Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/03/03

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Subject: [Leica] Britains shortest lighthouse - possibly
From: douglas.sharp at gmx.de (Douglas Sharp)
Date: Fri Mar 3 14:27:23 2006
References: <440852B2.4010308@gmx.de> <4408AE14.2020208@summaventures.com>

Thanks for looking Peter, and everyone else so far.
I know quite a few between Tees, Tyne and Humber, true lighthouses are 
at St Mary's (Whitley Bay)
http://gallery.leica-users.org/Ships-and-Boats/IMG003
the inside of this lighthouse is not split into rooms and there is an 
absolutely terrifying staircase around the inner walls to get to the 
light platform.
 There are 2 brick built square sighting lighthouses in the mouth of the 
Tyne at North Shields,high and low light, which captains had to line up 
one above the other in order to navigate the harbour entrance past the 
rocks at Tynemouth. At Billingham, Hartlepool and further down the coast 
were mostly unmanned lights, harbour lights (as on the piers at Whitby)
http://gallery.leica-users.org/Ships-and-Boats/MG_2094_edited_2
or navigation beacons (at Whitby again - starboard harbour light)
http://gallery.leica-users.org/Ships-and-Boats/MG_2449_edited_2
- there is also a very ancient light tower close to Danes Dyke near 
Filey which is reported to be the oldest in the UK-  Paull on the 
Humber,  has a rather  interesting and rare, now disused, river 
lighthouse built into a row of cottages.
The one shown here is  one of the few made of riveted cast iron plates 
and integrated into a stone and brick built house with classical Trinity 
House architecture, the original light was lit by oil (paraffin) but was 
later converted to carbon-arc lights.The lights on lattice structures 
aren't really classified as lighthouses as such, more often as beacons 
or just "lights", although some of the most modern ones do have very 
powerful lights equivalent to what earlier manned lighthouses offered - 
The true lighthouse is one with a lighthouse keeper in residence, as 
with Smeatons prototypes, and his later designs after the terrible fire 
in one of his early lights, although more recently, Trinity House has 
replaced most lighthouse keepers by computerised or telemetric operation.
cheers
Douglas

Peter Dzwig wrote:

> Like the picture very much, but I am sure it's not the only one of its 
> type. Last night I saw a very short light on the TV, at the mouth of 
> the Tees I think, Basically a set of legs mounted on a rock with a 
> full-sized light on it which altogether looked shorter (certainly 
> closer to the sea). Do you know where it might have been.
>
> Peter
>
> Douglas Sharp wrote:
>
>> An old colour slide shot, brought back to life as a black and white 
>> scan.
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/Ships-and-Boats/Image1_19_edited_3
>> In spite of the fact that it's so short it is called Whitby High 
>> Light - on the cliffs between Whitby, North Yorkshire, and Robin 
>> Hood's Bay. A front view of it can only be taken from out at sea, 
>> over the garden wall there is about 2 feet of blackberry brambles and 
>> a sheer drop.
>> cheers
>> Douglas
>>
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>>
>>
>
>
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Replies: Reply from pdzwig at summaventures.com (Peter Dzwig) ([Leica] Britains shortest lighthouse - possibly)
In reply to: Message from douglas.sharp at gmx.de (Douglas Sharp) ([Leica] Britains shortest lighthouse - possibly)
Message from pdzwig at summaventures.com (Peter Dzwig) ([Leica] Britains shortest lighthouse - possibly)