WALNEY LIGHTHOUSE, HAWS POINT, WALNEY ISLAND, CUMBRIA, ENGLAND.
WALNEY LIGHTHOUSE WAS BUILT IN 1790, AND POSITIONED AT HAWS POINT ON THE ISLAND. ITS PURPOSE WAS TO IMPROVE THE NAVIGATION OF THE RIVER LUNE AND ACT AS A GUIDE FOR CARGO SHIPS FROM THE WEST INDIES BOUND FOR THE GLASSON DOCKS. THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS NOT BUILT TO BENEFIT BARROW, AS IT WAS ONLY A SMALL FISHING COMMUNITY AT THIS TIME. 
THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS BUILT OF STONE QUARRIED FROM OVERTON IN LANCASHIRE AND TRANSPORTED TO THE SITE BY SHIP. THE OCTAGONAL TOWER IS 70 FEET HIGH AND RESTS ON A CIRCULAR FOUNDATION 20 FEET 6 INCHES IN DIAMETER. THERE ARE 91 STEPS UP TO THE TOP OF THE LIGHTHOUSE. THE ORIGINAL LIGHT WAS AN ARGENT BURNER, A TYPE OF PARAFFIN LAMP. 
IN 1909 AN ACETYLENE GASLIGHT SYSTEM WAS INSTALLED WHICH FLASHED AT ONE MINUTE INTERVALS. IN 1953 THIS WAS REPLACED WITH AN ELECTRIC LIGHT WHICH FLASHES AT 15 SECOND INTERVALS. THE NEW LIGHT IS 30 TIMES MORE POWERFUL (450,000 CANDLE POWER) AND HAS A RANGE OF 18 MILES COMPARED TO 13 MILES OF ITS GAS PREDECESSOR. THE ELECTRIC LIGHT WAS FIRST POWERED BY ITS OWN GENERATOR, NOT BEING CONNECTED TO THE NATIONAL GRID UNTIL 1969. THIS GUIDING LIGHT CAN EVEN BE SEEN FROM BLACKPOOL. 
ATTACHED TO THE LIGHTHOUSE ARE TWO HOUSES IN WHICH THE KEEPER AND STAFF LIVE. THESE HOUSES WERE ORIGINALLY ONE HOUSE, WHICH WAS BUILT FOR THE FIRST FULL-TIME KEEPER. THE HOUSE WAS DIVIDED INTO TWO IN THE LATE 19TH CENTURY. AT THIS TIME THE LIGHTHOUSE’S ONLY WATER SOURCE CAME FROM THE RAIN AND THE ONLY LIGHTING CAME FROM CANDLES. 
DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR, THE HOUSE WAS USED AS AN OFFICERS' MESS WHEN 170 SOLDIERS WERE ENCAMPED AT THE LIGHTHOUSE AS PART OF THE COASTAL DEFENCE NETWORK. IN 1946 14 PRISONERS OF WAR WERE MOVED INTO THE CAMP. THEY DID ODD JOBS AROUND THE LIGHTHOUSE IN RETURN FOR CIGARETTES AND FOOD. THE REMAINS OF THE BARRACKS ARE STILL VISIBLE. 
TODAY THE LIGHTHOUSE IS RUN BY THE PORT OF LANCASTER COMMISSIONERS AND CONTAINS A RADIO BEACON FOR TRINITY HOUSE, FORMING A MAJOR LINK IN THE BRITISH COASTGUARD SYSTEM. ALTHOUGH THE LIGHTHOUSE IS NO LONGER OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, IT CAN BE VIEWED FROM THE OUTSIDE. 

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