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Work
on the permanent light started in May 1889.
The plot, beside the coastguard station was
hailed by the press as "very advantageous...
the smoke from the town will not obscure the
light and
its nearness to the cliff
must
make it very prominent all along the
coast."
The
mayor, Mr Eustace Grubbe, laid the first of 1,500,000
half bricks which were delivered via Halesworth
on the Southwold railway. It caused an enormous
headache for both the railway and the local
coal merchant,Thomas Moy & Co, whose combined
fleet of just 15 goods wagons ran a frenzied
shuttle service. Then,10 months later, it was
time to install the lantern - all eight tons
of it. It arrived from Harwich in two sections
in two of Thomas Moy's wagons. The light was
inaugurated by Trinity House on 3 September.
Six days later, as a result of the new keepers'
inexperience, the six-wick Argand oil burner
burst into flames and was destroyed. It was
replaced and the keepers 'retrained'. It was
electrified and de-manned in 1938
.In December 2012, in anticipation of the decommissioning of Orfordness light, there were major enhancements with
Southwold’s main light now visible for 24 sea miles.
The Lighthouse remains operational and may be visited by the public at specified times.
For details visit www.trinityhouse.co.uk
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