St. Mary's Lighthouse

St Mary’s Lighthouse stands on a small tidal island just north of Whitley Bay in North Tyneside. The rocky island, also called Bait Island, is joined to the mainland by a short concrete causeway that disappears under water at high tide. The first warning light here was a lantern kept by monks at Tynemouth Priory in the 11th century. A stone lighthouse was built nearby in 1664 but was later demolished when the present tower and keepers’ cottages were erected in 1898. The new structure used 645 stone blocks and 750 000 bricks supplied by John Miller of Tynemouth. The lighthouse became famous for its powerful bi-valve optic made by Barbier & Bénard of Paris, which flashed twice every twenty seconds. For nearly eighty years it burned paraffin oil, making it the last Trinity House lighthouse to use liquid fuel before electrification in 1977. During conversion the original first-order Fresnel lens was removed and later displayed in Penzance. A smaller lens from Withernsea now sits in the tower, and the original lens returned in 2011 after the Penzance museum closed. Visitors reach the island when the tide is low and find a grade II listed lighthouse with a small museum and café. The keepers’ cottages have been repaired and repainted, and a visitor centre offers information about the site’s history. From the top of the tower there are wide views across the North Sea and along the coast, and on clear days Souter Lighthouse can be seen to the south. The lighthouse no longer guides ships but remains an accessible piece of maritime heritage beside the waves.