Belle Tout at 70: Celebrating Seven Decades of an Extraordinary Lighthouse On 20th September 2026, owner David Shaw and architect Dominic Cullinan joined Sarah Gorrell on BBC Radio Sussex to talk about the 70th anniversary celebrations. After the second world war, there were suggestions that the ruined Lighthouse should simply be demolished and its granite […]
Why granite? Belle Tout Lighthouse Tower is constructed from Granite, which was used extensively in 19th-century lighthouse construction, because it solved several major engineering problems at once. Why granite was preferred? Strength against waves and storms. Lighthouses on exposed coasts had to survive: hurricane-force winds, saltwater corrosion, constant wave impact, and flying shingle or debris. […]
The year is 1834…. When Belle Tout Lighthouse first shone in 1834, Britain was lit by candlelight, messages travelled no faster than horses or ships, and the Industrial Revolution was only beginning to reshape the world. When the lighthouse opened, Queen Victoria had not yet taken the throne, photography was in its infancy, and crossing […]