New Brighton Lighthouse

New Brighton Lighthouse

New Brighton Lighthouse and Perch Rock
Location Merseyside, England, United Kingdom
Coordinates 53°26′34″N 3°02′28″W / 53.4427°N 3.0412°W / 53.4427; -3.0412Coordinates: 53°26′34″N 3°02′28″W / 53.4427°N 3.0412°W / 53.4427; -3.0412
Year first lit 1683 / 1827
Automated 1982
Deactivated 1973
Construction Masonry
Tower shape Conical

New Brighton Lighthouse or Perch Rock Lighthouse, 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.[1]

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.[2] 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 It was first lit in 1830 and was in continuous use until decommissioned in October 1973 having been superseded by modern navigational technology.

Although the lighting aparatus and fog bell have been removed, the lighthouse is very well preserved and retains many features lost on other disused lighthouses.[3] 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.[4] 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[5]

An ambitious plan to turn the lights back on at the iconic Perch Rock lighthouse in New Brighton has moved a step closer to fruition with the award of a grant from the Coastal Revival Fund.

New Brighton Coastal Community Team (NBCCT) bid for more than £6,000 from the fund for their ‘Brighten New Brighton’ project, which aims to restore the lights at the top of the lighthouse in their original form. The lighting will be powered through a solar panel installation.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "New Brighton Lighthouse". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "New Brighton Lighthouse". Merseyside.net. Retrieved 30 June 2007.
  3. ↑ "New Brighton Lighthouse". Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Retrieved 17 August 2007.
  4. ↑ "New Brighton Lighthouse". Lighthouse Digest. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  5. ↑ "New Brighton Lighthouse". Merseyside.net. Retrieved 30 June 2007.
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