Bidston Lighthouse

Image: © Chris Wynn Taken: 3 May 2014

There has been a lighthouse on Bidston Hill since about 1771, when the first Bidston Lighthouse was built, further from the shore than any other lighthouse in Britain. The tower was octagonal, and the lamp room featured a massive parabolic reflector, 13’6″ in diameter, developed at the Bidston Signals Station by William Hutchinson, Liverpool Harbour Master and one-time privateer. This was a replacement for the second Leasowe lighthouse, which was out at sea. The light from Leasowe lighthouse would be aligned with the light from the bidston (or the previous Leasowe lighthouse) by ships and then they could use this as a navigational aid for shipping entering the Mersey Estuary. The present Bidston Lighthouse and Cottages were built by Mersey Docks and Harbour Board in 1873, after the original lighthouse was damaged by fire and demolished. The building is Grade-II listed and privately owned. Built in stone blocks with a "rock face" finish, it has four floors connected by a spiral stone staircase to the third level and thereafter by a steep wooden staircase to the lamp room which has an enormous window, in line with Leasowe lighthouse, and there is access to an external gallery with a cast-iron railing all round the upper structure. A 6 image stitch of Bidston Lighthouse Stitching was done using Autopano Giga 3.5 final PP'ing with Photoshop CS6 File Size : 7.4 mb Camera Make : Canon Camera Model : Canon EOS 500D Software : Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Windows)

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0