Happisburgh Lighthouse Paint Ruined
By Sue Clark on Jun 16, 2009 in News 
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And Not From Vandalism
Happisburgh Lighthouse, the only privately run lighthouse in Great Britain, had a bit of bad luck the other day. It had been overdue for a new coat of paint, and after getting the paint for the masonry donated and some minor repairs to the exterior completed, the painting work began as scheduled. Unfortunately, as the workers were just finishing up painting the red portions of the lighthouse, a torrential rainfall appeared, and the still wet paint ran down into the white, turning it into an unlikely shade of pink.To complete the painting, the workers will now have to use twice as much white paint as planned.
Although it’s only temporary, it’s still frustrating for the Happisburgh Trust, which runs the lighthouse. The Queen Mother transferred the lighthouse to them in 1990, and they recently managed to snag the Royal Pharologist, Princess Anne, as their patron. The Princess Royal also oversees all the lighthouses in Scotland, so it was quite the coup to have her patronage for the three year term. Although as much of a lighthouse lover as the Princess is, it was probably not hard for her to say yes.
Closed Until July 26
The lighthouse is closed to the public until July 26. It’s not expected that the extra work will delay the reopening. It will be open every Sunday through August. Money is still needed to purchase some heaters for the tower, as the dampness is an ongoing problem. The lighthouse Trust receives no public money, and are solely funded by donations. Lighthouse News is thinking they probably are wishing they had those heaters for the outside of the tower, to dry the paint before it could run.
The BBC has a short video on the site, showing the streaks of pink. It’s worth a look. news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8102921.stm
My condolences to the Trust. As sad as it is, at least it wasn’t an act of vandalism that caused the damage. Just keep an eye on the sky the next time.
Photo credit: Happisburgh Lightouse - Norfolk by nick.garrod. Some rights reserved.
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2 Comment(s)
By Patrick Tubby on Jun 17, 2009 | Reply
Just to update those of you who may be concerned with Happisburgh’s paint problems. The media have made much of this story. However there wasn’t much of a story to tell in the first place. Yes torrential rain did affect the application of a small amount of paint. The white band over which this ran was still to be painted, so it didn’t run over fresh paint. By using a water based masonry paint, much of the staining was removed the same day, and by the following morning there was no trace that anything had been amiss. The 2009 repaint (which also includes inside the tower), is expected to cost between £20,000 and £25,000. The money being raised by volunteers at Happisburgh over the last few years. The work has been aided by the donation of a large amount of the paint required by Sandtex, the well known producer of quality exterior paints.
Happisburgh is the only independently operated working lighthouse in the UK. It was saved from closure by the local community in 1990, and today the lighthouse is run by volunteers and funded by voluntary contributions. For further details check out www.happisburgh.org/lighthouse
Patrick Tubby
Chairman, Happisburgh Lighthouse Trust
By Sue Clark on Jun 18, 2009 | Reply
Well, it did seem as if it was merely an annoyance. That’s why I was a bit joking of this, in fact, I was going to put it in the “Light Side” section.
Perhaps it was a slow news day for the media? Anyway, I’m glad it wasn’t anything major, and kudos to you and the Trust for doing such a great job.