FLAMBOROUGH LIGHTHOUSE.

Flamborough headland has always been a dangerous place for shipping, with chalk reefs and outcrops obscured by the crashing waves. The area is also notorious for the strong tidal currents that funnel past the headland. In 1806 Trinity House made the decision to build the current lighthouse at Flamborough. It was designed by Samuel Wyatt and built by John Matson of Bridlington, at a cost of £8,000. A clockwork motor revolved an oil lamp which warned shipping of the dangerous cliffs, and was reportedly visible for twenty miles. In 1925 the tower was raised to it`s present height of 85 feet, standing 250 feet above the waves.

SHIPWRECKS.
175 ships were wrecked off the headland between 1770 and 1806 (one every three months ) prompting Trinity House to build this lighthouse, to help safeguard mariners.

 

 

 



 

THE CHALK TOWER.

There was a lighthouse at Flamborough Head long before the present one was built. The octagonal chalk tower (see my photo below ) is one of the oldest surviving lighthouses in England. It was built in 1669 by Sir John Clayton, who was given permission to build a number of lighthouses around the country by King Charles II. The 24 metre tower was designed to have a brushwood or coal fire burning on the top, although it is thought the fire was never lit. In 1996, mainly due to the persistence of councillor Norman Hall MBE, the chalk tower was restored at a cost of £100.000. Twenty tons of chalk replaced the badly corroded north face and all the floors and the roof were also replaced. Although now empty, the tower was used as a marine telegraph station during the 19th century with regular shipping reports subsequently published in the Burlington Reporter.