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This Victorian lighthouse built in 1843 on top of the White Cliffs and has the distinction of being used by Marconi for the world's first successful attempts at radio navigation.

National Trust Press Release.

Huge Conservation Works Completed at South Foreland Lighthouse.

Decade long conservation project has been completed to protect the lighthouse, which was the first in the world to display an electric light. Restoration work has made the inner catwalk safe for visitors to use for the first time, offering a unique angle of panoramic views across the English Channel.

The National Trust has reinstated the speaking tubes so visitors can experience the traditional method of communication used between the keepers and their cottages.

A vital, ten-year conservation project has just been completed at South Foreland Lighthouse, critical to protect the lighthouse for years to come.

A landmark of the White Cliffs, the Victorian lighthouse was built to warn mariners of shifting sands and guide them through the Strait of Dover. A place of innovation and science, the lighthouse was the first to display an electric light anywhere in the world.

In 2013, a Conservation Management Plan was established to manage the Lighthouse and understand the significance of its heritage. This plan provided and informed repair, maintenance, and management strategy to ensure the appropriate ongoing conservation of the site.

The initial research was completed in collaboration with The Up on the Downs Partnership Scheme. Volunteers and specialist partners worked alongside National Trust to produce one of the most detailed studies of lighthouse conservation.

Over the past decade, restoration work has been carried out on many parts of the lighthouse. The tower structure had suffered from the application of modern renders and paints, causing a slow saturation of the metre-thick walls, but now damaging materials have been removed where possible and replaced with more suitable, breathable coatings. The structure’s moisture levels were monitored for several years by National Trust volunteers, who used timber dowels to identify the rate and pattern of drying to help inform further interior works.

Work was also undertaken on internal plaster, and to provide the correct internal environment to best conserve this structure for the future. The walls were replastered in traditional lime to match the existing plaster, and the whole interior repainted in the colours of Trinity House tradition. Other services were brought up to date, including new electrical and fire alarm cabling, carefully hidden behind the original and significant wiring which forms part of the story of this innovative lighthouse. The original weathervane was temporarily taken away to be regilded in gold as it would have been under the care of Trinity House.

Elements of the roof were recovered including one of the adjoining lighthouse keeper cottages. Our volunteers and staff took this opportunity to write messages on the underside of new slates for future generations to discover.

The original lantern glass at the top of the tower has become very brittle over the years and needs replacing in addition to the conservation work. One diamond pane has been replaced, costing around £500 and bought thanks to on site donations from National Trust supporters. Each glass pane is around 15mm thick, and are individually made so we are now planning to fundraise for further replacements.

The National Trust acquired the lighthouse from Trinity House in 1989. Much of the internal equipment was left in-situ and remains on view as evidence of past and evolving technologies used at South Foreland.

The artefacts will be put back in place and the tales of old will continue. Excitingly, the work has also enabled us to reinstate the speaking tubes so visitors can experience the method of communication used between the keepers and their cottages. The work has also made the inner catwalk safe for visitors to use for the first time, offering a unique angle of panoramic views across the English Channel.

Additionally, we have been generously gifted a very special original clock from South Foreland Lighthouse dating back to 1905. The clock was presented to Colin Wortley on his retirement for his services to lighthouse keeping having been a Chief Engineer to Trinity House for many years. The clock is unique to South Foreland Lighthouse and will be re-instated in its original setting within the tower for visitors to see.

Trinity House is upgrading lighthouses to automated, LED lights and, in time, South Foreland Lighthouse will be one of the only remaining and working examples of a mercury bearing clockwork mechanism. The legacy of this project is to preserve layers of history for future generations as original features are being lost.

Our Building Surveyor and Project Manager Tom Nisbet told us that “this project of more than ten years in the making, has been the most rewarding and collaborative achievements of my career and something that I will forever be grateful to have been a part of.” Our heartfelt thanks goes out to all who have contributed to the project over the years.

For further press information: Gareth Wiltshire 07717 420176

Images – South Foreland March 23

As well as the research phase, an Archaeological Excavation was carried out in the grounds around the lighthouse. Where many artefacts, some dating back to Roman times, and some dating to the late 1800s were discovered.

The National Trust is a conservation charity founded in 1895 by three people: Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley, who saw the importance of the nation's heritage and open spaces and wanted to preserve them for everyone to enjoy. Today, across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, we continue to look after places so people and nature can thrive.

The challenges of the coronavirus pandemic have shown this is more important than ever. From finding fresh air and open skies to tracking a bee's flight to a flower; from finding beauty in an exquisite painting or discovering the hidden history of a country house nearby - the places we care for enrich people's lives.

Entirely independent of government, the National Trust looks after more than 250,000 hectares of countryside, 780 miles of coastline and 500 historic properties, gardens and nature reserves. In 2021/22 we received 20 million visitors. The National Trust is for everyone - we were founded for the benefit of the whole nation, and our 5.7 million members and over 44,000 volunteers support our work to care for nature, beauty, and history for everyone, forever.

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