Pharos Lighthouse

Fleetwood, United Kingdom

Open to visitors

The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.

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Standing 93 feet tall on Pharos Street in the heart of Fleetwood, Lancashire, this distinctive Runcorn red sandstone lighthouse was designed in 1839 by Decimus Burton and Captain H.M. Denham and completed in 1840. Burton, already appointed architect of the new town of Fleetwood, created the Pharos (formally the Upper Lighthouse) to work in tandem with the shorter Lower Lighthouse on the seafront; mariners were instructed to keep the Pharos's light directly above the Lower's to navigate safely through the treacherous sandbanks of the Wyre estuary. Both towers were first illuminated on December 1, 1840, initially powered by the town's gas supply with parabolic reflectors and later converted to electricity. Unusually for a functioning British lighthouse, the Pharos stands among residential buildings rather than in isolation, earning its enduring name from the ancient Pharos of Alexandria. Now managed by the Port of Fleetwood and designated Grade II listed, it remains a Grade II listed landmark, though closed to the public.

Built: 1840
Type: lighthouse
Heritage: Grade II listed building
Height: 27 m
Place: Fleetwood, United Kingdom

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Location

53.92650, -3.00753