Discover: Longstone Lighthouse
Nearly five miles off the coast of Northumberland, in the outer reaches of an uninhabited archipelago, rises the unmistakable red and white watchtower of Longstone Lighthouse. Ever since the dawn of sea trading, a low-lying rocky outcrop known as the Farne Islands has been a major hazard in the deepwater shipping lanes off the north Northumberland coast. Many of these rocks possess names hinting at their capacity to tear ships apart, among them ‘Fang’ and ‘Knivestone’. Over the centuries, countless vessels have succumbed to the perilous waters around the Farnes and consequently, the seabed around the islands is littered with wrecks.
To counteract the threat facing ships, numerous attempts were made during the 17th and 18th centuries to establish lights on the islands. However, on each occasion, Trinity House was unable to persuade merchants to pay dues and maintain the proposed lights, and so they never came to fruition. That was until 1776, when Trinity House gave Captain John Blackett permission to build two lighthouses on the islands at his own expense. Captain Blackett constructed two coal-fired beacons which were first lit in 1778 but had to be replaced on several occasions due to repeated storm damage. Despite the new lights, fatal shipwrecks continued to occur, and in the years 1823–1824 over 100 lives were lost. The scale and frequency of disasters prompted Trinity House to take action and in 1822 they purchased the land from the Blackett family before building the lighthouse which still stands today on Longstone Rock. When it finally became operational in 1826, Longstone bore one of the first revolving flashing optics in the world. Due to the remote location of the lighthouse, the conditions for the keeper and his family were harsh, with winter storms bringing waves that would often engulf the living quarters.
Longstone is often referred to as the ‘Grace Darling Lighthouse’, as it is from there that a lighthouse keeper and his daughter rowed through a frightful storm in 1838 to rescue survivors of the paddle steamer Forfarshire which had broken in two after colliding with the rocks of Big Harcar. As survivors clung to the rocks, William Darling deemed the conditions too dangerous to attempt a rescue. His daughter, Grace, was able to persuade her father otherwise and together they set out in a rowing boat into the storm. Two trips were made and their actions saved the lives of nine people. This gallant deed turned Grace Darling and her father into Victorian-era celebrities, and for years after the rescue tourists would visit the famous family at the lighthouse and delight in hearing of the extraordinary event first hand. Today, Golden Gate Boat Trips has special permission to land on Longstone and provide tours inside the lighthouse. Visitors to Longstone are able to step inside Grace Darling’s bedroom and look out the very same window she did to see the Forfarshire wrecked on the rocks.
As featured in ‘Beacons of the North Sea’ (This Is Northumberland 2024)