thumb|Dunston Pillar, truncated in 1940 to protect low-flying RAF aeroplanes

Dunston Pillar is a Grade II listed stone tower in Lincolnshire, England and a former 'land lighthouse'. It stands beside the A15 road approximately south of Lincoln near the junction of the B1178 (also known as Tower Lane), in the parish of Dunston, north of Sleaford. Closed to the public. On private land.

History

thumb|Dunston Pillar from [[Bartholomew Howlett's A Selection of Views in the County of Lincoln (1801)]]

The original land lighthouse was commissioned by Sir Francis Dashwood (better known as the founder of the Knights of St Francis, which became the Monks of Medmenham, later called a Hellfire Club) in 1751 as a gift to his wife Sarah (Ellys) Dashwood, who feared crossing the dark heath near her childhood home, Nocton. The purpose of the land lighthouse was to improve the safety of 18th-century travellers crossing a particularly treacherous area of the county known for its many incidents of robbery by highwaymen. In the 1843 Journal of the Agricultural Society it was described as the "only land light-house ever raised".

The structure originally stood high, with a staircase inside the tower and a large octagonal lantern on top to aid travellers crossing the wild heathland south of Lincoln.

The tower remains a well-known landmark and to this day is clearly visible beside the busy road at .

See also

  • Pelham's Pillar
  • Grimsby Dock Tower

References

  • Local village website
  • Lincolnshire Heritage website
  • Local author's description

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