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The Old Lighthouse, Paull
 The Old Lighthouse, at the corner of Main Street and Town End Road |
Trinity House of Kingston Upon Hull built Paull Lighthouse in 1836, or so the sign on the front of the lighthouse tells us; the Wardens of Trinity House at this time were William Collinson and George Hall. The lighthouse went out of use in 1870 when the sandbanks moved and caused the channel to shift - when this happened new lighthouses were built at Thorngumbald Clough. The cottages that surround the lighthouse here not built at the same time as the lighthouse : terraces of small cottages already ran along the river front (the coastguard cottages) and also along Town End Road (Penny Cottages) with a clear space at the corner where the lighthouse was built as a separate, free-standing tower. A Mr Robert Thompson bought the land that the Lighthouse is built on in 1820. Cottages linking the two terraces to the tower were added on at a later time. Penny Cottages were eventually demolished, apart from the one attached to the lighthouse, and further extensions have continued since. |
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When the lighthouse was in full use the light was powered first by oil and then by a gas burner. The windows of the lamp room face towards Hull and the light would lead the ships to the safe channel when leaving the port, and not into Hull as we had previously supposed. There are many stories linked with Paull lighthouse, there are rumoured to be tunnels running from the building to the beach whose actual purpose is unknown and the entrances have been blocked up but the local legend is that these tunnels were used for smuggling!! The Lighthouse is also supposedly haunted: the current owner told us that on several occasions he has heard footsteps in the tower while he has been alone in the house, and various people have witnessed lights switching on and off on their own, as well as the TV turning on when entering the room. Items move themselves around the house: in one instance an electric razor moved - without human help! - from a downstairs room to an upstairs bedroom. It disappeared from a desk and reappeared in the middle of the bedroom floor, in full view : the rooms are both used daily but the razor took over a fortnight to get there. The Ghost is said to be female and (fortunately) friendly. Every lighthouse needs a cat but this one has four! One in particular is known as Walker - the disappearing cat who has moved out of the lighthouse but still returns at very special times to the current owner, for example at the exact time he was born on his birthday and on the 2nd anniversary of his mother's death Walker turned up at the exact time she died. So the lighthouse has some ghostly goings on that even affect the cat!
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