Sunderland’s coastline is marked by two very different lighthouses – the impressive Roker Lighthouse at the end of Roker Pier, and the more modest, historic Old South Pier Lighthouse, also known as Meik’s Lighthouse. Together, they tell the story of Sunderland’s evolution from a hazardous harbour to one of the busiest coal-shipping ports in the UK.
Sunderland sits at the mouth of the River Wear, which historically offered a natural but treacherous haven for ships. Shifting sandbanks formed several channels, making navigation hazardous. From the seventeenth century, improvements were made to create a safer harbour and accommodate the town’s growing trade in coal and salt.
In 1669, Charles II authorised the construction of a pier and lighthouses to maintain the harbour, funded by dues on shipping. The River Wear Commission was later established to oversee improvements.
Work on what is now known as the Old South Pier began in 1723, followed by proposals for an Old North Pier in 1748. A temporary breakwater was built using sunken keelboats before a permanent pier was begun in 1786. This wooden, stone-filled frame stretched 1,500 feet out to sea and was later faced with masonry.
In 1794, a lighthouse was erected at the pier’s end. Around 700 yards of pier were enclosed by masonry under the supervision of engineer Robert Stout.
In 1802, Stout’s successor, Jonathan Pickernell, built a stone lighthouse on the Old South Pier. It displayed a red light when there was sufficient water over the bar for ships to enter. By day, a flag conveyed the same message.
Later in 1802, Pickernell also constructed a 75-foot octagonal lighthouse at the end of the Old North Pier, which was extended by another 115 feet.
In 1840–41 the Old North Pier was lengthened again, and Pickernell’s lighthouse was moved 450 feet further along the pier – an impressive feat, especially since the light continued operating each night during the move, using gas.
By the 1850s, Sunderland’s port was booming. The original Old South Pier lighthouse was replaced in 1856 by a 50-foot cast-iron tower designed by Thomas Meik. This lighthouse displayed three separate lights from different levels, allowing ships to line up correctly with the channel.
By the end of the nineteenth century, Sunderland had become one of the largest coal-shipping ports in the UK. A new outer harbour was created by building two curved breakwaters, narrowing and deepening the channel.
Roker Pier, which replaced the Old North Pier, was begun in 1885. Its foundation stone was laid on 14 September by the River Wear Commissioners’ chief engineer, Henry Hay Wake. Built from granite-faced concrete blocks, the pier stretches 2,000 feet into the North Sea.
At the pier’s end stands Roker Lighthouse, a striking 75-foot tapering tower banded with red and white Aberdeen granite. It was completed in 1903 and was said to be the most powerful port lighthouse in Britain at the time.
Originally gas-lit, the lantern was later converted to petroleum vapour, then electricity, and eventually LED lighting. The pier also contains a tunnel used to deliver gas during construction, which became the keepers’ access route during storms.
Roker Lighthouse was fully modernised in 1976, when its original prismatic lens was replaced with sealed-beam lamps. In 2007, a low-energy rotating lamp was installed.
When Roker Lighthouse came into service in 1903, the Old South Pier Lighthouse was discontinued. The older piers were increasingly battered by waves, and the 1802 lighthouse began to subside. It was dismantled in 1902 and replaced by a shorter stone tower, later substituted by a yellow steel mast in 1958.
The Old South Pier was eventually shortened in 1983, and Meik’s cast-iron lighthouse was removed and re-erected in Roker Cliff Park, where it remains a familiar local landmark.
A major restoration project, funded by the Heritage Lottery, took place in 2013. Roker Pier and Lighthouse were repaired, and many of the original interior features – parquet floors, wooden panelling, Stoke-on-Trent tiles, and tidal gauge – were restored. The keepers’ cottages were converted into a café.
In 2018, the lighthouse and its access tunnel were opened to the public for guided tours for the first time. Visitors can walk the tunnel, climb the spiral staircase, and enjoy views from the lantern room.
Storms, including 2023’s Storm Babet, have occasionally forced closures, but as of 2025, tours have resumed. Sturdy footwear is recommended – the tunnel floor can be wet and uneven.
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