Following the establishment of the
Hartlepool Dock & Railway company,
West Hartlepool quickly grew into a sizeable coal port on the Durham coast. In 1844, mariners tasked with navigating their way into the new docks had expressed concern about the inadequate provision of lights on this dangerous stretch of rocky coastline, and in 1846 the
Corporation of Trinity House instructed the harbour authority to make necessary provision.
1847–1915: the first light on The Heugh A lighthouse was promptly built in sandstone, at a cost of £3,200: a tapering cylindrical tower high. The main light was visible for 18 miles out to sea. A subsidiary (red) light was shown from a window lower down on the tower 'from half flood to half ebb' to signal the state of the
tide (during the day a red spherical day mark was displayed in place of the red light). In December 1895 the
characteristic of the main light was changed from fixed to
occulting (going dark for one second every five seconds). The old light's demise came about as an indirect result of the German
raid on Hartlepool in December 1914. The lighthouse itself was unscathed (though several nearby buildings received severe damage), but it was realised that the tower obstructed the line of fire of the defensive guns of the
Headland batteries. It was therefore dismantled in 1915.
1915–1927: temporary light on the Town Moor As a temporary measure, the light, lantern and lens from the Heugh Lighthouse were instead mounted on a wooden lattice structure on the nearby town moor. They remained here until the erection of the new Heugh light in 1927. When the structure was dismantled, the optic (lenses) and light array were saved; they are now on display in the
Museum of Hartlepool. The light displayed two white flashes every ten seconds. == Present-day operation ==