 In 1822 it was the last coal-powered lighthouse in Britain, when it was destroyed by a fire in which the keeper's wife and five children perished by suffocation.In its place a circular tower, high, with 15 oil-powered Argand lamps set within parabolic reflectors, was built by engineer Joseph Nelson at a cost of £1,447; it was operational from 1823.In 1866 this was in turn replaced by a new, higher round tower, built (along with two new dwelling houses for the keepers) further inland.