newhaven lighthouse, edinburgh

[tokeheid]

newhaven lighthouse, edinburgh

i have done a bit of research regarding this site but have come across nothing. let me know if you know anything of it's history.


we discovered this small lighthouse in late summer 08. a random biking excursion had unwittingly lead us to this interesting find.

the building has 3 floors. the main floor has several rooms which were all empty and had been slightly vandalised. we did however find what seems to a garage/workshop with some old rustic equipment.

there is no longer stairs upto the 1st level. remains of the winding iron staircase remain but the rest have presumabley been removed to prevent people from going up.

the first floor leads on the roof of the ground floor and upto the light/viewing deck.

if you want to see the full set of photos check out http://fonetography.jimdo.com/lighthoose.php

feel free to leave any comments.

 

[Foxylady]

Funky lighthouse, or what!
Very nice find, tokeheid. Welcome to DP, btw.

 

[mr_bones]

That's great!

 

[smileysal]

What a lovely and unexpected find. It's a shame it's been vandalised, would make a lovely tea bar, or something touristy.

Cheers, and welcome to DP from me too.

Sal

 

[fire*fly]

I love it & want to live there

 

[Dirus_Strictus]

This is obviously a signaling point/navigation aid to the shipping routes in that area that belonged to the harbour or port authority. Sometimes these places also had moorings for a pilot or harbour master's launch, did the pier like structure have any bollards or fixed ladders on it? Nice to see the air receiver for the fog horns still in place, any sign of the compressor in any of the other rooms? Suggest that a look on a 1930's/1940's map might give you an insight into what the building was actually used for or belonged to.

 

[LutEx]

A nice wee find!! I'll be sure to pop my head in there next time I'm up!

Oh and welcome to DP!

 

[Lightbuoy]

Exploring a an abandoned Lighthouse must be something of a rarity these days. An excellent find. Loving the design of this one too. Ta for sharing!

Lb :jimlad:

 

[Seahorse]

Here's a link to an out of copyright map on Peoples Map. Doesn't really tell you much.

http://peoplesmap.com/?y=677354&x=3...MAGE,PEOPLESMAP,POPULAR,PEOPLESMAPU&overlays=

I must have a look to try to see that Martello tower in nearby Leith next time I'm on a boat down that way. All I ever remember seeing is the warehouses in the docks.

 

[Dirus_Strictus]

Here's a link to an out of copyright map on Peoples Map. Doesn't really tell you much.

Your link reveals more than is obvious at first glance, and reinforces my original though that the light was an important navigation point. From the map you can see that this light is approximately midway between the twin lights at the entrance to Granton Harbour and those on the Leith Harbour entrance, the map also shows the ferry route into Granton Harbour. The clincher for me is the fog horn situated on the light. In this era of GPS and modern route planning Radar the importance of the humble fog horn is all but forgotten, to anybody searching for landfall on a foggy winter's night the sound could be their savior. In severe foggy weather during those far off days, it would be possible to mistake the the two harbour mouths if one only got sight of one pair of lights when sailing across the water. The Newhaven light and fog horn would allow one to differentiate which harbour mouth lights you were actually seeing.

As I said GPS has completely altered navigation for the coastal sailor; however, the sound of the horn carrying through a sea hugging fog is a sound that will always remind me of my introduction to the harsh realities of inshore fishing many years ago.