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The Role of Women at South Foreland Lighthouse
- Time to read:
- 5 minutes
The role of lighthouse keepers through the centuries is well documented – strongly focussed around keeping lights showing and foghorns sounding whatever the weather. Historically, lighthouse keepers were almost exclusively male and while postings were often single, some lighthouses had cottages for families. Much less well-known was the role of the wives or partners of these keepers. We are currently researching what role the women of the lighthouses would have played – and we need your help…
Single or accompanied?
Historically, lighthouse keeping was a uniquely male role. Many of the remote lighthouse keeper postings, particularly those on rocks or offshore, were for the male keepers only. For others, such as South Foreland Lighthouse, cottages were provided and the keepers could bring their families to live with them. At South Foreland, there were two cottages, shown in the photograph above, with the east cottage to the right of the lighthouse, and west cottage to the left.
Keepers' duties
Prior to automation, the lighthouse keeper was kept busy, trimming wicks, pumping oil, cleaning the lenses and, with the advent of electric arc lamps, replacing the carbon rod electrodes. Even after the installation of the incandescent lamps, which needed far less attention, the clockwork rotating lens mechanism would require winding every couple of hours and changing the large, powerful lamp was a regular, skilled and very delicate job.
The lighthouse keeper’s duties were recorded in their logbook, so these are readily understood, but what of their wives or partners?
Role of the women
There is little mention of the role of women in lighthouse keeping in the record books. Did they help with the keeper’s tasks or were they even allowed in the lighthouse tower at all? We don’t know.
For those with families, the women would have been mainly occupied with bringing up children, but what other roles did they fulfil, if any? What did their day look like? What hobbies did they have? What crafts did they do? What was the standard of their accommodation land what was their social life like?
This is where you may be able to help us...
Your role in our research
Did you have a female ancestor who was married to a lighthouse keeper, or do you know someone who was? Or, and more up to date, were you a female volunteer at South Foreland Lighthouse. If so, can you help us with any answers to our questions? Do you have any photographs or any written documentation that we can see?
What we need from you
The project is specifically centred on females in the lighthouse as we have lots of information about the male keepers.
We would like to be able to tell the story of women at South Foreland through the ages and to compare this to other lighthouses. You and the person you are referring to can remain anonymous if you wish, but any information we can use to tell this story would be greatly appreciated.
Contact us
Did you have a female relative or ancestor who lived at a lighthouse? Do you know anything about what they did - how they spent their time, any duties that they did in the lighthouse or in the community. If so, please get in touch.
Call
If you would like to call to discuss what you can offer, our office number is below.
Write
If you prefer you can write to us at:
Women in Lighthouses project, South Foreland Lighthouse, The Front, St Margaret's Bay, Kent CT15 6HPSouth Foreland Lighthouse
Striking and historical lighthouse high on The White Cliffs of Dover
Things to see and do at South Foreland Lighthouse
Explore South Foreland Lighthouse on the famous White Cliffs of Dover. Take a guided tour and discover the fascinating stories of this landmark.
History of South Foreland Lighthouse
Discover the long history of South Foreland Lighthouse. Find out what scientific discoveries were made here, and the part it played in the war effort.
Conserving South Foreland Lighthouse
Find out what we’ve been doing to conserve South Foreland Lighthouse and ensure that it will continue to look out over the White Cliffs for many years to come.
