South Gare Lighthouse

There already were two navigation light towers built in 1829 and operating in Durham county at Seaton Carew and another at Hartlepool to guide ships clear of Coatham Rocks off Redcar and then onto the Fairway Buoy outside the bar of the River Tees. The building of South Gare lighthouse was planned and supervised by John Fowler, engineer to the Tees Conservancy Commissioners.{{NHLE |desc=South Gare Lighthouse |accessdate=3 September 2013 |num=1140391}} Both light systems were used until 1892 when use of the light towers at Seaton Carew was discontinued by the Tees Conservancy Commissioners.{{cite web |title=The London Gazette, 19 July 1892 |work=The London Gazette |accessdate=15 January 2012 |url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/26308/pages/4130/page.pdf}}

The South Gare lighthouse light was originally lit by a paraffin wick lamp.{{cite web|title=South Gare Lighthouse |work=pelangi.co.uk |accessdate=13 August 2010 |url=http://www.pelangi.co.uk/appnotes/30841-South%20Gare.pdf |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105211049/http://www.pelangi.co.uk/appnotes/30841-South%20Gare.pdf |archivedate=5 January 2009}}

and perhaps subsequently by a pressurised paraffin burner. This was removed in 1955, and in about 1980 the chimney and weather vane were removed.

The paraffin lamp was replaced by a mains powered 500 Watt tungsten filament Incandescent light bulb with a backup bulb on the bulb changer that operated with a backup diesel generator. The light operated with a 1.5 s flash every 12 seconds. The lens rotation mechanism was originally powered by a clockwork motor but this was replaced by two electric motors, i.e. one duty motor and a backup motor. A fog signal was mounted to the west of the lighthouse but this has evidently been removed. The light source was a 35 Watt CDM-T lamp until 2007 when it was replaced by a 45 Watt high intensity LED lamp.{{Cite web |title=Hydrogen hails shipping |work=The Engineer |accessdate=28 December 2009 |date=20 November 2007 |url=http://www.theengineer.co.uk/news/hydrogen-hails-shipping/302994.article |archive-date=29 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229134700/http://www.theengineer.co.uk/news/hydrogen-hails-shipping/302994.article |url-status=dead }}

The lighthouse is {{convert|43|ft|m}} high with a cylindrical cast iron clad stone tower all painted white.{{cite web|title=South Gare Lighthouse |work=British Listed Buildings |accessdate=17 August 2010 |url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-60391-south-gare-lighthouse-redcar}}{{Cite rowlett|enge|date=4 August 2009|access-date=28 December 2009}} Small porthole windows in the north and south side of the column light an internal helical newel staircase.

The light source is held in the original eight windowed lantern housing under a hemispherical copper domed roof. Below the windows there is a railed circular platform supported by brackets. The current light source is a 45 Watt high intensity LED with a fourth order prismatic lens and can be seen for a range of {{convert|20|mi|nmi}}. Set {{convert|53|ft|m|0}} above mean high water the light operates automatically exhibiting sectored red and white with a 0.5 s flash every 12 seconds with an effective intensity of 150,000 Candelas. The light is powered by a Schlunk 100 Watt water-cooled hydrogen fuel cell{{cite web|last=Johnston |first=James |title=Teesside world first in fuel cells |work=Gazette Live |accessdate=3 January 2010 |date=5 November 2007 |url=http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/local-news/teesside-world-first-fuel-cells-3738049}}; {{cite web|title=Hydrogen power lights up the seas |work=New Scientist |accessdate=27 December 2009 |date=6 November 2007 |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19626285.700-hydrogen-power-lights-up-the-seas.html}} a world first. This arrangement is more reliable than the mains electricity supply along the exposed breakwater because of its vulnerability in storms.

The lighthouse is a listed building and still operates using the original lenses. Today the lighthouse is owned and operated by PD Ports,{{Cite rowlett|engne|accessdate=2016-05-06}} and has the Admiralty code A2626, NGA code 2020, and Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society (ARLHS) code ENG-131. The lighthouse can give status broadcasts using radio telemetry with the callsign G0SBN/P.{{cite web |title=South Gare Light – ARLHS ENG-131 |work=Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society |accessdate=27 December 2009 |url=http://wlol.arlhs.com/lighthouse/ENG131.html}}

{{Portal|Engineering}}

• List of lighthouses in England
• South Gare

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-60391-south-gare-lighthouse- British Listed Buildings]
• [http://wlol.arlhs.com/lighthouse/ENG131.html Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society]
• [http://www.mycetes.co.uk/a/page63.html Lighthouse E-clips]
• [http://www.redcar.org/?p=117 Redcar.org].

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Category:Lighthouses completed in 1884

Category:Lighthouses in North Yorkshire

Category:Buildings and structures in Redcar and Cleveland

Category:Grade II listed lighthouses

Category:Grade II listed buildings in North Yorkshire

Category:Redcar