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Mariners depend on them, authors and artists love the mystique of them and they are a unique part of our built heritage. Linda Hart goes in search of lighthouses. 

Mariners around Britain's coastal waters have for centuries relied on lighthouses to warn them of obstacles and guide them into harbours. Strategically placed on headlands, islands, reefs and rocks, by day and by night these towers offer a welcome as well as a warning to those at sea.  

But lighthouses are not just essential aids to navigation or a mariner's delight at journey's end. They also demonstrate man's ingenuity in designing structures that withstand gale force winds and tumultuous seas. They are reminders of skilled workers, braving the forces of nature, to transport and shape tons of rock into towers of strength and beauty.

The world's most famous lighthouse, the Eddystone, is situated on a jagged rock in the English Channel, 14 miles from Plymouth. This was the first 'rock light', completed in 1698, rebuilt after being swept away by a storm in 1709, and rebuilt again in 1755 when a fire burned it down. The third Eddystone lasted for 120 years. When cracks appeared a fourth Eddystone was built, and has been shining since 1882.

Lighthouses have always needed 'keepers'. In olden times they had to keep the wood or coal fires burning in adverse weather conditions. Later on, they had to keep candles lit and oil lamps filled. Gerry Douglas-Sherwood was a lighthouse keeper from 1970 until 1998 and when we met recently he told me about his life.

"During that time I served on eight different rock stations. We alternated a month on duty with a month of leave. On Wolf Rock near Land's End, it was often too dangerous to go outside. Bishop Rock and Eddystone were also built on pinnacles, and even on a calm day a rogue wave could create a wall of water that would climb the lighthouse.

"As keepers, we were always busy doing something - cleaning the lens, windows and brass, maintaining the equipment, keeping a weather log, cooking, housekeeping, and of course manning the watchroom. Each day was divided into a strict rota of 'watches' and duties, but with the flexibility to encompass non-routine tasks. Our work became easier with the advent of modern technology, but the priority was always the same: to ensure the light, fog signal and other aids to navigation were in perfect working order."

Trinity House


The keepers were employed by the Corporation of Trinity House, which is responsible for all the English and Welsh lighthouses. Trinity House evolved from a medieval guild to protect British seafarers and gradually assumed control over the administration and manning of lighthouses. Modern computerised technology and satellite navigation mean that since 1998 Britain's lighthouses are all automated, and operated remotely from Trinity House's operations centre in Harwich. Local attendants visit each light regularly and technical experts are available if major problems occur.

In 1989, while serving at the Needles lighthouse, Gerry and two colleagues wanted to preserve and record the keeper's disappearing way of life and not lose touch with those being made redundant because of automation. They founded the Association of Lighthouse Keepers, and when non-keepers asked to join, it was agreed that membership would be open to all.

Despite automation, there is still a mystique associated with lighthouses. In recent years they have inspired fiction by PD James (The Lighthouse), Alan Titchmarsh (The Last Lighthouse Keeper) and Jeanette Winterson (Lighthousekeeping). Local preservation groups, as well as Trinity House, the National Trust and the Landmark Trust, have repaired and restored lighthouses. As a result, many have open days for the public, and former keepers' cottages offer unusual holiday accommodation.

I visited Happisburgh in Norfolk, Anvil Point in Dorset and the three on Lundy Island, but there are many more - the following are just a sampling.

ImageLongstone


During a violent storm in September 1838, the paddle steamer SS Forfarshire ran aground in the Farne Islands off the coast of Northumberland. From Longstone lighthouse the keeper and his 22-year-old daughter, Grace Darling, spotted some survivors. They launched their coble, rowed three-quarters of a mile through high seas and rescued them. The Victorian press and public turned Grace into a celebrity. Newspaper reporters, portrait painters and sightseers visited her; she was celebrated in song and story, and showered with money and medals. Sadly, she died of tuberculosis four years later.
 
At the RNLI's Grace Darling Museum in Bamburgh, which is due to reopen after rebuilding this autumn, you can see the original coble, many of her personal possessions, and relics recovered from the Forfarshire. You can even follow in her footsteps on a boat trip from the village of Seahouses. The Golden Gate goes around the Farne Islands, follows the route Grace and her father took on that stormy night, and puts passengers off at Longstone for a guided tour of the lighthouse.

A visit to Longstone and the museum would make a splendid outing for WIs in the north of England. Contact Golden Gate Boat Trips on 01665 721210 or 721819 or visit www.trinityhouse.co.uk. For information about the museum contact 01668 214465. 
 

Souter


Souter lighthouse, owned by the National Trust, is on South Tyneside. When it began operating in the 1870s it was the first lighthouse in the world to use alternating electric current. It was also very grand, having six separate keepers' houses, each with its own walled garden, an engine room and various storerooms. Today you can visit the light tower, the engine room and a keeper's living quarters restored to show what life was like in the late-19th century. Souter is great for kids, with hands-on exhibits about life in a lighthouse, storms at sea, shipwrecks and smugglers. There are many coastal walks nearby, and two cottages are available as holiday rentals. Tel. 01670 773966 for opening times.


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