One hundred years ago, Hunstanton lighthouse dimmed its lamp for the final time. EDP writer and pharologist (that's lighthouse fanatic) CHRIS BISHOP pays tribute to a familiar landmark
It shines in the low winter sun as bright as the beacon which once warned sailors of the perils which lay below.
A century after its lamp was dimmed for the last time, the lighthouse at Hunstanton still presides over the famous candy cliffs.
The first lights to be lit on the site went up in 1665 after King Charles II granted a warrant for construction.
Their coal braziers and candles were said to have greatly assisted mariners on their way in and out of the two Wash ports of King's Lynn and Boston, at a time when they were among the most important in the land.
A century later, the original structure was replaced by a wooden tower after it was destroyed by a fire.
Its light was taller, being some 85m above sea level taking into account the height of the cliffs.
And the glow from its oil lamps was gathered and focussed into a beam by parabolic reflectors, to cast its light far further out to sea.
The array, designed by Ezekiel Walker of Lynn, was said to be the first of its kind and consisted of 700 small hand mirrors, which directed the light out towards the sands and shoals of the estuary.
In 1836, the previously privately-owned lighthouse was taken over by Trinity House, which was responsible for all but five of the lighthouses around our coasts.
Work began on a new lighthouse, which would be even taller, with its lamp and reflectors perched atop a white painted brick tower 65ft high.
The £2,600 structure gave its light a range of 18 miles on a clear day and for almost a century, its lamps were lit nightly to keep shipping safe.
In 1921, it was decommissioned as improvements were made to offshore lightships.
It sold the following year, in January 1922, for half of what it cost to build. Its light was dismantled and its cottages became a tea room.
As war clouds gathered in the 1930s, the upper storey was refurbished for use as an observation post by the Royal Observer Corps.
There were fears the low-lying coastline between Hunstanton and King's Lynn could be used by the Germans to land troops after the war broke out in 1939.
But the Wehrmacht never materialised and the lighthouse was also spared from attack from enemy aircraft.
After a period in the ownership of the old Hunstanton Urban District Council, the lighthouse was sold to a private owner in 1965 and since then has passed through a number of hands.
Currently a holiday let, those climbing the 83 steps to its tower can enjoy panoramic views of the changing skies over The Wash, as well across the rooftops of Hunstanton and of Old Hunstanton Beach to the east.
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