 Originally, there was another lighthouse further down towards the cliff edge to give a bearing on the leading lights principle when a ship was at the point where it could safely turn left into the Downs behind the sands or right to go safely around the Sands.They were both built in the 1840s.However, the Sands shifted over the following years until this bearing became dangerously inaccurate and so the lower light was taken out of service in 1910.