About Souter Lighthouse

Souter Lighthouse is located on Lizard Point at Marsden, but takes its name from Souter Point, located a mile to the south.The intended site for the lighthouse had been Souter Point, but it was clear that the higher cliffs at Lizard Point offered better visibility. The Souter Lighthouse name was retained in order to avoid confusion with the then recently built Lizard Lighthouse in Cornwall.

Opened in 1871, the lighthouse was designed by James Douglass, who also designed the fourth incarnation of the Eddystone Lighthouse off the coast of Plymouth.It protected shipping from thedangerous reefs directly under the water in the surrounding area -in 1860, there had been twenty shipwrecks. The North East of England wasthe most dangerous in britain,with an average ofsome fort four shipwrecks per mile of coastline.

Souter Lighthouse was the first to use alternating electric current, the most advanced lighthouse technology of its day. The 800,000 candle power light was generated using carbon arcs, rather than a standard filament bulb, and could be seen for up to 42 km (26 miles). The electricity was generated using a steam engine located in the engine house - this remains in operational order.

The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1988, but continued to serve as a radio navigation beacon up until 1999 when it was finally closed.It is now owned by the National Trust and open to the public, the lighthouse's engine room, light tower and keeper's living quarters are all on view.Two of the former lighthouse keepers' cottages are used as National Trust holiday cottages. There are seventy six steps to climb to reach the optic, but a ground-floor CCTV shows views from the top.