Southwold Lighthouse

United Kingdom

Southwold lighthouse was established on 3rd September 1890. An Argand burner provided the light source, and the optic from the former Happisburgh Low Lighthouse was installed.

An incandescent oil burner was installed in 1906 and petroleum vapour burner installed in 1923. The lighthouse was electrified in 1938.

Following the decommissioning of Orfordness Lighthouse in 2013, it became necessary to increase the range at Southwold Lighthouse – and a new revolving LED light was installed. The former Happisburgh Low Light optic has now been split into three sections: i) the central drum section and lower prismatic belts are still in situ at Southwold, and form part of the emergency lighting; ii) the top beehive section has been removed, half is on display on the ground floor at Southwold Lighthouse; iii) the other half of the beehive was repatriated to Happisburgh in 2014, and is now on display on the ground floor of Happisburgh Lighthouse.

More information available at https://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/lighthouses-and-lightvessels/southwold-lighthouse

Manufacture Date	1868
Lighthouse Construction	1890
Country	United Kingdom
Commissioning Body	Trinity House
Lens Order	1st order
Lens Type	Fixed
Status	publish
Light Character	Original character: Occ (2) 20s, Last character Fl (4) WR 20s
Lighthouse Markings	White tower 101ft (31 m) tall
Management Body Ports Authority	Trinity House
Preserver	Southwold Millennium Foundation
Coastal Erosion Vulnerability
Condition Observations	Good condition
Open Status (Site)	Closed
Open Status (Tower)	Closed
Coordinates	52.3271572955,1.6813405634
Other	ARLHS ENG-135; Admiralty A2272; NGA 1588.
Inactive Chance Lens Deactivated	2013

Lighthouse Location

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