52°26'.2N ~ 001°43'.8E
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52°26'.2N ~ 001°43'.8E
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Pakefield Lighthouse - The Lighthouse That Time Forgot 1831 - 1864
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If
you ask the majority of east Coast Mariners they would not have heard of
Pakefield Lighthouse, in fact some lifelong residents of Pakefield are
unaware of it's existence.
The continually shifting sandbanks of this part of the coast make navigation very difficult between the Barnard and Newcome sands. In July 1831 the committee of Trinity House Elder Brethren contracted Richard Suter to design a lighthouse to assist ships through this narrow seaway and Messrs James Taylor of Great Yarmouth was to build it. Their decision may well have been encouraged by the prospect of the new harbour at Lowestoft which was to be opened on the 10th August 1831. The lighthouse was erected in the grounds of Pakefield Hall, thirty four feet above sea level and it shone a red light that was visible for nine miles. The final account for the whole establishment was £821. 9s. 4d. The light was first lit on the 1st May 1832. we know from an old Trinity House logbook that in 1841 the light was in the care of "Old Captain Goodwin, lately retired from the Jamaica Trade." Mother nature was in control of the lighthouse's fate and as the sandbanks and seaway moved too far south the light ceased to be an effective aid to shipping and so it was finally extinguished on the 1st December 1864. Very little else is known about the lighthouse until well into the 20th century, it is assumed that it remained derelict for over 50 years. Local newspapers reveal that it was eventually sold to the owners of Pakefield Hall in 1929 for the sum of £150.0s.0d.
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An extract from an 1846 sea chart of this coast showing the red light of Pakefield lighthouse |
1930's photograph showing the original holiday camp |
In
the late 1930s Howard Barrett of Pakefield Hall opened the Pakefield
Holiday Camp which comprised of tents standing in farmland.
In the 1930s, as the camp became more popular. they replaced the tents with wooden chalets and it became known as " The Pakefield Holiday Camp" offering "150 acres that include Bowling Greens, Putting Greens, Tennis Courts and Dancing Free. Sun and Sea Bathing on fine smooth sandy beach which extends for three miles. Whist drives and Concerts arranged." |
In April 1938 The Royal Observer Corps, Group 14 Delta 4, reporting directly to Bury St Edmunds H.Q., were stationed at the lighthouse. The roof was removed so that any approaching aircraft or vessels could be clearly seen. Open to the elements some of their watches could be cold and miserable but this tedium was often relieved by chatting to A.T.S. girls billeted in the cottages at the lighthouse. The holiday camp was used as a transit camp for refugees and troops of various nationalities.
There were many incidents during the war. The lighthouse was hit by machine gun fire during a German air raid on Lowestoft on 12th May 1943. One sad incident over the lighthouse, 22nd April 1944, was an ambush by German ME410 night fighters which shot down nine U.S.A.F. bombers as they returned home late, after a raid on Germany. In October 1944 a V1 flying bomb with a faulty gyroscope was spotted 100 ft above the waves heading straight for the lighthouse. With no time to call H.Q. the lookouts ran from the building only to see the bomb plunge into the sea in front of them. Toward the end of the war the 40mm Bofor's battery along these cliffs became very proficient at shooting down V1 bombs, very few making it to their targets. Later when the VII launching sites were moved to Holland, red exhausts at night and vapour trails in the day could be spotted over the Dutch coast and reported to H.Q. giving four minutes warning to London and other targets.
The lookout was finally closed in late 1945 and the lighthouse returned to the holiday camp.
Aerial photograph of the lighthouse and cottages taken in the 1950s
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In
1958 the camp was bought by Pontins and with the building of the modern
bars, restaurants and large indoor swimming pool became, as it is today,
one of the most modern and popular holiday centres in the United Kingdom.
In the year 2000, with the kind permission of Pontins Holiday Centre, a group of local volunteers renovated the lighthouse and transformed it into a Coastal Surveillance Station. Acknowledgements: Gerry Douglas Sherwood - The Association of Lighthouse Keepers. David Guyn - Manager of Pontins Holiday Centre 1976 - 1996 Ted Rawston - Royal Observer Corps 1942 - 1984 |
Some views of the lighthouse
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| The lighthouse exterior during renovations in 2000 |
Pakefield Coast Watch Official Opening October 2000 |
As it is today flying the Union Flag and the House Flag of the Sea Safety Group UK |
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Pakefield Lighthouse as seen by passing vessels
Background reproduced from Admiralty Chart 1536 by permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office and the UK Hydrographic Office (www.ukho.gov.uk)
