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The Great Britain Guide

Lighthouses · South Wales

Black Nore Lighthouse

Black Nore Lighthouse — lighthouse in Somerset, England, UK.

Black Nore Lighthouse, lighthouses in South Wales

Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
30 min–1 h
Nearest railway station
Avonmouth · 7.2 km
  • Free entry
  • Family-friendly
  • Dog-friendly

About

Black Nore Lighthouse is a working or historic lighthouse on the United Kingdom coast. Records date its origin to 1894. Constructed primarily of cast iron. Heritage designation: Grade II listed building. Managed by Trinity House. Wikidata describes it as: "lighthouse in Somerset, England, UK". Coordinates: 51.4847°, -2.7997°.

Photo gallery

Heritage listing

Black Nore Lighthouse is a grade II listed building in Portishead, Somerset, England. The cast iron white-painted lighthouse was built in 1894 by Trinity House to guide shipping in the Severn Estuary as it made its way in and out of Bristol Harbour. It sits on a small outcrop where the estuary opens out into the Bristol Channel. Before its light was decommissioned, the lens array (a rotating fourth-order 250 mm biform optic) flashed twice every ten seconds. The waters off Black Nore have one of the largest tidal ranges in the world, reaching about 14.8 metres (49 ft) at nearby Avonmouth. This produces fast tidal streams and short windows for safe navigation.

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.

Protected designations

  • Site of Special Scientific Interest: Portishead Pier to Black Nore SSSI
  • Site of Special Scientific Interest: Severn Estuary SSSI
  • Ramsar wetland: Severn Estuary

Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.

From the Wikipedia article

Black Nore Lighthouse is a grade II listed building in Portishead, Somerset, England. The cast iron white-painted lighthouse was built in 1894 by Trinity House to guide shipping in the Severn Estuary as it made its way in and out of Bristol Harbour. It sits on a small outcrop where the estuary opens out into the Bristol Channel. Before its light was decommissioned, the lens array (a rotating fourth-order 250 mm biform optic) flashed twice every ten seconds. The waters off Black Nore have one of the largest tidal ranges in the world, reaching about 14.8 metres (49 ft) at nearby Avonmouth. This produces fast tidal streams and short windows for safe navigation. Approaches are marked by shifting sandbanks, such as the Welsh Hook and the English and Welsh Grounds, where depths and channels change continuously as the seabed moves.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

History

The light was first operated on 19 April 1894. In December 1900, the steamship Brunswick grounded on a sandbank known as the Welsh Hook, between Black Nore and the English and Welsh Grounds Lightship, while en route from Liverpool to Bristol. The vessel later capsized and sank, and over a century later its wreck was positively identified through hydrographic surveys carried out by the Bristol Port Company. Until World War II the lighthouse was lit by gas, supplied from the gas main and stored in tanks nearby. The rotating optic was installed in 1908 and flashed twice every ten seconds. Its drive mechanism was wound up daily by the Ashford family until 1941 when the light was converted to…

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
51.4847, -2.7997
Parish
Portishead
Postcode
BS20 8GB
Parliamentary constituency
North Somerset
Established
1894
Nearest railway station
Avonmouth7.2 km

Sources

Other places nearby

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Nearby

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Frequently asked questions

Where is Black Nore Lighthouse?
Black Nore Lighthouse is in South Wales, United Kingdom (postcode BS20 8GB), in the parish of Portishead.
When was Black Nore Lighthouse built?
Built or established in 1894.
Who runs Black Nore Lighthouse?
Black Nore Lighthouse is operated by Trinity House.
Is Black Nore Lighthouse a listed building?
Black Nore Lighthouse is officially recognised as Grade II listed building listed.
Is Black Nore Lighthouse a protected site?
Yes — Black Nore Lighthouse is part of the Portishead Pier to Black Nore SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest and the Severn Estuary SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Is Black Nore Lighthouse free to visit?
Yes, Black Nore Lighthouse is free to enter.