Showing posts with label Berwick upon Tweed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Berwick upon Tweed. Show all posts

Tuesday 1 June 2021

Skulferatu #32 - Berwick Lighthouse, Berwick Pier, Berwick upon Tweed

 

If you have ever travelled on the East Coast Railway line from Edinburgh down towards London, you will have passed through Berwick upon Tweed.  After pulling out from the station you may have noticed the pier and the rather iconic lighthouse out on your left side as the train begins to build up speed and shoot off down the line.  If you have the time, take a trip to Berwick upon Tweed one day and have a good walk around.  There is plenty to see in Berwick itself and across the bridge in Spittal there is a lovely, big sandy beach and also a bit further along, a clifftop path, which I think eventually takes you to Holy Island.  Or you could just take a rather bracing walk out on the pier to Berwick Lighthouse where the North Sea winds will batter you, no matter how calm the day is in the town.

 

Berwick Pier and Lighthouse as seen from Spittal with a rotting wooden structure in the mud of low tide at the forefront of the photo.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Berwick Pier and Lighthouse as seen from Spittal

 

Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Berwick Lighthouse as seen from Berwick town

 

Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Berwick Lighthouse – view from the pier

 

Berwick Lighthouse was built in 1826 to a design by Joseph Nelson.  He was also responsible for the building of the lighthouses at Lundy and Longstone.  The lighthouse took eight months to build and was opened with much pomp and ceremony.  The light was turned on for the first time on 10 October 1826.

 

Berwick Lighthouse, a red and white lighthouse on the end of a pier in Berwick upon Tweed.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Berwick Lighthouse

 

Berwick Lighthouse, a red and white lighthouse on the end of a pier in Berwick upon Tweed.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Berwick Lighthouse

 

Berwick Lighthouse, a red and white lighthouse on the end of a pier in Berwick upon Tweed.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Berwick Lighthouse

 

In 1927 the lighthouse made the news because it was being run by a woman (Yup, that was big news back then!).  The lighthouse keeper at that time had taken ill and his daughter stood in for her father for a few weeks carrying out his duties at the lighthouse.  Something she said she enjoyed though did find a little lonely, as there was not even a wireless there to keep her company.

 

The keepers often worked in the lighthouse during extreme weather. In 1937 William Cowe described his experiences to a reporter from the Berwick Advertiser of working there while a severe storm raged outside.   He described how huge waves had pounded into the building making it sway, while other waves had been so big that they had crashed right over the top of the lighthouse.  The seas had been so rough that at times the pier had been under at least four feet of water.  However, Cowe had felt quite safe within the lighthouse and the light had not failed once during the storm.

 

In 1947 the lighthouse was automated, and the keepers were no longer required.

 

The lighthouse has featured in works by artists such as L S Lowry and Emrys Williams.  Given its iconic looks and the ever-changing seascape and skyscape around it, it will no doubt continue to inspire artists for years to come.

 

Today, on yet another grey and cold day, I took a walk to Spittal Beach and then back and around Berwick before heading over to the pier and along to the lighthouse.  I battled through the howling wind and past group after group of cold tourists, who like me, were just desperate to be out and about.  On reaching the lighthouse I left the Skulferatu that had accompanied me on my walk around Berwick by one of the metal structures on the pier wall.

 

Skulferatu #32 at Berwick Lighthouse on the pier in Berwick upon Tweed.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project
Skulferatu #32


Skulferatu #32 in rusting iron structure on wall of Berwick Pier near to the lighthouse.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Skulferatu #32 on metal structure on pier wall

 

Close up of Skulferatu #32 in rusting iron structure on wall of Berwick Pier near to the lighthouse.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Close up of Skulferatu #32

 

Google Map showing location of Skulferatu #32 at Berwick Lighthouse, Berwick upon Tweed
Google Map showing location of Skulferatu #32

 

The coordinates for the location of the Skulferatu are –

 

Latitude 55.764873

Longitude -1.984140

 

I used the following sources for information on the lighthouse –

 

The Berwick Advertiser – Thursday 3 March 1927

Berwickshire News and General Advertiser – Tuesday 1 May 1928

The Berwick Advertiser – Thursday 4 February 1937

Berwickshire News and General Advertiser – Tuesday 4 February 1947

 

Historic England website -

Historic England - The Pier and Lighthouse, Berwick-upon-Tweed

 

British Listed Buildings website -

Pier and Lighthouse, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland

 

 

Article and photographs are copyright of © Kevin Nosferatu, unless otherwise specified.