The current Flamborough Head Lighthouse was first established on 1 December 1806. Evidence suggests a beacon stood on Flamborough Head as far back as Roman times.
The first recorded tower marking this dangerous stretch of coast northeast of Bridlington was built in 1669 by Sir John Clayton, though it was never lit. That year, Clayton received a patent to erect lighthouses at Flamborough and several other sites along the east coast of England. Despite opposition from Trinity House, he persevered, building towers at Flamborough, Cromer, the Farne Islands, and two at Corton in Suffolk. Of these, only the Corton towers were ever lit, in 1675, but they were extinguished in 1678 when shipowners refused to pay light dues.
Clayton’s Flamborough tower, completed in 1674, was an octagonal chalk structure with red brick string courses, standing 79 feet tall. Fireplace flues in its walls suggest it was intended for habitation as well as for use as a lighthouse. It was designed to display a fire on its summit, but Clayton was unable to fund the supply of fuel and abandoned the scheme in 1678. The tower still stands today, though it has remained unused for more than a century.
Between 1770 and 1806, 174 vessels were lost near Flamborough Head. In response, Trinity House resolved to build a lighthouse of its own. Samuel Wyatt, already known for designing the corporation’s headquarters at Tower Hill in London, was appointed as consultant engineer. Construction began in 1806 under John Matson, a Bridlington builder. The site was set back from the cliff edge to account for erosion of the soft chalk.
The new 90-foot tower was completed within nine months. Its lighting system, suggested by Benjamin Milne, Customs Agent at Bridlington, and designed by George Robinson, was a pioneering rotating apparatus. It contained 21 Argand oil lamps arranged in three banks of seven with 21-inch parabolic reflectors. One bank was fitted with red glass, producing the distinctive character of three flashes—two white followed by one red. This innovation, the first use of red in lighthouse optics, was later adopted elsewhere. Flamborough Head Lighthouse was first lit on 1 December 1806.
Fog presented a persistent hazard along this coast. In 1861, a fog signal was introduced at the headland, firing an 18-pound cannon at 15-minute intervals. This was replaced in 1878 by a rocket signal fired every ten minutes.
Flamborough was classed as a shore station, and two keepers and their families were initially accommodated on site. With the introduction of fog signals, the staff increased to three or four, and substantial new dwellings were built adjacent to the lighthouse.
A new lighting system was installed in June 1872, maintaining the two white and one red flash but extending the range. In 1896, the fog signal was altered to one rocket every five minutes. This in turn was replaced by a siren in 1908, housed in a new building on the former gun battery site. Two Rayleigh trumpets were mounted on its roof, sounding one long and one short blast every 90 seconds. A more powerful diaphone fog signal replaced the siren in 1924.
In June 1900, the original reflector system was replaced with a catadioptric lens and oil lamp, still showing two white and one red flash every 30 seconds. A new burner in 1907 altered the character to two white and one red flash every 45 seconds.
In 1925, the lantern was raised nine feet to house a new first-order optic made by Chance Brothers of Birmingham. This created the unusual feature of upper and lower galleries. The new paraffin vapour burner produced a group of four white flashes every 15 seconds.
The diaphone fog signal was replaced in 1975 by an electric system, with an emitter stack mounted on the roof.
The lighthouse was automated in 1996, with the last keepers withdrawn on 8 May. Further modernisation took place in 2022 with the installation of LED lighting. The former optic was removed and is now displayed at the base of the tower.
Today, Flamborough Head Lighthouse serves as both an active aid to navigation and a visitor centre. There is car parking and a cafe and shop adjacent to the building.
From around 1840 until the early 1900s, the Old Chalk Tower was used as a marine telegraph station using semaphore flag signals. Signals would be transmitted along the coast to the next station, which would have been at Bridlington Fort. It became Grade II listed in 1952 and was restored in 1996.
The tower, which has 98 steps to the top, is now managed by the Friends of the Chalk Tower and is occasionally open to the public. The old lighthouse is on the edge of the Flamborough Head Golf Club.
When you buy something through one of the links on my site, I may earn an affiliate commission.
Copyright © 2026 – All Rights Reserved.
