Wallasey Lighthouse
The Perch Rock Lighthouse and Battery at New Brighton on the Wirral Peninsula stands at the mouth of the River Mersey, guarding the northern approach to the port of Liverpool from a sandstone outcrop that has been a hazard to shipping since vessels first used the river. The lighthouse, built in 1830 to replace an earlier wooden structure, is one of the few remaining examples of a traditional lighthouse still standing at the mouth of a major British port and has become an iconic feature of the Mersey estuary landscape, its white-painted tower visible for miles from the Merseyside coast and the passing vessel traffic. The fort adjacent to the lighthouse was built at the same time in response to concerns about the defensibility of Liverpool against naval attack, its guns intended to control access to the river. The fort never saw action in earnest but remained in military use through both World Wars, its heavy artillery and coastal defence facilities updated to meet successive generations of threat. Today the fort and lighthouse form a visitor attraction that provides access to the interior of both structures and tells the story of the port's defences and navigation aids across nearly two centuries. New Brighton itself was developed as a seaside resort from the 1830s, its position at the northern tip of the Wirral Peninsula giving it beaches facing the open Irish Sea to the north and fine views across the Mersey to the Liverpool waterfront to the south. The resort reached its peak of popularity in the Victorian and Edwardian periods when it attracted day trippers from Liverpool and beyond, and though much of the Victorian entertainment infrastructure has been lost, the waterfront and beaches retain considerable character. The views across the Mersey from the lighthouse toward the Liverpool waterfront, with its distinctive skyline of the Three Graces and the modern buildings of the commercial waterfront, are among the finest available of this internationally recognised cityscape.