For those in peril on the sea

A valuable aid to maritime safety, Britain’s lighthouses are also marvels of engineering; The Field picks five of its favourites

- ETTIE NEIL-GALLACHER

For such plain-looking structures, lighthouses are a mass of contradictions. Simple, yet complex; romantic, yet solitary; historic, yet current. For it’s as clear as one of their beams that, far from having been rendered obsolete by advances in technology, they retain a critical role – symbolically and literally – in the seafaring life of this island nation.

There is something stirring about the image of a lighthouse keeper, working to ensure the beacon stays aflame in all conditions to protect those poor souls tossed about at sea. But this is an anachronism. All lighthouses are now electric. Indeed, it was back in 1858 that the first electric one was built, at South Foreland, on the Kent coast. While many continued to use oil into the 20th century, the advent of electricity meant there was no longer the same need for them to be manned. Automation began in the 1960s, though the process only accelerated in the 1980s and 1990s. The last lighthouse to be manned was North Foreland, on the Kent coast, which became automated in 1998, in a ceremony attended by the Duke of Edinburgh.

While this might provoke pangs of nostalgia in many landlubbers, most mariners seem sanguine about such developments. Ian Hogarth, media and publicity officer for the Association of Lighthouse Keepers, says that although “it’s fantastic to reminisce about the days of manned lighthouses, automation was an inevitable part of keeping them relevant and ensuring they’re cost-effective”.