Southwold lighthouse

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Southwold lighthouse
Southwold -Suffolk -lighthouse -23Sept2007.jpg
Southwold lighthouse
Suffolk UK location map.svg
Lighthouse icon centered.svg
Location Southwold, Suffolk
Coordinates 52°19′38″N01°40′53″E / 52.32722°N 1.68139°E / 52.32722; 1.68139 Coordinates: 52°19′38″N01°40′53″E / 52.32722°N 1.68139°E / 52.32722; 1.68139
Year first constructed1890
Automated1938
Constructionbrick tower
Tower shapecylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markings / patternwhite tower and lantern
Tower height31 metres (102 ft)
Focal height37 metres (121 ft)
Original lens1st order 920mm focal length, catadioptric fixed lens
Current lensPelangi PRL400TH
Intensity17,100 candela
Range24 nautical miles (44 km)
Characteristic White rotating – flashing once every 10 seconds
Admiralty numberA2272
NGA number1588
ARLHS numberENG 135
Managing agentSouthwold Millennium Foundation [1]
HeritageGrade II listed building  Blue pencil.svg
[ edit on Wikidata]

Southwold lighthouse is a lighthouse operated by Trinity House in the centre of Southwold in Suffolk, England. It stands on the North Sea coast, acting as a warning light for shipping passing along the east coast and as a guide for vessels navigating to Southwold harbour.

Lighthouse structure designed to emit light to aid navigation

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.

Trinity House private corporation governed under a Royal Charter

The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond, known as Trinity House, is a private corporation governed under a Royal Charter.

Southwold town in Suffolk, England

Southwold is a small town and civil parish on the English North Sea coast in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is about 11 miles (18 km) south of Lowestoft, 29 miles (47 km) north-east of Ipswich and 97 miles (156 km) north-east of London, within the parliamentary constituency of Suffolk Coastal. The "All Usual Residents" 2011 Census figure gives a total of 1,098 persons for the town. The 2012 Housing Report by the Southwold and Reydon Society concluded that 49 per cent of the dwellings in the town are used as second homes and let to holiday-makers.

Contents

The lighthouse, which is a prominent local landmark, was commissioned in 1890, and was automated and electrified in 1938. It survived a fire in its original oil-fired lamp just six days after commissioning and today operates a 180-watt main navigation lamp. This lamp has a range of 24 nautical miles (44 km; 28 mi). [2]

History

Southwold lighthouse Lighthouse blue sky.jpg
Southwold lighthouse

Construction of the lighthouse began in 1887, led by Sir James Douglass, Engineer in Chief of Trinity House. [2] A light was lit on a temporary structure in February 1889 and the lighthouse itself began operating on 3 September 1890. [2] It replaced three lighthouses that had been condemned as a result of serious coastal erosion. The lantern and lens (built by Chance Brothers in 1868) had originally been part of the Happisburgh low lighthouse but became available when the latter light was demolished. [3]

James Nicholas Douglass British engineer

Sir James Nicholas Douglass, FRS,, was an English civil engineer, a prolific lighthouse builder and designer, most famous for the design and construction of the fourth Eddystone Lighthouse, for which he was knighted.

Coastal erosion The loss or displacement of land along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides. wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms

There are two common definitions of coastal erosion. It is often defined as the loss or displacement of land along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. In this case, landward retreat of the shoreline, measured to a given spatial datum, is described over a temporal scale of tides, seasons, and other short-term cyclic processes. Alternatively, it is defined as the process of long-term removal of sediment and rocks at the coastline, leading again to loss of land and retreat of the coastline landward. Coastal erosion may be caused by hydraulic action, abrasion, impact and corrosion by wind and water, and other forces, natural or unnatural.

Chance Brothers

Chance Brothers and Company was a glassworks originally based in Spon Lane, Smethwick, West Midlands, in England. It was a leading glass manufacturer and a pioneer of British glassmaking technology.

Lower half of the 1868 optic (pictured in 2007) Lighthouse lens - geograph.org.uk - 514903.jpg
Lower half of the 1868 optic (pictured in 2007)

The original light was powered by a six-wick Argand oil burner. [4] Just six days after the light was commissioned there was a fire in the lighthouse with the burner being destroyed. [5] [6] The inexperience of the new lighthouse keepers was blamed for the fire. [6] The burner was replaced with an oil-fired light in 1906 and a petroleum burner in 1923. The light was electrified and automated in 1938. [2] It was converted to battery operation, with the batteries charged using mains electricity, in 2001. [3] Until 2013 a cluster of three 90-watt Osram Halostar lamps provided the main light within the optic (which had a range of 17 nautical miles (31 km; 20 mi)).

Argand lamp

The Argand lamp, a kind of oil lamp, was invented and patented in 1780 by Aimé Argand. Its output is 6 to 10 candelas, brighter than that of earlier lamps. Its more complete combustion of the candle wick and oil than in other lamps required much less frequent trimming of the wick.

OSRAM Licht AG is a multinational lighting manufacturer headquartered in Munich, Germany.

The lighthouse, along with Lowestoft Lighthouse to the north, was threatened with closure by Trinity House in 2005, with shipping companies increasingly using satellite navigation systems rather than relying on lighthouses. [7] [8] Both lighthouses were reprieved in 2009 following a review by Trinity House that found that satellite navigation systems were not yet sufficiently reliable. [9]

Lowestoft Lighthouse lighthouse in Waveney, Suffolk, England

Lowestoft Lighthouse is a lighthouse operated by Trinity House located to the north of the centre of Lowestoft in the English county of Suffolk. It stands on the North Sea coast close to Ness Point, the most easterly point in the United Kingdom. It acts as a warning light for shipping passing along the east coast and is the most easterly lighthouse in the UK.

