East Bank Lighthouse

East Bank Lighthouse stands on the west bank of the River Nene, three miles north of Sutton Bridge village in Lincolnshire. The parish includes two 19th-century lighthouses beside the river, marking the shifting channels of the Wellstream. The marshes here were once vast and dangerous, with quicksand and fast tides swallowing livestock and travellers. Guides once led drovers and coaches safely across the marsh from The Wash House, now the Bridge Hotel. The land was gradually reclaimed from the 16th century onwards, turning marsh into farmland and docks. The lighthouse is linked to the dramatic loss of King John’s crown jewels in 1216. His baggage train sank in the marshes near Sutton Bridge while crossing at low tide. Archaeologists searched the area in the 20th century using magnetic equipment from Fen Research Ltd at Dovecote Farm. The project was funded by American James R. H. Boone and advised by Sir R. E. Mortimer Wheeler. Treasure hunters still claim to have found the site of the lost jewels. Visitors find the lighthouse beside the wide, tidal river with views over the reclaimed marshland. The riverbank paths show the scale of the dock built in the 1870s, with massive gates and deep lock walls. The dock entrance used 1.5 million bricks and moved 600,000 cubic yards of soil. The first ship, SS Garland, entered in 1881 despite grounding at the entrance. The surrounding fields and dykes recall the centuries of struggle to tame the Wash’s shifting waters.