Winterton Lighthouse

1868

1840 (station established 1616)

United Kingdom

Trinity House

1st order

Fixed

Inactive

Fixed white

Red tower and lantern 69ft (30m) when last in service; currently white tower, black lantern

This stretch of coastline to the north of Great Yarmouth has always been dangerous for shipping. In centuries past, the coastline was very different from the line it takes on maps today. The most prominent point along the east coast, except for Lowestoft, was the Ness at Winterton.

There has been a whole succession of lighthouses at Winterton over the last four centuries. Trinity House established what became known as the Tower Light in 1616 with a coal brazier, and in 1617 prospectors William Erskine and John Meldrum two candle-powered lights on Winterton Ness (which became known as the Thwart Lights – since anyone following their line would be ‘thwart the tide’). A dispute over leasing led to Erskine and Meldrum also assuming control of the main Tower Light.

A fourth lighthouse, the Small Light, was established by Trinity House in 1677. The Thwart and Small lights were moved or rebuilt on several occasions due to decay or changes in the shipping channels. By 1687 the lease of the Tower Light was owned by Edward Turnour, and due to a shift in the channel, he built a new Tower Light. By 1714 the Small and Thwart lights had been converted to oil, but a coal brazier still lighted the Tower Light. When writer Daniel Defoe first came to Winterton in 1722, after writing 'Robinson Crusoe', he discovered a village built almost entirely out of shipwrecks.

Following a terrible storm in October 1789, which saw the loss of dozens of ships off the Norfolk coast and hundreds of lives, the Tower Light was finally upgraded to oil lamps in November 1791. Two new lighthouses were also established close to Happisburgh, which led to the Small Light at Winterton being discontinued. By the 1820s the two Thwart Lights on Winterton Ness had also been discontinued.

In 1836, an Act of Parliament had been passed giving Trinity House the power to purchase the leases of any remaining privately run lighthouses in England and Wales. This was costly, as the amount of compensation due to the leasees depended on the number of years remaining on their leases and how profitable each light was. The old Tower Light was purchased for around £57,000 and swiftly replaced with a new 69ft tall brick lighthouse, which continued to show a fixed light from an elevation of 110ft. The new light was first exhibited in the autumn of 1840, using 11 oil burners and reflectors.

Further improvements to navigation of the waters off Winterton were made in 1843 with the establishment of a floating light marking the Cockle Sand. And at the lighthouse a new lantern and fixed first-order prismatic optic were installed in 1868, using a triple wick Argand lamp – this gave the light a range of 16 miles.

By 1921 an increased number of floating lights between Happisburgh and Great Yarmouth, and shallowing of the inshore channels were causing ships to sail further from the coast. It was deemed that Winterton Lighthouse could be discontinued after just over 300 years of service from a succession of towers in the village. With its lantern and optic removed, the tower and cottages were sold by auction on 25th January 1922 at the Star Hotel, Great Yarmouth.

Between 1922 and the Second World War, the lighthouse was used as a seaside residence for Viscount Elmley, MP for East Norfolk. In 1939 the military authorities took over the site to establish an emergency gun battery at Winterton. Gun emplacements and bunkers were excavated from the garden in front of the lighthouse. A brick, flat-roofed lookout was placed at the top of the tower.

It once again became a private residence following the Second World War, and the lookout was converted into a room with a panoramic view. In 1966 the now derelict lighthouse was sold again to the proprietors of Hermanus, the adjoining holiday complex. The lighthouse paddock was developed with holiday homes.

In 2005, the tower came onto the market and was bought by the current owners. The lighthouse was renovated into a contemporary second home. Many features were added, including the new lantern, which provides a panoramic lookout and bedroom at the very top of the tower!

Private residence

Winterton Lighthouse

This is an eroding coast, and the withdrawal of funds towards sea defences has seen erosion increase in recent years.

Good

Closed

Closed

1. https://www.wintertonlighthouse.com/
2. https://www.ibiblio.org/lighthouse/enge.htm
3. http://www.lighthousedigest.com/Digest/database/uniquelighthouse.cfm?value=4373

The two former keepers' cottages are also private residences, and in separate ownership.

ARLHS ENG-310.

1921 - current location of the 1868 optic is unknown, but the sales details from 1922 suggested some equipment had gone to Bombay, but more contempoary references say the optic may have gone to a lighthouse in the Bahamas.

Light discontinued