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The
Rock Lighthouse, New Brighton
This lighthouse, next to Fort Perch Rock, marks the
extreme northern tip of the Wirral. The first structure
here, erected in 1683, was a large wooden post or perch,
hence the current name (formerly Black Rock. This was
regularly destroyed by shipping and acquired a light in
the early 19th century. Nevertheless it was demolished
again in In 1821 when a Mersey pilot boat collided with
it during a storm. The present lighthouse is 90 ft (27 m)
high and of very solid construction, costing £27,500 by
the time it was completed in 1830. It had possibly the
first revolving light in the country. It was
decommissioned in 1973 when its role was superceded by
the radar system at Crosby. |
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Leasowe
Lighthouse, Leasowe
The original Leasowe Lighthouse was built in 1763, one of
two, the other of which was a short distance off-shore
and was washed away in a storm in 1769. Taking a sight on
both lighthouses was intended to aid entry to the Mersey
estuary. This function was restored by a new lighthouse
on Bidston Hill in 1771. Two further lighthouses were
constructed at Hoylake, then a major fishing port (the
four 'leading lights'). The present lighthouse was built
in 1824 (the datestone is from the earlier one) and was
in operation until 1908. The last keeper was a Mrs.
Williams, who moved into a cottage when it ceased to
function and kept the lighthouse as a popular teahouse in
the summer. Wallasey Corporation acquired it in 1930. It
was refurbished in 1989 and now houses a visitor centre
on the ground floor. It is 101 ft (31 m) high and on 7
floors accessed by a cast iron staircase. The top is open
to the public at certain times. |
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Hoylake
Lighthouse, Hoylake
Hoylake Upper Lighthouse was first established here in
1764, when, together with the Lower Lighthouse and the
two Leasowe lighthouses (only one extant, q.v.), it was
one of the four 'leading lights' for guiding shipping
into the Mersey estuary. The lights were used for
alignment purposes and the Lower Lighthouse was actually
movable in order to adjust to the shifting sand banks.
Both lighthouses were demolished in 1865 and rebuilt. The
Lower Lighhouse became disused as such in 1908 and was
demolished in 1922. The present octagonal brick building
on Valentia Road was decommissioned in 1886 and is now
part of a private house incorporating the former
lighthouse keepers' quarters. |
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Bidston
Lighthouse, Bidston Hill
Bidston's first lighthouse was built in 1771 as a
replacement for a previous lighthouse situated a quarter
of a mile out to sea at Leasowe. After a century's
service the lighthouse was demolished. The current
lighthouse and cottages were built in 1873. The lamp
shone for forty years until 1913 when it was no longer
needed because of advances in navigation buoys. In 1763 a
signalling station was built near to the location of the
lighthouse and functioned using flagpoles as a
complicated early warning system. As merchant ships
rounded the Point of Ayr or sailed past Formby point the
ship would be spotted and identified. Flag runners were
employed to watch for ships and had 11 minutes to raise
the correct company's flag on the correct pole, followed
by the correct cargo flag. This enabled supervisors in
the docks to ready their work force to off-load the ship.
In 1771, the system was updated when the first lighthouse
and semaphore station was built. It formed part of the
chain of semaphore signals along the North Wales coast. A
signal could be sent from Holyhead to Liverpool in only 8
minutes and meant that employers and dock workers had a
little longer to organise offloading the cargo. |
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Hale
Head Lighthouse
This disused lighthouse at Hale Head to the south east of
Liverpool was built on the site of an earlier lighthouse
dating from 1838 and was completed in 1907. It is now a
private residence and the lenses are in the Merseyside
Maritime Museum. The widest part of the Mersey estuary is
around here. The water is deserted now, though only a 100
years ago it was busy with shipping supplying the
industries up-river. |
