Visit the historic maritime town of Harwich in Essex. Discover its lighthouses, lightvessels and Trinity House sites, and other fascinating historic sites.
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Did you know there are four lighthouses in the Harwich area? The Trinity House Central Monitoring and Control Centre is located on the Quay. A former lightship is also nearby and open to the public.
If you’re lucky, you may spot some additional lightvessels or lighthouse service vessels in the harbour.
But there’s lots more to see and do in this historic town. Join me on a tour of the highlights and lesser-known sites in the area.
Enjoy your visit to Harwich!
The Essex town of Harwich is located on the eastern shores of England, close to the Suffolk Border. Its position at the southern entrance to the Stour and Orwell estuaries makes it an ideal natural anchorage and safe harbour.
Dovercourt and Parkeston, where the North Sea ferries terminate, form the conurbation of Harwich.
From Ha’penny Pier, a passenger ferry runs across the water to Felixstowe and Shotley. Felixstowe is the UK’s busiest container port, handling nearly half of Britain’s container trade.
Harwich is also a haven for ship spotting, as well as lightvessels and lighthouse service ships!
Harwich is an excellent sheltered harbour, due to its location on the coast. It is the only large sheltered anchorage between the Humber and Thames. Because of its position, the area became a substantial naval base. Harwich Redoubt, Beacon Hill Battery and Bath Side Battery are all evidence of maritime occupation.
Many famous adventurers have set sail from Harwich. These include Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Francis Drake, and Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson.
It was also from Harwich that the Mayflower set sail for America in1620. Mayflower, a Harwich-registered vessel, was forced to call in at Plymouth due to poor weather conditions. Her Captain, Christopher Jones, lived in King’s Head Street, Harwich.
Diarist Samuel Pepys was Secretary of the Admiralty and MP for Harwich. Pepys was also elected Master of Trinity House in 1676. A plaque on the town hall commemorates his connection to the town.
During the Second World War, Harwich was a base for minesweepers and destroyers. In addition, the Dunkirk evacuation fleets assembled here.
The Harwich Society has compiled an excellent maritime trail and an audio trail.
Some of these Maritime Trail points of interest are also included in my list.
The Corporation of Trinity House was founded in 1513 by a Royal Charter from King Henry VIII. Initially based in Deptford, Trinity House provided mainly pilotage services.
Many lighthouses were originally privately owned. However, in 1836, an Act of Parliament gave Trinity House authority to purchase all remaining privately owned leases and manage navigation aids.
The Trinity House Operations Centre is located in Harwich overlooking The Quay. The current building was built in 2005, but older buildings are still in evidence nearby.
The depot at Harwich was also responsible for training lighthouse keepers.
Across the road from the headquarters is the buoy yard and pier. The buoy yard maintains and renews buoys and seamarks. The workshop repairs, tops up supplies, and performs general refurbishment work.
Following the Second World War, Trinity House took over the pier which is used to store buoys. Lighthouse tenders are also moored here when in the harbour.
Depending on where they work, you may see one or more lighthouse service tenders. The best way to find out where the service tenders are is by using the Marine Traffic App. You can save your favourite fleet and track their routes.
Built in 1982, THV Patricia is a Multi-Functional Tender (MFT). She is the oldest of the Trinity House fleet. Patricia can carry out various lighthouse services, including buoy maintenance and wreck marking.
THV Galatea was built in 2007 as a Multi Functional Vessel.
She is also used for commercial operations. Like Patricia, she lays buoys and is used in lightvessel maintenance.
THV Alert is a Rapid Intervention vessel often used to go to the aid of wreck marking.
You may see more lightvessels in the centre of the harbour, known as the stream moorings. Lightships may have been withdrawn from their station and are now awaiting overhaul.
At least one lightvessel is usually refurbished and ready for redeployment if one of the active lightvessels needs to be replaced at short notice.
Ha’penny Pier was so-called because the original ferry toll from here was a halfpenny.
It was built in 1853 and used as a departure point for paddle steamers until the First World War. It is one of the UK’s only remaining wooden working piers.
The old ticket office is home to the Harwich Historical Society, and the visitor centre is open over the summer. The Society also organise guided tours of Harwich from here.
Evening cruises depart from the pier in the summer along the Stour and Orwell rivers.
One lightvessel you will see is LV18, located on Ha’penny Pier. She is usually open to the public. This lightvessel is a must-see during your visit to Harwich.
LV18 was used for much of the filming of the movie The Boat that Rocked, though very little footage made the final cut.
Just alongside LV18 on The Quay is the current RNLI Lifeboat Station. This was built in 1890, replacing an earlier one that now forms the Lifeboat Museum.
The Quay is an excellent place for ship spotting. From Parkeston, regular ferries carrying both freight and passengers travel to the continent.
Parkeston is named after Mr Parkes, the first chairman of the Great Eastern Railway. He built Parkeston Quay as the terminal for the packet service to Holland.
The cottages at Angelgate were built in 1858 as a coastguard station on the site of the former Anglegate Battery army headquarters.
Harwich’s first Lifeboat station was established in 1876. A Lifeboat had been in operation between 1821 and 1825 before being withdrawn. The museum tells the story of the Harwich Lifeboat service.
The former Trinity House Catering Depot is located at 7 Church Street, opposite the church. Formerly the Harwich Post Office, Trinity House took over the depot on 1st January 1976.
Trinity House possibly used this after the closure of Blackwall to train lighthouse keepers, particularly in general catering skills. Trinity House may have also used it for other purposes.
Also known as the Range Rear, the High Lighthouse is the second to be built in this location. The first was built in 1665 on top of the old Town Gate. The current tower replaced it in 1818. It aligned with the Low Light to form leading lights into the channel, which formed a safe passage into Harwich.
The first Low Lighthouse on the foreshore operated with the High Lighthouse. The current Low Lighthouse was built in 1818, at the same time as the present High Lighthouse.
The Harwich Maritime Museum is located within the building.
Both Dovercourt lighthouses were built in 1863 to replace the High and Low Lighthouses. They worked as leading lights, guiding vessels around Landguard Point. They were also known as the Dovercourt Range Lights and were replaced by buoys in 1917.
The Trinity Cottages are in Fronks Road, a short walk from the Dovercourt Lighthouses. They are easily recognisable by their distinctive design. The cottages were built in 1862, and later years were used as dwellings for former lighthouse service personnel.
At some stage, they may have served as a shore station for keepers and their families. However, their original purpose is unclear.
The ‘donkey house’ on the corner of Fronks Road and Beach Road was up for sale in 2019.
LV15 was built in 1954. The lightvessel was moved to Tollesbury, Essex, and renamed Trinity in 1991. She is the base for Fellowship Afloat, which provides outdoor adventure activities.
Built in 1954, LV16 Lightvessel is now home to the TS Colne Sea Cadets, located off the aptly named Lightship Way in Colchester.
Built by Trinity House, the Naze Tower was used as a daymark, and is visible along the coastline.
Built in 1932, LV87 moved to Levington in 1973 following decommissioning. She is located in the marina of the Haven Ports Yacht Club at Suffolk Yacht Harbour, Levington. Her lantern was removed and used at the Inner Dowsing station. She later received a replacement lantern from LV88.
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