High and Low Lights of North Shields
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The High and Low Lights of North Shields are decommissioned leading lights in North Shields,
Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcastl ...
in the United Kingdom. Two pairs of lights survive: the older pair date from 1727 and were operational until 1810; the newer pair then took over, remaining in use until 1999. All four are listed buildings. They were sometimes known as the Fish Quay High and Low Lights, or (more precisely in terms of their individual locations) as ' Fish Quay (Range front)' and ' Dockwray Square (Range rear)'. The first
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 ...
s were erected here in the 16th century by the Guild of the Blessed Trinity of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. By following a course which kept the two lights aligned, pilots were able to navigate along the Tyne, avoiding the dangerous Shields Bar and the Black Middens.


Earliest lights

In 1536, a
charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
of
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
gave permission to the Guild of the Blessed Trinity (which is known today as Trinity House of Newcastle) to build and embattle a pair of towers on the north bank of the
River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Wate ...
to serve as leading lights for safe navigation at the mouth of the river. The granting of the charter coincided with Henry's policy of dissolving England's monasteries and in 1539 he gave the monastic church of the town's Blackfriars monastery to the Guild, which used its stonework to build the two towers. Work began on the towers the following year: they were built on high and low ground either side of Pow burn, which flows into the Tyne at 'the Narrows' (the narrowest point of the
river mouth A river mouth is where a river flows into a larger body of water, such as another river, a lake/reservoir, a bay/gulf, a sea, or an ocean. At the river mouth, sediments are often deposited due to the slowing of the current reducing the carrying ...
). A keeper was paid 20
shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...
s a year to keep a tallow candle alight in each tower every night for a certain number of hours either side of high tide. To fund the provision and maintenance of these lights the Guild was empowered to levy dues on every ship entering the port (initially 2 d per English vessel and 4d per foreign vessel). In 1608 a further ordinance was issued by
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
requiring Newcastle's Trinity House to maintain a pair of lighthouses at North Shields. The towers were increased in height at around this time; they are depicted on Ralph Gardner's map of 1655, still with their battlements (they were built with a defensive as well as a navigational purpose in mind). The changing position of sandbanks in the mouth of the river meant that the lights had likewise to change position from time to time. To try to address this, the lighthouses were replaced in 1658 by moveable wooden structures; these proved unreliable, however, and in the 1680s Newcastle's Trinity House was seeking funds to repair the stone towers. In 1672 the Low Light found itself enclosed by Clifford's Fort, constructed that year to help defend the Tyne from coastal attack. A postern in the fort wall provided access to the lighthouse; however, in the years that followed a number of disputes arose between Trinity House and the Governor of the Fort. These came to a head in 1726 when a new Governor's House was built on the site, which obscured the light. It seems likely that this is what prompted the rebuilding of both lights in 1727.


Old High and Low Lights

Initially, the 1727 High and Low Lights were each lit by three tallow candles. Copper reflectors were added in 1736, and in 1773 the candles were replaced by oil lamps. The Low Light was repaired and remodelled in 1733 and again in 1775 when the second floor was added. By 1805 the lights were no longer aligned with river channel and Newcastle Trinity House began building a new pair of lights in 1807.


Decommissioning and aftermath

When the New High and Low Lights were commissioned in 1810 the old lights were taken out of service and the white façade of the low light was painted black (to prevent it being confused with the new light when viewed from the water). In due course both Old Lights were converted by Trinity House into
almshouses An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...
; the Old Low Light, with the addition of a pitched roof, reopened as Trinity Alms House in 1830. At some later date the Old High Light became a private dwelling, and it remains so today; it is a grade II listed building. The Old Low Light is also grade II listed and, as part of Clifford's Fort, stands within a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It served as a fish warehouse during the 20th century; saved from dereliction in 1988, it became a training centre for the Deep Sea Fisheries Association and latterly was occupied by the
Maritime Volunteer Service The Maritime Volunteer Service (MVS) is a United Kingdom wide charity (Charity No: 1048454 SCO No: SC039269 Registered Company No: 3003565), which has as its motto: "Supporting YOUR Community with OUR People" (strapline updated February 2021 f ...
. By the early 21st century the building was in a poor state of repair, but it was comprehensively refurbished after the MVS departed in 2011 and a modern annexe with viewing platform was added. The Old Low Light subsequently opened to the public in 2014 as a museum and community resource; it contains a ground-floor café, a permanent exhibition on the first floor (telling the history of the lighthouses, Clifford's Fort and Fish Quay) and an event space above it.


New High and Low Lights

Work on the new lights was begun in 1807; both were designed for Trinity House, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, by local architect John Stokoe (1756–1836). Both towers are of white-painted
ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
, the High Light of four storeys, the Low Light of six, with curved windows; in each case the east face of the tower, facing the sea, is left plain and windowless (except on the lantern stage at the top where the lights shone out to sea). Above the lantern stage is a curved roof topped by a chimney. The lights were first lit on 1 May 1810. Each has a house attached for its keepers: that on the Low Light is dated 1816, while that on the High Light has a plaque with the Trinity House arms recording its rebuilding in 1860. By 1861 both lighthouses were lit by gas, each being equipped with a single burner set within a silvered
reflector Reflector may refer to: Science * Reflector, a device that causes reflection (for example, a mirror or a retroreflector) * Reflector (photography), used to control lighting contrast * Reflecting telescope * Reflector (antenna), the part of an ant ...
. In 1883 responsibility for the two lights was transferred from Newcastle Trinity House to the
Tyne Improvement Commission The Port of Tyne comprises the commercial docks on and around the River Tyne in Tyne and Wear in the northeast of England. History There has been a port on the Tyne at least since the Romans used their settlement of Arbeia to supply the g ...
. In December 1927, the Commission converted the two lights from incandescent gas to electricity. The new 100,000 candle-power lights had a range of ; they were fitted with
automatic lamp changer An automatic lamp changer (or lampchanger) is a device used to ensure that a navigational light such as a marine lighthouse or aero beacon stays lit even if a bulb burns out. Numerous types exist. The common design elements are an array of two or ...
s and an incandescent gas lamp was also retained as an emergency standby in the event of a power cut.


Decommissioning

In 1999 the lighthouse at Herd Groyne on the opposite bank of the Tyne had a high-intensity sector light installed for navigation into Tynemouth and along the river, whereupon the High and Low Lights were decommissioned and the buildings sold for housing. The towers, however, continue to serve as
daymark A daymark is a navigational aid for sailors and pilots, distinctively marked to maximize its visibility in daylight. The word is also used in a more specific, technical sense to refer to a signboard or daytime identifier that is attached to a ...
s for vessels entering the Tyne and both are Grade II listed buildings. Each New Light stands close to its predecessor: the Low Lights are on Fish Quay, alongside the remains of Clifford's Fort, and the High Lights are at Dockwray Square, on the ridge above the quay to the west.


See also

* List of lighthouses in England


References


Sources

* * * *


External links


Old Low Light website
{{Authority control , additional=Q28477037,Q28465916,Q28477039,Q28465915 Lighthouses in Tyne and Wear North Shields River Tyne Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside Grade II listed lighthouses Grade II listed buildings in Tyne and Wear