Roker

The lighthouse from the Old South Pier was removed to Roker seafront in 1983. Designed by Thomas Meik, it dates from 1856

From 1717 the newly formed River Wear Commission began to improve the harbour entrance at the mouth of the Wear. By 1750 a pair of breakwaters had been built (which survive in truncated form as the 'Old' North and South Piers).

By the beginning of the next century each had a lighthouse at its end. (The lighthouse which stands today in Roker Cliff Park originally stood on the Old South Pier; it was deactivated in 1903 and removed eighty years later.)[3]

With the growth of Sunderland as a port, it was decided to improve the approach to the river by creating an outer harbour, protected by a new pair of new breakwaters curving out into the North Sea from the shore on each side. The new piers were the brainchild of Henry Hay Wake, who at the age of 25 had been appointed Chief Engineer to the River Wear Commission (in succession to Thomas Meik) in 1868.[4] The foundation stone for the New North Pier (Roker Pier) was laid on 14 September 1885. Applauded at the time as a triumph of engineering, the 1,198 ft (365 m) pier is built of granite-faced concrete blocks, which were loaded onto wagons at River Weir Works by a Goliath crane and unloaded and placed at the end of the pier by a Titan crane.

The opposite 'New South Pier' was begun at around the same time but never fully completed due to the start of the First World War; the twin lighthouse planned for its end was never built.

Roker Pier lighthouse

Location	City of Sunderland, United Kingdom
Coordinates	54.921263°N 1.352550°W / 54.921263; -1.352550
Year first constructed	1903
Construction	white and red granite tower
Tower shape	tapered cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markings / pattern	white and red band tower, white lantern room, black lantern roof
Tower height	23 metres (75 ft)
Focal height	25 metres (82 ft)
Original lens	3rd order rotating catadioptric
Current lens	LED
Range	23 nmi (43 km; 26 mi)
Characteristic	Fl W 20s.
Fog signal	1 blast every 20s.
Admiralty number	A2681
NGA number	2084
ARLHS number	ENG-116
Managing agent	Port of Sunderland[5]
Heritage	Grade II listed

The lighthouse at the pier head was completed in 1903. Its distinctive stripes are of naturally coloured red and white Aberdeen granite. When built it was said to be Britain's most powerful port lighthouse. Equipped with a third-order rotating catadioptric optic (consisting of a single-panel Fresnel lens backed by a prismatic mirror), it displayed a single flash every five seconds.[6] The lighthouse had initially (like its predecessors) been lit by gas from the town mains, but the supply to the end of the pier was found to be intermittent so the gas light was soon replaced by a Chance Brothers incandescent petroleum vapour mantle lamp.[7] This increased the effective intensity of the light from 40,000 to 150,000 candle power, to give it a range of 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi).

A fog siren was also provided, powered by compressed air from a pair of 7-horsepower gas engines located in the basement. It gave a two-second blast every twenty seconds in foggy weather from a sounder on the parapet, which was regulated by clockwork.[7]

The light was semi-automated in 1936 when a new light system was installed by AGA.[8] The main lamp was a 750-watt incandescent light bulb, with a gas mantle lamp (fed from the town supply) provided as a stand-by, activated by an automatic lamp changer; and a small electric motor automatically wound the clockwork which rotated the lens.[9]

Full automation followed in 1972, when the old optic was replaced by two back-to-back arrays of six sealed beam units mounted on an AGA gearless rotating pedestal, to give the light an increased range of 23 nautical miles (43 km; 26 mi); a new fog horn was also provided at the same time.[8] The system was supervised remotely from the Pilot House on the Old North Pier. Subsequent to its removal the 1903 optic was added to the maritime collection of Sunderland Museum and Art Gallery.[10]

In 2007 the lighting system was again replaced with a dual-drive Pelangi PRL400 rotating pedestal and lamp.[11]

Roker Pier Lighthouse still functions today. Both pier and lighthouse have undergone significant refurbishment in recent years.[12] In 2012, as part of the restoration, a new flashing LED lamp array was installed, replacing the small Pelangi unit previously in use.[11] In 2018, following a comprehensive six-year process of refurbishment, the lighthouse was opened to the public for the first time; regular guided tours now take place, with access provided by way of the tunnel which runs the length of the pier.[13]