 1973". Wirral Weather. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.