Name and Location

Morecambe Pier Light is a small, Grade II-listed harbour light located at Unnamed Road (promenade), Morecambe, Lancashire, LA4 4NJ, United Kingdom. Its coordinates are 54° 04′ 28.17″ N, 2° 52′ 42.63″ W, and the nearest Plus Code is 34FC+QH Morecambe, UK.

2. Construction and History

Morecambe Pier Light was erected in the late 19th century (circa 1870s) to guide vessels into the bay and to mark the pier head. The original timber and iron piers were gradually demolished or swept away by storms, with the last surviving section removed in 1992.

3. Architecture and Materials

The light tower is a functional Victorian harbour light, standing approximately 8 meters high (height to light around 10 meters above ground). It has a painted brick base, cast-iron lantern and gallery, and decorative cast-iron cresting around the gallery.

4. Light and Navigation

Morecambe Pier Light is currently a fully automated minor light under remote monitoring. Its focal height is approximately 11 meters above mean high water, with a nominal range of about 4 nautical miles (harbour/bay light). The characteristic is an occulting or flashing white light.

5. Accessibility and Visiting

The tower interior is closed to the public, but visitors can access the promenade viewpoint free of charge. To get there, follow Marine Road East to the truncated pier head. Nearest car park: West End Road car park (LA4 5EU), 300 meters east.

6. Notable Views and Landscape

From the base of the light tower, visitors enjoy expansive views across Morecambe Bay to the Furness Peninsula and the Lake District fells. The intertidal sands and mudflats reveal shorebirds and intricate channels of the bay at low tide.

7. Anecdotes and Folklore

Local tradition holds that the pier light's lantern was once manually wound by the keeper of the adjacent signal station, whose cottage has long since been demolished. Occasional ghost-lore sightings of a Victorian-clad figure wandering the sands at dawn persist among early-morning dog-walkers.

8. Technical and Operational Details

The light is listed as Grade II by Historic England for its group value with Morecambe promenade structures and as a rare survival of small Victorian pier lights. Lancaster City Council manages the structure, maintaining it with advice from Historic England.