Dovercourt Lower Lighthouse (EHER 56)

The seaward of a pair of iron lighthouses built in 1863 to replace the brick lighthouses at Harwich. The causeway between the two lighthouses measures some 150 metres in length and 4 metres in width, with a central avenue of stone flags set over a rubble core and retained to either side by sloping stone facings. The lighthouses, commissioned by Trinity House in 1862 and completed in 1863, served to guide ships towards Harwich harbour (some 1.5km to the north); their different heights enabling the two lights to be aligned on approach. They replaced two late 18th century lighthouses at Harwich which had become unreliable due to shifting sand bars around the mouth of the Stour estuary. A comprehensive pattern of marker boys in the harbour approach rendered the new lights obsolete in 1917. The lights escaped demolition, but gradually deteriorated through lack of maintenance. A major programme of restoration took place between 1983 and 1988.

The seaward of a pair of iron lighthouses built in 1863 to replace the brick lighthouses at Harwich owing to the shifting nature of the Andrews Shoals. The lighthouses went out of use in 1917 when the channel changed yet again, and was defined by buoys. <1> - <5> Built in 1863 using the newly invented screwpile construction. The outer light has four wooden platforms with iron steps up and balconies. <6> Other refs: <7> <8> Site Management After 1917 when the lighthouse became disused, Trinity House sold it to Harwich Borough Council. <1> By the time of scheduling in 1975 Tendring District Council were the owners. <2> A report on its condition showed it was deteriorating rapidly. <4> However nothing seems to have been done by 1980. <3> Consent granted in 1987 for repairs to superstructure, legs and for replacement of missing glass. <9> The lighthouses were recorded from the air in 2024 during a relatively low tide so the seaward structure was clearly visible along with the below water elements of the moment <12> Information from NRHE (TM 25283083) Upper Lighthouse (disused) (NAT) (TM 25463081) Lower Lighthouse (disused) (NAT) <13> Navigation lights just off shore at Dovercourt Harwich were constructed in the later half of the 19th century to mark the main channel entrance, to Harwich Harbour, which has now been superseded. (The author has transposed the grid reference figures, they should read TM 253 308.) <14> TM 254 308 Dovercourt Lighthouses. Built in 1863, by order of Trinity House, to replace the old Harwich lights, which were no longer functioning efficiently owing to the shifting of the channel in Harwich Harbour. They were built in the then newly invented screwpile construction. In 1917 a comprehensive scheme for marking Harwich Harbour approach by lighted buoys resulted in the Dovercourt lights being discontinued. <6> Scheduled listing. <15> Information from English Heritage Schedule Entry <16> Two iron framed lighthouses set about 200 metres apart at either end of a stone causeway which projects into Dovercourt Bay from the sea wall opposite the Phoenix Hotel on Marine Parade. The inner lighthouse stands to a height of 15 metres whilst the outer lighthouse is shorter by about 4 metres. The causeway between the two lighthouses measures some 150 metres in length and 4 metres in width, with a central avenue of stone flags set over a rubble core and retained to either side by sloping stone facings. The lighthouses, commissioned by Trinity House in 1862 and completed in 1863, served to guide ships towards Harwich harbour (some 1.5km to the north); their different heights enabling the two lights to be aligned on approach. They replaced two late 18th century lighthouses at Harwich which had become unreliable due to shifting sand bars around the mouth of the Stour estuary. A comprehensive pattern of marker boys in the harbour approach rendered the new lights obsolete in 1917. The lights escaped demolition, but gradually deteriorated through lack of maintenance. A major programme of restoration took place between 1983 and 1988. <13>-<16> Recorded by NRIM. <17>