2014: the old optic retained for emergency use; the new main lamp above it, inside a small rotating optic. Lighthouse, Southwold 13-09-2014 (19369482922).jpg
2014: the old optic retained for emergency use; the new main lamp above it, inside a small rotating optic.

Then in December 2012, the range of Southwold's light was increased to 24 nautical miles (44 km; 28 mi), to compensate for the imminent closure of Orfordness Lighthouse (which took place in June 2013). [2] [3] [4] [10] [11] [12] [13] This was achieved by installing a new main light: a BLV Topspot 90 Volt Metal Halide 150-watt lamp placed within a small revolving optic. [2] [4] To make space for it within the lantern room the upper prismatic section of the old optic has been removed (it is currently on loan to Happisburgh Lighthouse, where it has been put on display not far from its original location). [14] The central and lower sections of the old lens, together with its lamp, have been retained for use as an emergency backup. [2]

Orfordness Lighthouse grade II listed lighthouse in the United kingdom

Orfordness Lighthouse is a decommissioned lighthouse on Orford Ness, in Suffolk, England. The 30 metres (98 ft) tower was completed in 1792. The light had a range of 25 nautical miles. It was equipped with an AIS transmitter with MMSI 992351016.

Happisburgh Lighthouse lighthouse at Happisburgh on the North Norfolk coast, East Anglia, England

Happisburgh Lighthouse in Happisburgh on the North Norfolk coast is the only independently operated lighthouse in Great Britain. It is also the oldest working lighthouse in East Anglia.

Current display

Since January 2016 a 180-watt revolving MFR (LED reflector) lamp [15] manufactured by Mediterraneo Sanales Maritimas has been in use as the main lamp [16] The current light characteristic is one white flash every 10 seconds (Fl(1).W.10s) visible between 204°–032.5°. [4] [17] The white light is used for general navigation. Red sectors, previously used to mark shoals to the north and offshore sandbanks at Sizewell to the south, were removed as part of the 2012 refit. [2] [4]

Buildings

Inside the tower Staircase in Southwold lighthouse - geograph.org.uk - 514893.jpg
Inside the tower

The lighthouse is 31 metres (102 ft) tall, standing 37 metres (121 ft) above sea level. It is built of brick and painted white, and has 113 steps around a spiral staircase. [18] Two keeper's cottages were built next to the lighthouse rather than living quarters being made in the lighthouse itself. [3]

The lighthouse is a Grade II listed building. [19] Guided visits are run by the Southwold Millennium Foundation. [2] [18]

Southwold lighthouse The Sole Bay Inn and Southwold lighthouse - geograph.org.uk - 1162939.jpg
Southwold lighthouse

The lighthouse was the site of charity abseil events in 2009, 2011 and 2013. The events raised money for the Southwold lifeboat operated by the RNLI from Southwold harbour. [20] [21] [22]

Cultural references

The lighthouse has featured in television programmes, including an episode of Kavanagh QC [23] and the children's television series Grandpa in My Pocket . [2] It also appears in the art house movie Drowning by Numbers , directed by Peter Greenaway. Adnams brewery, which operates from the town, has named a pale ale Lighthouse in recognition of the importance of the lighthouse as a landmark in Southwold and has featured the lighthouse on promotional material. [9] [24]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Southwold, The Lighthouse Directory, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Southwold Lighthouse, Trinity House. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Point 2 - The Lighthouse, BBC News Suffolk, 2 July 2005. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Application note 32064 - Southwold Conversion, Pelangi. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  5. ↑ Discovering Southwold, BBC News Suffolk, 4 July 2005. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
  6. 1 2 The sea - Southwold's lighthouse, Southwold Museum. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
  7. ↑ Landmark lighthouses may be axed, BBC News , 4 August 2005. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
  8. ↑ Barnes, Jonathan. (4 August 2005). Historic lighthouses face closure, East Anglian Daily Times , Retrieved 2012-10-29.
  9. 1 2 Lighthouse wins reprieve as sat nav for ships not reliable enough, The Daily Telegraph , 9 January 2009. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
  10. ↑ Rogers, Lauren (12 May 2011) Southwold Lighthouse reach will be extended to keep mariners safe, Lowestoft Journal. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
  11. ↑ Orfordness Lighthouse: last chance for the public to visit?, BBC News Suffolk, 18 August 2011. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
  12. ↑ Notice to mariners 38/2012 B5 Southwold LH, Trinity House, 3 August 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
  13. ↑ Orfordness lighthouse gets switched-off and left to the sea, BBC Suffolk news website, 28 June 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
  14. ↑ "1 March 2019 [photo]". uklighthousetour. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  15. ↑ Link: Lamp details on Mediterraneo Sanales Maritimas site
  16. ↑ Notice to mariners 01/2016 Southwold Lighthouse, Trinity House, 15/01/2016.
  17. ↑ Notice to Mariners - 49/2012 B6 Southwold LH, Trinity House. 5 November 2012. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  18. 1 2 See inside a lighthouse(pdf), Trinity House. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
  19. ↑ The Lighthouse, Southwold, British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
  20. ↑ Bernard’s Southwold lighthouse challenge, Lowestoft Journal, 14 August 2011. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  21. ↑ Daring abseilers brave dizzying lighthouse heights, East Anglian Daily Times, 15 August 2011. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  22. ↑ Actor Bernard Hill abseils down Southwold lighthouse for RNLI, Eastern Daily Press , 11 August 2013. Retrieved 2015-10-21.
  23. ↑ Southwold Camping and Caravan Site, Waveney District Council. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
  24. ↑ , Adnams Southwold. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
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