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Orfordness Lighthouse (1792) in Suffolk, England, to be demolished

There have been lighthouses on Orford Ness, in Suffolk, England, since 1637 when a pair of leading lights was established; the 1792 tower built as the “high light” became an icon of the area. After its decommissioning in 2013 because of the encroaching sea, the lighthouse became the property of the Orfordness Lighthouse Trust and was opened for public tours.

Orfordness Lighthouse, England; U.S. Lighthouse Society photo

Storms in late 2019 and early 2020 destroyed a bungalow next to the lighthouse and undermined the base of the lighthouse, to the point that it has been decided that the tower is unsafe and that it will be demolished. A date for the demolition has not been confirmed, but the Trust expects it to begin “in the next few weeks.”

On Facebook, the trust wrote, “We committed to defend Orfordness Lighthouse where it stood for as long as possible, and if possible to preserve the artifacts after that. We are proud that, through the application of the ‘shingle sausage’ defenses, we kept the Lighthouse standing for years longer than anyone envisaged.”

For more on this story, follow these links:

BBC News

ITV News (including a video)

East Anglian Daily Times

One thought on “Orfordness Lighthouse (1792) in Suffolk, England, to be demolished

  1. That is sad about the Orfordness Light…so many stories of the sea and boats and the light still in history, but no more to be of the old light to be.

    New member just reading this
    Delores Haugland
    Edmonds Wa

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