Lighthouses

Lowestoft Lighthouses E.D.P. 7/11/02 Shipowners and merchants concerned about ship and cargo losses on the dangerous sandbanks and shoals around the east coast approached Trinity House in 1609, resulting in the lighthouses on the low-lying foreshore of Lowestoftness, lit by tallow candles. They were rebuilt in 1628 and again in 1676 when the rear light was put on the cliff. The low light was scrapped in 1706 due to encroachment by the sea, but reintroduced due to problems in negotiating the Stamford channels in 1730, using a whale-oil lamp. The current stronger 16m-tall tower built in 1870, when the light was electrified, cost £2350. It was automated in 1975 and modernised in early 1997.