|
This old original press photo that recently came into the collection of Lighthouse Digest was taken by Acme News Pictures on December 11, 1934. The image shows a horse and cart outside of the abandoned Paull Lighthouse where the caption said an impoverished family took over the lighthouse in an old shrimp fishing village in the Humber Estuary of England. Although we have been unable to find a newspaper story that might have gone with the story, the caption with the photo said that the family’s dining room was in the tower.
Built in 1836 by Trinity House, the lighthouse authority of England and Wales, the lighthouse served until 1870 when the channel shifted and the lighthouse was discontinued and replaced by new lighthouses at Thorngumbald Clough. Various websites claim that the ownership of the Paull Lighthouse was transferred to the Humber Conservancy in 1908. Whether they allowed the impoverished family to live in the lighthouse at that time, and just how long they lived there, is unclear. More probable is that they were allowed to live there as caretakers, and the newspaper tried to sensationalize their photo with a catchy caption. In 1947 the lighthouse was auctioned off into private ownership and was eventually magnificently restored and operated as a bed and breakfast.
This story appeared in the
Mar/Apr 2014 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
All contents copyright © 1995-2024 by Lighthouse Digest®, Inc. No story, photograph, or any other item on this website may be reprinted or reproduced without the express permission of Lighthouse Digest. For contact information, click here.
| 