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Beach Lighthouse, Fleetwood

Coordinates: 53°55′43″N 3°00′32″W / 53.928554°N 3.009025°W / 53.928554; -3.009025
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Beach Lighthouse
Range Front
The Beach Lighthouse, Fleetwood
Map
LocationFleetwood
Lancashire
England
United Kingdom
OS gridSD3383848518
Coordinates53°55′43″N 3°00′32″W / 53.928554°N 3.009025°W / 53.928554; -3.009025
Tower
Constructed1840
Constructionsandstone tower
Height13 metres (43 ft)
Shapesquare tower with octagonal lantern rising from a colonnaded 1-storey building
OperatorPort of Fleetwood[1]
HeritageGrade II listed building Edit this on Wikidata
Light
Focal height14 metres (46 ft)
Range6 nautical miles (11 km)
CharacteristicFl G 2s. light aligns with Upper Light guides shipping down Wyre Channel
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameLower Lighthouse
Designated26 April 1950
Reference no.1362180

The Beach Lighthouse (also known as the Lower Light) is a 44-foot (13 m) tall sandstone lighthouse in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England.

History

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The lighthouse was designed in 1839 by Decimus Burton and Capt H.M. Denham. Burton had been commissioned three years previously by Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood 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—to provide a navigational guide to shipping entering the Wyre estuary. 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 12 nautical miles (22 km). In turn they point to the Wyre Light on the North Wharf Bank, 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) offshore.

Both lighthouses were first illuminated 1 December 1840. Each was run off the town's gas supply, with a single parabolic reflector placed behind the burner;[2] later they were converted to electricity.[3]

The Beach Lighthouse was designated a Grade II listed building by English Heritage on 26 April 1950.[4] The lighthouse is managed by the Port of Fleetwood.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Northwest England". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Lighthouse management : the report of the Royal Commissioners on Lights, Buoys, and Beacons, 1861, examined and refuted Vol. 2". 1861. p. 306.
  3. ^ "Beach Lighthouse, Fleetwood". Engineering Timelines. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  4. ^ Historic England. "Lower Lighthouse (1362180)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 May 2011.

Sources

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