OLD FLAME

This was thought to be the very first in England - The Old Lighthouse at Flamborough Head in East Yorkshire. Also known as The Old Beacon' Light it is a chalk, octagonal tower - 79 feet / 24 metres high - built between 1669 and 1674 by Sir John Clayton.

It was designed for a coal or brushwood fire to be lit on top. However investigations suggest that a fire was never actually lit on top of the tower, so it may have been used as a day beacon instead.

Interesting local stories suggest that, instead of being used to save lives, lights were used to lure ships onto the rocks below. Villagers could then plunder the ships' cargoes - known as 'wrecking'. Between 1770 and 1806, 174 ships were wrecked in the area, so a new lighthouse was built in 1806 to replace this tower. The top is just visible to the left of this tower.

Hope you all have a grand weekend !
LATE NEWS - would you believe that the blue skies have given way to a hailstorm and there is now 3cm of snow on the lawn ! Grand British weather indeed !