Beachy Head Lighthouse

Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0

Although it is said that a guiding light was established as early as 1670, it was not until 1828 that Trinity House engineering consultant James Walker erected Belle Toute Lighthouse, a 14 metre high circular tower, on the headland. This remained in operation till 1899 when it was abandoned due to being frequently shrouded in mist and threatened with collapse because of recurrent falls of chalk from the cliff.

In 1902 under the direction of Sir Thomas Matthews, the Trinity House Engineer-in-Chief, the present lighthouse was brought into service, sited about 165 metres seawards from the base of the cliffs. It took two years to complete and involved building a coffer dam and a cableway from the top of the cliffs to carry materials down to the site. 3,660 tons of Cornish granite were used in the construction of the tower.

For more than 80 years, the red-and-white striped tower was staffed by three lighthouse keepers. Their primary job was to maintain the revolving light, which was then visible 26 nautical miles (48 km; 30 mi) out to sea. For most of the 20th century cooking was done on a solid-fuel range and the accommodation was lit by paraffin lamps. Electricity first reached the lighthouse in 1975, whereupon an electric lamp was installed in the optic. The explosive fog signal remained in use until 1976 (when it was replaced by an 'ELG 500' electric emitter); at the time Beachy Head was one of the last lighthouses still using explosive signals. The lighthouse was fully automated in 1983 and the keepers withdrawn. The lighthouse's aids to navigation were converted to solar power operation in 2011 and further upgrades to the navigation light, control system and the solar power system were carried out in 2018.

A chalk fall on the cliff in 1999 severed the electric cable; during its repair the lamp and fog signal were replaced and upgraded. In June 2010, Trinity House announced in the five yearly "Aids To Navigation Review" that the light range would be reduced to 8 nmi (15 km; 9.2 mi) and the fog signal discontinued. In February 2011, the work was undertaken and light range reduced by the installation of a new LED navigation light system. The old lens, though no longer in use, was left in situ. The fog signal was also discontinued at this time.

The lighthouse is now monitored and controlled from Trinity House’s Planning Centre in Harwich, Essex.