Withernsea Lighthouse

We continue southwards on our lighthouse tour of England and Wales, and we now come to Withernsea which is a headland that projects out into the North Sea.

The headland needed to be marked for both deep sea vessels passing by well out to sea and also for coastal traffic since, from this point, mariners could not see either of the lights at Spurn Head or Flamborough. Previous to there being a light at Withernsea, a large number of shipwrecks had taken place.

The lighthouse, which was built between 1892 and 1894, was built well back [about a ¼ mile] from the coast due to concerns regarding coastal erosion. At the time of building the lighthouse, there were only sand dunes and a mere between it and the sea. Today, the town of Withernsea has grown up around the lighthouse and now there are houses that are closer to the sea than the lighthouse.

The octagonal lighthouse which stands 127ft [36m] high, was not designed to be lived in, as alongside the lighthouse there were two cottages for the lighthouse keepers and their families. The inside of the lighthouse had no dividing floors, it being fully open with just the stair comprising 144 steps.

The original light was provided by an eight-wick paraffin lamp, set within a first order catadioptric optic manufactured by Chance Bothers in Smethwick. The light was occulting, caused by a mechanical mechanism powered by a falling weight that eclipsed the light three times in quick succession every minute. Around 1900, the light source was replaced with a petroleum vapour lamp but, the occulting mechanism remained in place. In 1936, the lighthouse was electrified and, the light source was upgraded to a 100 volt 1500 watt lamp providing 800,000 candela candle power and the optic was changed to a third order rotating optic. The new optic was eight sided and produced a white flash every 3 seconds. The range of the new light was 17 nautical miles [31km]. Withernsea lighthouse was the first northern lighthouse to be converted to electricity – the power coming from mains electricity. Should the light fail, then a lamp changer, designed and built by the Chloride Electrical Storage Company, brought into action, a battery powered lamp. The rotating optic weighed two tons and floated on a bath of mercury; it was rotated by a clockwork mechanism, powered by a falling weight.

After a lighthouse review in 1976, it was deemed that the light at Withernsea was no longer required and it was switched off on 1 July 1976, after 82 years of service.

The original Fresnel Lens Optic came from the North High Lighthouse at Whitby which had just previously been decommissioned. After the lighthouse closed, the Optic was removed and installed in St Mary’s lighthouse on the Tyne and Wear.

Today you can visit and climb this lighthouse and also visit the museum located in the base of the lighthouse.

Keith Morton Association of Lighthouse Keepers alkhurst@gmail.com

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