Red Acre Point Lighthouse and Seaham North Breakwater

Seaham North Breakwater (new lighthouse since 1905)

Seaham North Breakwater (new lighthouse since 1905)

Chance Brothers Lighthouse Chance Brothers Lighthouse
  • Date of lens manufacture

    Red Acre Point -1857 Fixed lights fifth order, Seaham North Breakwater 1905 4th order revolving

  • Date of lighthouse construction

    Red Acre Point​ (1831?), Seaham North Breakwater (1905)

  • Country

    United Kingdom

  • Commissioning body
    ---
  • Order of lens

    3rd order

  • Fixed or revolving lens

    Fixed

  • Active/Inactive

    Inactive

  • Describe the character of light
    1. Red Acre Point: unknown, 2. Seaham North Breakwater: long (1.2 s) green flash every 10 s; continuous green shown in bad weather.
  • Describe the lighthouses daymarks

    1. Red Acre Point (1831?-1940), Seaham, Durham. This 18 m (58 ft) stone lighthouse was deactivated in 1905 and demolished in 1940 to prevent it from guiding German ships in World War II. There is a viewing platform on the point today; Google has a satellite view of the location. https://goo.gl/maps/EgAG6wS7WyijDKsE7

    2. Seaham North Breakwater: 10 m (33 ft) round cylindrical cast iron tower with lantern, painted with black and white horizontal bands. The gallery has been removed sometime in recent years. Fog horn (blast every 30 s).

  • Which aspects of the lighthouse (other than the lens) were manufactured by Chance brothers
    ---
  • Describe the history of the lighthouse

    Red Acre Point​ (1831?-1940). Old lighthouse. Destroyed. Inactive

    Designed by William Chapman. Displayed a fixed white light above a revolving red light. Both lights were displayed from the same tower, the upper 100 feet and the lower 54 feet above mean sea level. It was gas lit with an arrangement of third-order catadioptric lenses from Chance Bros

    • QST. to be checked because "1857 Fixed lights fifth-order " in Chance Lighthouses (1856-1917) (61 years), David Encill's list 1856-95 and "1905 4th order revolving".) It was decommissioned in 1905 when the current lighthouse was constructed. It was left standing as a daymark until 1940 when it was demolished to avoid being of assistance to enemy navigators.

    Red Acre Point was the site of the port's first lighthouse and later became a defensive gun emplacement during the Second World War. This landmark has a fascinating history behind it and now serves as a viewing platform where visitors can enjoy the coastline.

    The steps leading up to the viewing platform are currently being replaced thanks to SeaScapes, Seaham Marina Community Interest Company and National Lottery players through the National Lottery Heritage Fund programme.

    The new steps, which will allow more visitors to enjoy the landmark, will lead to a breath-taking view taking in the coastline from Blyth to Whitby on a clear day.

    The next phase of the project will be the addition of interpretation panels telling the history of the monument's unique history, the seascape, and what is hidden beneath the waves.

    Site open, tower destroyed.

    Seaham North Breakwater (1905). New Lighthouse. Active

    Seaham is a town in the Durham County Council area. Located at the end of the north breakwater in Seaham. Site, pier and tower closed. Seaham Lighthouse was erected in 1905 when the nearby Red Acre Point lighthouse was decommissioned. The lighthouse is a black-and-white striped pier-head light with a tower height of 10m and a range of 5 miles.

  • Current management body/ ports authority

    Seaham Harbour Authority.

  • Historical preservation societies/manager/operator

    Seaham Harbour Authority.

  • Is the site vulnerable to coastal erosion?
    ---
  • Have you experienced any affects of climate change on the lighthouse?
    ---
  • Observations on the condition of the lighthouse?
    ---
  • Is the site open/closed to the public

    Closed

  • Is the tower open/closed to the public

    Closed

  • Latitude and Longitude

    Place of the old lighthouse (destroyed): 54.83890399704497, -1.327486077255053 ( https://goo.gl/maps/EgAG6wS7WyijDKsE7) ; The new lighthouse is not accessible (A2674): 54.837546° -1.320882°

  • On-site bookable accommodation available
    ---
  • Associated web addresses
  • Other details

    New light - Seaham North Breakwater: ARLHS ENG-123; Admiralty A2674; NGA 2072.

  • Which resources did you use to research this lighthouses?

    Chance Lighthouses (1856-1917) (61 years), David Encill's list 1856-95:

    1. Seaham Harbour, Northumberland, Active, 1857, Fixed lights fifth order
    2. Seaham North Breakwater (Seaham Harbour), Active, 1905, 4th order revolving
Chance Lighthouse Destroyed or Ruined Chance Lighthouse Destroyed or Ruined
  • Date of decommissioning of lighthouse

    1st June 1906

added on 16 iunie 2022
Made In Smethwick: Lighthouses Around the World

In the 1800s, Chance Brothers & Co glassworks in Smethwick began making the hi-tech lenses that lighthouses use to warn ships of dangerous locations. By 1951, over 2,500 lighthouses around the world were fitted with a Chance lens.

Unde?

Report a problem
|
Suggest a photo
[16, 6, 1, 6]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[10, 6]
[10, 10]
[10, 20]
[10, 30]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]