Lighthouses and lightships

This was a daytime navigation aid set up by Trinity House who manage the English coastal light-houses, before the current Portland Lighthouse was built and it remained as an additional aid until the mid-20th century.

A scan of an old black & white print from my Grandfather's collection. The originals have been presented to the local records office for North Devon. Rhenish Tower - Lynmouth. was originally built in the late 1850s by General Rawdon to store salt water to supply his house with sea baths. A light was later added as a beacon for local shipping. The current building is an exact replica, as the original, seen above, was destroyed in the disastrous floods in 1952

Photo by Dan Sutters

The boat at the centre of this photo is a tourist boat running trips around the harbours and up into La Seine, I think. The other is a modern fishing vessel from its appearance.

Not the most picturesque of locations , although the lighthouse itself is quite good-looking.

I thought I had a closer view of this former light house, but I can't find it. It was replaced by the Beachy Head lighthouse, which is at sea-level, when it became obvious that the cliff top position meant it was often in cloud or fog, when the weather was bad. It has been moved back from the cliff edge at least once. It is much closer to the edge than it seems in this view. The cliffs curve round to the left out of view. It is now a boutique guest house.

This is the old light-house, replaced long ago by the Beachy Head light-house which is down at sea-level and off to the East (left).It is now a 'boutique' Bed & Breakfast.

While I am sure the girls are Marjory & Phyllis, I am guessing that the boy is Percy. It could be Edgar as his age might be nearer right for his size. He was blind, but I don't know whether this was from birth or from a later date. I also am unaware of the degree of sight loss. This boy appears to be looking normally at one of the girls - no straining, no leaning forward. The date is guesswork. The twins were born in 1903 and they look about five in this shot.

This is the view from the west of this former lighthouse. It was replaced many years ago by the sea-level Beachy Head Lighthouse. This site on top of high cliffs was often shrouded in fog or mist. It has been moved back from the eroding cliff edge more than once. It is now a boutique guest house.

This is a fairly straight scan from a 35mm slide. Anyone who visits Burnham has to have a photo with the Lower Light. That light when aligned with the more traditional Upper light, guided ships through the treacherous channels in the mud. It was decommissioned in 1969, just before this photo was taken, but returned to active service in 1993, when the High Lighthouse was decommissioned.

Tricks of exposure - a long distance shot along the road to the the beach, near the ruins of the tidemills, between Seaford and Newhaven. This is another example of shoot first, work out whether you can make something of it later. There is a constant stream of dog walkers along the coast path, so this sort of scene is an everyday one. The lighthouse is quite a distance across the river mouth, but the telephoto lens brings things closer together.

Now a boutique guest-house, apparently, this building has been moved back from the eroding cliff's edge on more than one occasion. It was replaced by the Beachy Head lighthouse in 1902. This one had been found to be hidden by fog or low cloud too frequently to be safe.