Lighthouse set to shed light on isolated beauty spot’s heritage

The familiar black and white shape of the 19th century lighthouse, is the last thing ferry passengers see leaving the Humber estuary for the Continent and the first thing on their return.

The lighthouse has opened a few days a year in recent times for one-off arts events, but Yorkshire Wildlife Trust now wants to open it all year round to visitors with displays on all six of its floors and people able to climb the 145 steps to the top to see the outstanding panoramic views.

The trust is about to embark on the second stage of an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund, after months of research into its history, and some of the findings will be on show at a heritage exhibition held at the lighthouse on May 18 and 19.

It has submitted three planning applications to East Riding Council, to make the grade two listed lighthouse the hub for the wildlife trust’s activities on the Point, turn a First World war gun store into toilets and build steps to a gun emplacement, with views over the Humber to Grimsby and Cleethorpes.

The plans are expected to attract more visitors – but the trust is taking care not to put pressure on the sensitive and heavily-protected site.

Heritage officer Harry Watkins said: “I think it will increase visitor numbers but a large part of the project has been how can we increase visitor numbers without increasing pressure on the Point, because at the end of the day that overrides all our concerns.

“We don’t want to do anything to change that sense of remoteness.

“At the end of the day it is a nature reserve that is protected by European legislation.”

One of the things Mr Watkins interested in is fresh perspectives of the headland.

He said: “People talk about the Humber as draining a fifth of England, but if you look at the lighthouse you can see it is an access point to a fifth of England, with boats being able to get all the way to Staffordshire and the Derwent, the network of canals that fuelled the Industrial Revolution.”

The structure was decommissioned in 1985, as advances in electronic navigational equipment having largely done away with the need for lighthouses.

But despite its age it has stood up well to the test of time and is structurally sound.

The trust has formed a steering group to ensure the plans support the surrounding nature reserve and landscape.

The centre would be primarily for education but also act as an exhibition space and visitor centre.

It would provide information on local wildlife and tell the story of the lighthouse’s history.

Mr Watkins said: “We will be dedicating a space to educational groups so they can have an indoor classroom on the nature reserve. One of the things schools find is that they have two hours outside and often there’s rain and wind.

“Having somewhere to come in and hook up tablets to project fieldwork is a plus.

“We are looking at developing apps to download before you come to Spurn and we are also looking at developing a set of teachers’ resources so when a teacher wants to bring a class they can go on the trust’s website and download a plan.”

People will get a stunning view from the top – better than other North East lighthouses because of the 360 degree views.

Spurn has had lighthouses dating back to 1427, the second longest history of lighthouses in the country.

Its significance for military planning also dates back centuries, as Mr Watkins found when he came across a chart of the Humber, prepared by William Cecil, Lord Burleigh, Lord Chancellor to Queen Elizabeth I. Showing details of the estuary, including depth of water and the many beacons along the coast, it dates back to 1580 to 1588, when the country was under threat of Spanish invasion.

Mr Watkins said: “It was a useful new tool for English merchant ships and also for Lord Burleigh to plan how to defend the Humber and work out which beacons and lights to extinguish if there was an invading Armada.”

If funding and planning permission are granted the lighthouse could be open by 2016. Warden on Spurn Andrew Gibson said: “The lighthouse is the gateway to Europe – if you are going out on the ferry or coming in you see it.

“Likewise for people on the South Bank, if they are in Cleethorpes or Grimsby, they are looking across to the lighthouse.

“Even in historic times in the 1900s it was labelled as the Cleethorpes or Grimsby lighthouse.

“People come round from the South Bank and say: ‘We’ve always wanted to come here.’”