Seaside postcard 3: Belle Tout lighthouse • The Belle Tout lighthouse was built on the southwestern flank of Beachy Head in 1828. Back then the arched front door that you can see in this photograph was at ground level, 100 feet from the cliff edge. • It soon became apparent that building a lighthouse on top of mist-prone sea cliffs wasn't a good idea, so a new lighthouse was constructed further down the coast, at sea level. • In 1902 Belle Tout was decommissioned and sold off as "a small, substantial 3-storey building.". It remains Britain's only residential lighthouse. • During World War 2 the lighthouse was abandoned and Canadian troops used the area around it for target practice. Their mortar damage was later repaired and the building restored to private use. • In 1986 the BBC bought the lighthouse to use as the setting for their award-winning adaptation of Fay Weldon's The Life and Loves of a She-Devil (Julie T Wallace's creepy character lived here). • By the time Mark and Louise Roberts bought the lighthouse in 1996, the cliff edge was only 30 feet away from their front door. A particularly nasty storm in 1998 took out another 20 feet, leaving their new home especially vulnerable to further erosion. • In 1999 the Roberts took the extraordinary step of having the entire lighthouse lifted up onto hydraulic jacks and moved55feet further inland. Crowds came to watch as the lighthouse slid slowly onto fresh granite foundations, and the brick outbuilding nextdoor was shifted across to become the upper storey of a new family home. • Today the raised circular scar where the tower used to stand is still visible [photo], but another big storm might see it tumble. The access road looks like it'll be next to go (I sat on the narrow roadside verge and dangled my camera right over the edge [photo]). • The Roberts now run a bed and breakfast from their unique clifftop home. It's probably safe enough for a good few decades yet, but would you dare stay the night?
• The Belle Tout lighthouse was built on the southwestern flank of Beachy Head in 1828. Back then the arched front door that you can see in this photograph was at ground level, 100 feet from the cliff edge.
