Scarborough Lighthouse in , , | Lighthouse

It is somewhat strange that whilst light-towers or Lighthouses have been in existence, certainly since the time of the early Pharaohs, and Scarborough North Yorkshire was regarded as a thriving and prosperous sea-port in the United Kingdom since the mid-thirteenth century, and by Elizabethan times an important naval base, there appears to be no record of a Lighthouse in Scarborough North Yorkshire until the start of the nineteenth century.
There are references of doubtful authenticity as to the erection of Scarborough Lighthouse somewhere between 1801 and 1804, a small flat-topped building lit by a brazier atop, but the more reliable indicators are that the first (and present) Scarborough Lighthouse, designed by a surveyor by the name of Nixon, was built on Vincents Pier, adjoining the Harbour and South Beach in 1806. There are no surviving plans or drawings but the building was of brick construction with a flat top and surrounded by railings.
Originally the light emanating from Scarborough Lighthouse at night-time was provided by a coal brazier, later to be re-placed by some six tallow candles, hardly likely to provide a beacon of safety, succour and comfort to fog-bound mariners and within a few years the six-candle power light was boosted by the addition of a copper reflector behind the candles.
Subsequently facilities at Scarborough Lighthouse were improved with the erection of an adjoining residence for the harbourmaster.
Improvements were made to the Lighthouse itself when the roof was leaded and the flag-floor replaced with boarding but, more significantly, some window frames were removed from the lantern-room window, giving a greater area of clear glass and thus improving light emission.