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from http://thelowlighthouse.co.uk/documents/The%20Low%20Lighthouse.pdf
The Low Lighthouse
Maritime Museum Harwich
Several lighthouses have stood on or near this spot. One of the earliest recorded, (by Samuel Pepys, diarist and M.P. for Harwich), was built in 1664. They would have been crude but comparable with others on various parts of the coast at the time. A wood cut of 1712 shows the lighthouse like a wooden sentry box with a bucket hanging from it, (presumably for the fire.) Their fairly flimsy construction meant they had to be rebuilt at intervals mostly as a result of storm damage. The lighthouse illustrated in John Constable’s well-known painting is supported by long poles to prevent it being overturned by the sea. The substantial stone and brick structures we know today did not appear until the nineteenth century.
In 1664 Sir William Batten obtained a patent from King Charles II to provide two lighthouses at Harwich, the lease to run for 61 years, paying an annual rent of £5.00 to the King. It enabled Batten to charge light dues on all ships passing the light, (1d. per ton on foreign ships, 1/2d. on English, plus a subsidy for the coal used.) This enabled him to make a fortune, for even in those days it is estimated that he would have realized £1000.00 per annum.
The two lighthouses formed “leading light” where mariners must get one light positioned above the other to be on the correct course through the shoals for the harbour entrance. The lower of Batten’s two lighthouses was a wooden structure on the shore, with a, “lantern containing 6 great candles each weighing a pound.” The higher light was provided by a fire in the room over the town gate. In 1772 the candles were replaced by a lamp burning sperm oil. By the nineteenth century the revenue from the lights was about £9000.00 per annum with overheads of about £600.00 per annum.
By marriage the lighthouses descended into the Rebow family. And it was Major General Slater Rebow, (of Wivenhoe Park, now Essex University,) who built the present brick and stone High and Low Lighthouses in 1818 to replace the earlier wooden structures. The new lighthouses were built 9 feet to the south-westward of the original sites, and their construction was supervised by John Rennie, Consultant Engineer to Trinity House. TheHigh Lighthouse is a 90 foot high nine sided tower, while the 45 foot Low Lighthouse has ten sides. Together they cost over £8000.00.
In 1836 Rebow sold the lights to Trinity House for £31,730 (a vast sum). It was rumoured that he knew the channel for the harbour was changing direction because of shifting shoals. And it was precisely for this reason that Trinity House was obliged to discontinue these Harwich lights in 1863, and replace them with the new (iron) lighthouses on Dovercourt sea-front. (These in turn were discontinued for the same reason in 1917, and the channel marked by lighted buoys).
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from http://thelowlighthouse.co.uk/documents/The%20Low%20Lighthouse.pdf
The Low Lighthouse Maritime Museum Harwich Several lighthouses have stood on or near this spot. One of the earliest recorded, (by Samuel Pepys, diarist and M.P. for Harwich), was built in 1664. They would have been crude but comparable with others on various parts of the coast at the time. A wood cut of 1712 shows the lighthouse like a wooden sentry box with a bucket hanging from it, (presumably for the fire.) Their fairly flimsy construction meant they had to be rebuilt at intervals mostly as a result of storm damage. The lighthouse illustrated in John Constable’s well-known painting is supported by long poles to prevent it being overturned by the sea. The substantial stone and brick structures we know today did not appear until the nineteenth century. In 1664 Sir William Batten obtained a patent from King Charles II to provide two lighthouses at Harwich, the lease to run for 61 years, paying an annual rent of £5.00 to the King. It enabled Batten to charge light dues on all ships passing the light, (1d. per ton on foreign ships, 1/2d. on English, plus a subsidy for the coal used.) This enabled him to make a fortune, for even in those days it is estimated that he would have realized £1000.00 per annum. The two lighthouses formed “leading light” where mariners must get one light positioned above the other to be on the correct course through the shoals for the harbour entrance. The lower of Batten’s two lighthouses was a wooden structure on the shore, with a, “lantern containing 6 great candles each weighing a pound.” The higher light was provided by a fire in the room over the town gate. In 1772 the candles were replaced by a lamp burning sperm oil. By the nineteenth century the revenue from the lights was about £9000.00 per annum with overheads of about £600.00 per annum. By marriage the lighthouses descended into the Rebow family. And it was Major General Slater Rebow, (of Wivenhoe Park, now Essex University,) who built the present brick and stone High and Low Lighthouses in 1818 to replace the earlier wooden structures. The new lighthouses were built 9 feet to the south-westward of the original sites, and their construction was supervised by John Rennie, Consultant Engineer to Trinity House. TheHigh Lighthouse is a 90 foot high nine sided tower, while the 45 foot Low Lighthouse has ten sides. Together they cost over £8000.00. In 1836 Rebow sold the lights to Trinity House for £31,730 (a vast sum). It was rumoured that he knew the channel for the harbour was changing direction because of shifting shoals. And it was precisely for this reason that Trinity House was obliged to discontinue these Harwich lights in 1863, and replace them with the new (iron) lighthouses on Dovercourt sea-front. (These in turn were discontinued for the same reason in 1917, and the channel marked by lighted buoys).