Happisburgh Low Lighthouse

Chance Brothers Lighthouse Chance Brothers Lighthouse
  • Date of lens manufacture

    1868

  • Date of lighthouse construction

    1791

  • Country

    United Kingdom

  • Commissioning body

    Trinity House

  • Order of lens

    1st order

  • Fixed or revolving lens

    Fixed

  • Active/Inactive

    Inactive

  • Describe the character of light

    Fixed white

  • Describe the lighthouses daymarks

    White tower 65ft (20m)

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

    Two lighthouses came into operation on 1st January 1791 – the High Lighthouse (current tower) and Low Lighthouse. Both worked as leading lights guiding ships clear of the dangerous Haisborough Sands offshore. (See Happisburgh (Hasborough) (High) https://new.opengreenmap.org/browse/sites/62ae064219cfcc010073f53b )

    New lanterns, manufactured by Simpson and Co, London were fitted to both lighthouses in readiness for receiving the Chance optics.

    Gas experiments were undertaken from 1872, comparing the effectiveness of coal gas in the High Light, with the oil lamp still in use in the Low Light.

    The Low Lighthouse was decommissioned in 1884, and its optic was later installed at Southwold Lighthouse when that light was established in 1890. The abandoned Low Light was demolished around 1886. In the 1950s the foundations of the Low Light fell onto the beach, and some remains are still visible occasionally.

    Following the decommissioning of Orfordness Lighthouse, in Suffolk in 2013, it became necessary to increase the range at Southwold Lighthouse – and a new revolving LED light was installed. The former Happisburgh Low Light optic has now been split into three sections: i) the central drum section and lower prismatic belts are still in situ at Southwold and form part of the emergency lighting; ii) the top beehive section has been removed, half is on display on the ground floor at Southwold Lighthouse; iii) the other half of the beehive was repatriated to Happisburgh in 2014 and is now on display on the ground floor of Happisburgh Lighthouse.

    See http://happisburgh.org.uk/lighthouse/history/ for more historical information.

    A new guidebook is available shortly.

  • Current management body/ ports authority

    None

  • Historical preservation societies/manager/operator

    None

  • Is the site vulnerable to coastal erosion?
    da
  • Have you experienced any affects of climate change on the lighthouse?

    Cliff erosion has been a feature of the Norfolk coast for centuries, so probably not down to climate change; however, a change in Government policy (of now not maintaining sea defences) has seen the rate of erosion increase.

  • Observations on the condition of the lighthouse?

    Ruins only on the beach at certain states of the tide

  • Is the site open/closed to the public

    Closed

  • Is the tower open/closed to the public

    Closed

  • Latitude and Longitude
    ---
  • On-site bookable accommodation available
    nu
  • Associated web addresses
  • Other details
    ---
  • Which resources did you use to research this lighthouses?
    ---
Chance Lighthouse Destroyed or Ruined Chance Lighthouse Destroyed or Ruined
  • Date of decommissioning of lighthouse

    1884-09-01

added on 19 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]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]