Southwold Lighthouse is a lighthouse operated by Trinity House in the centre of Southwold in Suffolk, England. It stands on the North Sea coast, acting as a warning light for shipping passing along the east coast and as a guide for vessels navigating to Southwold harbour.

The lighthouse, which is a prominent local landmark, was commissioned in 1890, and was automated and electrified in 1938. It survived a fire in its original oil-fired lamp just six days after commissioning and today operates a 180-watt main navigation lamp. This lamp has a range of . A light was lit on a temporary structure in February 1889 and the lighthouse itself began operating on 3 September 1890.

The light was initially powered by a six-wick Argand oil burner; it displayed a group occulting characteristic (the light being eclipsed twice every 20 seconds) and had a visible range of . The light was white, but shone red across defined sectors to the north and to the south (indicating the Barnard sands and Sizewell Bank respectively); in addition, 'spare' light, which would otherwise have shone needlessly westwards, was diverted by way of vertical condensing prisms so as to intensify these red sectors. The inexperience of the new lighthouse keepers was blamed for the fire. Both lighthouses were reprieved in 2009 following a review by Trinity House that found that satellite navigation systems were not yet sufficiently reliable.

thumb|left|upright|2014: Central and lower parts of the old optic retained for emergency use; above it, the new main lamp inside a small rotating optic.

Then in December 2012, the range of Southwold's light was increased to , to compensate for the imminent closure of Orfordness Lighthouse (which took place in June 2013). This was achieved by installing a new main light: a BLV Topspot 90 Volt Metal Halide 150-watt lamp placed within a small revolving optic. The central and lower sections of the old lens, together with its lamp, have been retained for use as an emergency backup. manufactured by Mediterraneo Sanales Maritimas has been in use as the main lamp. The current light characteristic is one white flash every 10 seconds (Fl(1).W.10s) visible between 204°–032.5°. The white light is used for general navigation. Red sectors, previously used to mark shoals to the north and offshore sandbanks at Sizewell to the south, were removed as part of the 2012 refit. Two keeper's cottages were built next to the lighthouse rather than living quarters being made in the lighthouse itself. Guided visits are, from 2023, run by the Adnams brewery, which stands nearby, and may be booked via that company's website.

thumb|Southwold Lighthouse

The lighthouse was the site of charity abseil events in 2009, 2011 and 2013. The events raised money for the Southwold lifeboat operated by the RNLI from Southwold harbour.

Cultural references

The lighthouse has featured in television programmes, including an episode of Kavanagh QC and the children's television series Grandpa in My Pocket.

See also

  • List of lighthouses in England

References

  • Southwold Lighthouse at the Trinity House website