Beach Lighthouse, Fleetwood

The Beach Lighthouse (also known as the Lower Light) is a 44-foot (13 m) tall sandstone lighthouse in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England.

History

The lighthouse was designed in 1839 by Decimus Burton and Capt H.M. Denham. Burton had been commissioned three years previously by Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood as the architect of the new town of Fleetwood. Unusual for a lighthouse, it is in neoclassical style with a square colonnaded base, square tower, and octagonal lantern and gallery.

The Lower Light stands on Fleetwood sea front and was built with its counterpart—the Upper Light, or Pharos Lighthouse—to provide a navigational guide to shipping entering the Wyre estuary. Together the lights provide a leading line when the Pharos Light is directly above that of the Lower Light. Together they provide a range of about 12 nautical miles (22 km). In turn they point to the Wyre Light on the North Wharf Bank, 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) offshore.

Both lighthouses were first illuminated 1 December 1840. Each was run off the town's gas supply, with a single parabolic reflector placed behind the burner;^[2] later they were converted to electricity.^[3]

The Beach Lighthouse was designated a Grade II listed building by English Heritage on 26 April 1950.^[4] The lighthouse is managed by the Port of Fleetwood.

See also

1. ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Northwest England". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
2. ^ "Lighthouse management : the report of the Royal Commissioners on Lights, Buoys, and Beacons, 1861, examined and refuted Vol. 2". 1861. p. 306.
3. ^ "Beach Lighthouse, Fleetwood". Engineering Timelines. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
4. ^ Historic England. "Lower Lighthouse (1362180)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 May 2011.