Wednesday 7 April 2010

ABC WEDNESDAY - L

L is for Lighthouse

In our little seaside town we have had three lighthouses of varying shapes and sizes dating back to the 1700's and their history is quite interesting.

The first is the Round Tower shown below.



The story goes that a local fisherman's wife, worried about her husband's safety one stormy night, put a candle in her window to help to guide him home. (They lived in a cottage close to where the Round Tower now stands). It saved his life and thereafter she was paid to keep a candle burning to guide other sailors to safety. Later the local sexton paid her £5 for the right to place the light in the church tower, it being so much higher. Eventually the curate, the Reverend David Davies paid £20 to have the round tower built. It was originally 4 storeys high but following becoming inactive was reduced to 2 storeys and given a crenallated top. I believe it is now a residence.

Next came the pillar lighthouse, which is 99 feet tall and had a paraffin lamp light. It soon became a tourist attraction with visitors climbing the spiral staircase to see across to Wales and North Devon. It became inactive in 1993. Now it is privately owned and used as holiday accommodation.





The Low Light was built in 1832. Because of the huge rise and fall of the tide along our coast it was felt the pillar lighthouse had been positioned too low so the Low Light was built and utilised to complement the pillar light. The Low Light was inactive between 1969 and 1993 but then recommissioned on 31 December 1993 and has remained active ever since. It attracts thousands of visitors every year and is an iconic landmark of our little town.



The history and details of all three can be found here

ABC Wednesday is hosted by Mrs Denise Nesbitt and her team. For more takes on the letter L please click here.

14 comments:

Misfit in Paradise said...

Very cool lighthouses!

Maggie May said...

That was a great story and good photos. Interesting.
I was amazed that a candle would shine so brightly!

Nuts in May

Gattina said...

I love lighthouses, they are so romantic, and your little story is cute too !
Gattina ABC team

jabblog said...

Very interesting! Lighthouses are so important and the stories attached to them are fascinating. Lucky you to have three in a relatively small area.

Gemma Wiseman said...

A great variety of lighthouses! Incredible difference in style and with interesting stories attached!

Auntie sezzzzzz... said...

Love the stories of these light houses. Especially the first one.

Hope all is progressing well, with your Mum.

Carol said...

Interesting info...I love lighthouses. I esp like the pillar lighthouse. I have heard that story about the fisherman's wife and the candle...

Mara said...

That last lighthouse looks like an ordinary house on stilts. So funny!

Marie said...

Nice photos and interesting story. I agree with Mara. I have never seen such a strange lighthouse!

Gill - That British Woman said...

very interesting, three very different lighthouses.

Great post,

Gill in Canada

Mary said...

This was a fascinating bit of history to read! Such odd lighthouses...all three of them...yet they did the job! Now I'm humming that song about "Candle on the Water" from Pete's Dragon :-) Very appropriate!

joo said...

Hello Anne,
I'm a great fan of lighthouses and always try to find an interesting one. This last one you posted here is stunning:)
Hope your Mum is much better now!
Hugs
Joo

A Heron's View said...

I used to live in Milton Road in 1948 and my parents used to run a B&B. The name of your small town is Burnham on Sea a delightful small town!

Roger Owen Green said...

Fond of lighthouses, tho I wouldn't have sussed out the first one as one.