The Beach Lighthouse (also known as the Lower Light) is a tall sandstone

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England.

History

The lighthouse was designed in 1839 by

Decimus Burton Decimus Burton (30 September 1800 – 14 December 1881) was one of the foremost English architects and landscapers of the 19th century. He was the foremost Victorian architect in the Roman revival, Greek revival, Georgian neoclassical and Reg ...

and Capt H.M. Denham. Burton had been commissioned three years previously by Sir

Peter Hesketh Fleetwood Sir Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, 1st Baronet, (9 May 1801 – 12 April 1866) was an English landowner, developer and Member of Parliament, who founded the town of Fleetwood, in Lancashire, England. Born Peter Hesketh, he changed his name by ...

as the architect of the new town of Fleetwood. Unusual for a lighthouse, it is in neoclassical style with a square colonnaded base, square tower, and octagonal lantern and gallery. The Lower Light stands on Fleetwood sea front and was built with its counterpart—the Upper Light, or

Pharos Lighthouse The Lighthouse of Alexandria, sometimes called the Pharos of Alexandria (; Ancient Greek: ὁ Φάρος τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας, contemporary Koine ), was a lighthouse built by the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, during the re ...

—to provide a navigational guide to shipping entering the Wyre

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

. Together the lights provide a leading line when the Pharos Light is directly above that of the Lower Light. Together they provide a range of about . In turn they point to the Wyre Light on the North Wharf Bank, offshore. Both lighthouses were first illuminated 1 December 1840. Each was run off the town's gas supply, with a single

parabolic reflector A parabolic (or paraboloid or paraboloidal) reflector (or dish or mirror) is a reflective surface used to collect or project energy such as light, sound, or radio waves. Its shape is part of a circular paraboloid, that is, the surface generated ...

placed behind the burner; later they were converted to electricity. The Beach Lighthouse was designated a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

on 26 April 1950. The lighthouse is managed by the Port of Fleetwood.

References

Sources

*H N Denham, Sailing directions from Port Lynas to Liverpool... Mawdsley, Liverpool, 1840

External links

Lighthouses completed in 1840 Buildings and structures in Fleetwood Grade II listed buildings in Lancashire Lighthouses in England Tourist attractions in the Borough of Wyre Grade II listed lighthouses Decimus Burton buildings {{UK-lighthouse-stub

History

See also

References

Sources

External links