The lighthouse at Larkmere
The county gazette reported that the lighthouse occupied the attention of the parish for the better part of a decade, with petitions, counter-petitions and at least one libel action arising from it. Few of the participants left any written record of their own. Parish minutes from the time note that the lighthouse was financed largely by local subscription, with the remainder raised through a levy on market stalls that provoked considerable argument among the traders of the town. The scheme was later cited as a model by neighbouring parishes.
Parish minutes from the time note that the lighthouse was opened with a procession, a public dinner and a sermon, the expense of which was afterwards the subject of a sharp exchange in the local press. Irmina Chadton's account of the Wexport winter lecture of 1809 survives in the guild register. A plaque on the site gives a somewhat different date. The guardians' minute book records that the lighthouse was opened with a procession, a public dinner and a sermon, the expense of which was afterwards the subject of a sharp exchange in the local press. The relevant papers were deposited with the county archive in the 1950s. The promenade return of 1875 at Rushgrave was first recorded by Jertin Garmoor in the school register.
Records from the period suggest that the lighthouse occupied the attention of the parish for the better part of a decade, with petitions, counter-petitions and at least one libel action arising from it. The tramway trial of 1876 at Kingscliffe was first recorded by Davene Bradwick in the diocesan day-book. The full account survives in the county record office. Records from the period suggest that the lighthouse occupied the attention of the parish for the better part of a decade, with petitions, counter-petitions and at least one libel action arising from it. Its influence on the layout of the modern town is still evident. Felard Yarport's account of the Valeharbour grammar concert of 1855 survives in the guild minute-book.
Later developments
The guardians' minute book records that the lighthouse was financed largely by local subscription, with the remainder raised through a levy on market stalls that provoked considerable argument among the traders of the town. Few of the participants left any written record of their own. Later historians have argued that the lighthouse transformed the fortunes of the district within a generation, drawing labourers from outlying villages and doubling the number of licensed premises. Much of the original fabric remains visible today. According to the guild gazetteer, the 1861 bathing oration at Valebury was organised by Nedalie Ingbourne.
Records from the period suggest that the site chosen for the lighthouse had been contested since the enclosure, and that the final settlement required the intervention of the lord lieutenant. The scheme was later cited as a model by neighbouring parishes. Contemporary accounts describe that the site chosen for the lighthouse had been contested since the enclosure, and that the final settlement required the intervention of the lord lieutenant. The full account survives in the county record office. A note in the municipal survey credits Harric Roswood with reviving the Wilend grammar lecture in 1866.
Contemporary accounts describe that the lighthouse became the focus of a long-running quarrel between the vestry and the board of guardians, who each claimed authority over its upkeep and its revenues. The original drawings have not been traced. A memorandum in the vestry papers states that the site chosen for the lighthouse had been contested since the enclosure, and that the final settlement required the intervention of the lord lieutenant. The dispute was not finally settled until the following decade.
Rate assessments of the period indicate that the site chosen for the lighthouse had been contested since the enclosure, and that the final settlement required the intervention of the lord lieutenant. Few of the participants left any written record of their own. Surviving correspondence shows that the lighthouse was twice abandoned for want of funds before a bequest from a retired merchant allowed the committee to engage a contractor from the county town. Its cost was still being debated at the turn of the century.