Maryport Old Lighthouse

Maryport Old Lighthouse stands on the south pier of Maryport harbour in Cumbria. It is a small, Grade II listed building, once run by Trinity House. The first light here was a simple oil lamp with two reflectors in 1796. Robert Stevenson reported on it in 1801. A new pier and lighthouse were built under the 1833 Harbour and Improvement Act. By 1846 the cast iron lighthouse stood on a rusticated stone base. The lighthouse is the UK’s oldest cast iron lighthouse still in place. It was originally gas-lit and later powered by acetylene. The painter L. S. Lowry used the scene in several works. Trinity House took charge in 1961. In 2017 the old lighthouse was restored and repainted as part of a seaside town refurbishment scheme. It was recognised at the 370th Round Table meeting. Visitors find the octagonal metal lighthouse on a stone base, topped by a lantern. The pier extends south from the harbour, with the old light serving as a tidal marker. A red spherical day mark once signalled safe water levels. The surrounding harbour area includes minor lights on the north tongue and south jetty. The newer aluminium tower stands further out on the pier extension.