Orfordness Lighthouse top removed as part of work to dismantle

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Media caption,

Drone footage captured the start of deconstruction work

The top of an historic lighthouse has been lifted off as part of work to dismantle it after 200 years of duty.

The Orfordness Lighthouse is being taken down because the sea is gradually eating up the land on which it sits.

Work on the Grade II-listed structure on the Suffolk coast began on Thursday.

As it began, owner Nicholas Gold, who bought the structure in 2013, said he felt "highly emotional" as it had taken "a big chunk of my life".

Image caption,

The process of removing the roof cap started late on Thursday

Image source, Anglian Demolition & Asbestos Ltd
Image caption,

Work to dismantle the lighthouse roof involved removing years of paint and cutting through the steel

The current Orfordness Lighthouse is the 11th - and final - warning beacon stationed on Europe's longest shingle spit.

Established 228 years ago, it was never designed to be in the sea because saltwater would erode its lime mortar.

In the early-1980s, its base was 90m (295ft) from the sea. Then, in the winter of 2013-14, four metres (13ft) of beach was lost in a single storm.

Following 2018's "Beast from the East" storms, the sea is now just a few metres from the red and white structure.

Image caption,

After days of preparation, deconstruction work at the historic Orfordness lighthouse is under way

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The Orfordness Lighthouse Trust filled rubble sacks with shingle and bound them together to fashion a flexible wall to protect it from erosion, and this has kept the building standing for longer than expected.

But longer-term defences are not allowed because it sits on Orford Ness - the largest vegetated shingle spit in Europe at a length of about 10 miles - which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Image caption,

The sea is now just a few metres from the lighthouse

Image caption,

Nicholas Gold bought the lighthouse in mid-2013

Volunteers are now dismantling the building while there is enough shingle beach left for a crane to come and lift its cap and 14-tonne lantern room.

The trust hopes parts of the lighthouse can be used in a permanent memorial on the other side of the Ness, facing Orford town's quay.

The nature reserve on which the lighthouse stands, external is currently closed to the public.

England's lighthouses

Image caption,

The Orfordness site is closed to visitors and members of the public have been told to stay away while the deconstruction work takes place

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