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Published:
April 29, 2009
Flight
of steps to be re-introduced
on Burnham's historic lighthouse
A
flight of
steps leading up the outside of Burnham-On-Sea's historic beach
lighthouse look set to be re-introduced, 25 years after they were
removed due to storm damage.
Sedgemoor
District Council, the owner of the familiar landmark, has this
week applied for Listed Building Consent to make alterations to
the low lighthouse - and re-introduce the stairs pictured below
in the early 1900s.
 Claire
Faun, a spokesperson for the council, explained to Burnham-On-Sea.com
this week: "The purpose of the application is to install
new access stairs to replace the original staircase that was removed
back in 1984 due to storm damage."
"Access
is required to the upper levels of the lighthouse to carry out
routine maintenance and this is currently being carried out off
ladders and the situation is very unsatisfactory from an Health
and Safety perspective."
She
added: "The
new access stair will take the form of the original and be mounted
on the original timber supports at both top and bottom levels,
and the staircase will be painted black as the original."
"The
design will echo the form of the original but will be constructed
of galvanised painted steel, as opposed to the original timber
construction, which given the extreme conditions faced by the
structure, is likely to have a limited life."
"The
advantage of the steel construction is that it will allow for
open mesh treads and landing, thus relieving water pressure during
the rise of fall of the tide and limiting the effects of wave
action."
| .HISTORY
OF BURNHAM'S LOW LIGHTHOUSE |
 Burnham-On-Sea's
Low Lighthouse was built in 1832 to complement the town's
tower lighthouse.
The Low Lighthouse's lights were inactive between 1969 and
1993, but were re-established on 31st December 1993.
The
light is shown through a large window at the front of the
building, which is now a listed building.
Mounted
on nine timber pilings, the lighthouse is painted white
with a single vertical red stripe on its front face. It
is nine metres tall. More...
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RELATED
LINKS:
Photos
of Burnham-On-Sea's low lighthouse
History
of Burnham's lighthouses
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