South Gare Lighthouse, South Tod Road, Redcar, Redcar and Cleveland

South Gare Lighthouse is still in operation in 2009 and is run by the Tees and Hartlepool Port Authority. It was the only privately owned lighthouse in England. It was built in 1884 under the direction of John Fowler, engineer to the Tees Conservancy Commissioners. It stands 18 metres above the sea at low water. The original paraffin lamp was removed in 1955. In 2007 a new hi-tech, environmentally-friendly, fuel cell was installed to power the lamp. It runs on hydrogen made through electrolysis, with the only other by-product being pure water. The lamp produces a long (1.5 seconds) flash (white or red depending on direction) every 12 seconds. It has a range of 20 miles. There is also a fog horn.

Location

Redcar and Cleveland Redcar

Period

Victorian (1837 - 1901)

Tags

lighthouse coast Victorian (1837 - 1901)