Withernsea Lighthouse

This lighthouse was built because of the large number of shipwrecks that were occurring at Withernsea when vessels were failing to see either Spurn or Flamborough’s lights. It is unusually situated quarter of a mile back from the coast with the majority of the town closer to the sea than it is. When the lighthouse was built there were only sand dunes and a mere in front of it. The houses you see today were all built after the promenade was extended along the sea front. The Withernsea Lighthouse was therefore not built in the middle of the town but far back from the sea as erosion on the east coast would eventually put it next to or in the sea!! Withernsea’s octagonal lighthouse was not designed to be lived in, the tower has no dividing floors only the spiral staircase leading to the Service and Lamp Rooms at the top. Attached to it are two cottages, these were the lighthouse keepers’ homes and now they contain a museum with displays about the lighthouse and town. In 1936 when the oil light was electrified it had a range of 17 miles.

Left: The Withernsea Room