THE DUNGENESS LIGHTHOUSES
This is an excerpt from the book "Life On Marsh" Available here
All images on this page are created by Andy Holyer
Dungeness lies at the southernmost point of Kent; it is an enormous flat
triangle of sand and shingle, possibly the largest area of its type in the
world. Because of its flatness and, until recently, lack of habitation,
coupled with its many sandbanks, unpredictable currents and sudden
changes in weather, the whole area has seen thousands of shipwrecks over the
years with countless lives lost. The presence of a light at the end of the
peninsula has been an important navigational aid.
Before any official lighthouse was built it is highly likely that the locals
were paid to maintain a light (large bonfire) in order to warn shipping of
the position of this highly dangerous hazard. As was the norm in those
days, when times were hard (which they very often were), locals either
‘forgot’ to burn the warning fire or lit it somewhere else, giving a false
impression of where the danger actually was. This practice became known
as wrecking, for obvious reasons. The locals were then faced with a
dilemma. They could either rescue the crew and passengers, hoping for a
reward, together with any pickings that might be washed ashore, or – more
often than not – they could murder any survivors and take everything.
This is an excerpt from the book "Life On Marsh" Available here
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