London's Last Lighthouse

Think of London and you might not automatically think about there being any lighthouses there but thanks to watching the TV show, 'The Great British Sewing Bee' earlier this year I learnt that there is one right on the River Thames. You'll find it if you head to Trinity Buoy Wharf near Canning Town tube station and, in case you're wondering how this links to a sewing TV reality show, well this was the location for the filming of the last series. By the time it aired I knew we were returning to London so it was one of the first places I decided I wanted to hunt out once we got back.

The area that houses the lighthouse was first used by the Elder Brethren of Trinity House, now known as the Corporation of Trinity House, in 1803. Originally beginning as a voluntary association of shipmen and mariners it was granted a charter by King Henry Vlll in 1514, received its coat of arms in 1573 and at the same time was given the authority to erect and maintain beacons etc., 'for the better navigation of the coasts of England'. They continue to be the official authority of lighthouses in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar.

Trinity Buoy Wharf was established as their Thames-side workshop in 1803 and used as a maintenance depot and storage facility for the buoys that aided navigation on the Thames and for the docking and repairing of lightships. A lightship being a ship that acts as a lighthouse in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction.

There were originally two lighthouses on the site, the first one was built by Scottish engineer, James Walker who it turns out was also involved in the building of Granton harbour in Edinburgh. An area of my old home I only really discovered in the past year thanks to the lockdowns and making an effort to explore more previously unseen areas of Edinburgh. His lighthouse was demolished in the 1920s however, leaving the one we can still see today built by James Douglass. 

This experimental lighthouse and the adjoining building, originally the Chain and Buoy Store, were built in 1864 and were used to test maritime lighting equipment and train lighthouse keepers. Michael Faraday also carried out a number of experiments there for the first electric lighting for lighthouses. The Trinity Buoy Wharf works continued to grow and by the early 1900s it was a major local employer with engineers, blacksmiths, carpenters, painters and many other skilled workers employed there. The wharf continued to maintain navigation buoys and lightships up until it was finally closed in December 1988. The site was then acquired by the London Docklands Development Corporation being developed as 'a centre for the arts and cultural activities'. 

Today it is clear the area has been and continues to be redeveloped with an array of modern apartments, shops, bars and eateries on the short walk there from Canning Town tube station. If you want to visit yourself the directions given on Trinity Buoy Wharf's website (from Canning Town tube station at least) were great and made getting there very easy, particularly as this is not a part of London I am that familiar with.

As you follow the route, and in amongst all the modern redevelopment, there is still plenty to see of the area's past too with preserved painted signage on many of the surrounding buildings being one of the most obvious. (Amendment 27/10/2021 - Trinity Buoy Wharf have kindly let me know that the signage on route is fake and was painted by the developer next door to them. A bit of a shame but hopefully all the information about the companies that were there is correct).  One of the first you'll see on the walk there is that of the Samuda Bros Limited company. I'm not going to pretend to you that I'd heard of them previously but an Internet search soon brings up some information. The company, a major London shipbuilder in the mid to late 19th century, was founded by brothers Jacob and Joseph d'Aguilar Samuda. Jacob was tragically killed along with nine of their employees when one of their first ships exploded on its test run but under the remaining brother Joseph the company continued to prosper eventually seeing them complete orders from Germany, Russia and Japan. 

A little further along and there is a ghost sign for Ditchburn and Mare shipbuilders as well as one for Mather's Whale Oil Extraction. Ditchburn and Mare, later to become the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, were among the first builders of iron ships in the area. They were awarded contracts by the Admiralty as well as by the Iron Steamboat Company (who provided ferry services between Manhattan and Coney Island in New York in the late 19th and early 20th centuries) and by P&O. I also mentioned the ghost sign for a company specialising in whale oil extraction, the UK being involved in commercial whaling from the 16th century up until the middle of the 20th century. Mather & Co (three brothers) were owners of whaling ships with James Mather signing a lease to boil whale blubber in the docks area in 1784, advertising campaigns followed telling the public that whale oil was just the thing to light the streets.

After passing all these reminders of the area's past and several information boards giving details about the history of the area too, I soon arrived at Trinity Buoy Wharf itself, entering past the Gate House. On the day I visited I didn't actually go in to any of the buildings, you can do and that also includes the lighthouse at weekends, but it looked like there was a wedding or an event of some kind happening so I kept a distance and admired everywhere from the outside. I'll just have to go back again at some point. 

Despite not going inside any of the buildings with views like the one below across the Thames to admire I certainly wasn't too disappointed. As well as the lighthouse there are plenty of other things to see there too. For starters there are a number of historic boats permanently moored in the area. The boat below, the Knocker White, is a Dutch built tugboat built in 1924 and below that is Lightship LV95, built in 1939. When the lightship was in service it was mainly based on the Goodwin Sands off Kent and was converted to solar power in the 1990s to enable it to operate unmanned remaining in service until 2003. It has now been converted into a floating music recording studio.

There are also work spaces for artists with various studio spaces and galleries, events venues, office space, as well as an original American diner. It is also home to Longplayer, a one thousand year long musical composition which began playing in December 1999 and will continue until December 2999. It really does seem to live up to its aim to be a centre for the arts and the history of the area as well (something I knew barely anything about previously) makes the space fascinating. Take a look at their website for more information about everything that is happening there.

However my discovery of lighthouses in London did not end after my visit here. I shared a couple of photos of the Trinity Buoy Wharf lighthouse on my various social media accounts immediately after my visit and I had a few people get in touch to tell me that, depending on how strict in your definition of a lighthouse you want to be, London does have others. I was told of two in particular, one in Walthamstow and one in King's Cross, so me being me I had to go and find them too.

Having now seen them both I do agree that it does mean stretching that definition a little but they are still interesting nonetheless and definitely look like lighthouses. The first one is actually a church, the Lighthouse Methodist church which opened in 1893 replacing a nearby house that had previously served the Methodists in the area. It acquired its nautical design thanks to one of its backers, a Captain King of the Bullard King Steamer Company,  a company that ran a direct service from London to East African ports. He donated the site for the church and paid for the building and the design and name are reminders of his seafaring activities. The church originally had a revolving light too which would beam out to call the congregation to worship. It's thirty five miles from sea in Walthamstow but it is a quirky design you can't help but notice.

The other lighthouse at King's Cross is on top of a Victorian building I will have walked past countless times on my regular journeys between Edinburgh and London by train but is one I can honestly say I had never noticed, obviously because I've never looked up. I wonder how many others walk past this building all the time and have never seen it either? It is right by King's Cross train station and was derelict for a number of years but is currently home to a Five Guys restaurant. However its original use seems to be something of a mystery, rumours abound that it came from a helter skelter fairground ride or was a clock tower. The official view though (and even that isn't confirmed) is that it was built to promote Netten's oyster bar which occupied the building, perhaps because oysters come from the sea so there is a loose nautical connection. As well as no one knowing why it was built it is also not clear when it was built so I guess it really will remain a mystery but one to look out for next time you're in the area.

Walthamstow

King's Cross

I had never thought about London having any lighthouses, whether actual or more decorative but it turns out the city does have at least three. I'd be interested to know if anyone knows of anymore out there that might be worth finding as well?