Editing Leasowe (section)

===Leasowe Lighthouse===
{{main|Leasowe Lighthouse}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Leasowe lighthouse
| native_name = 
| image = 
| image_size = 250
| caption = 
| locmapin = Merseyside
| map_width = 200
| map_caption = Location in Merseyside
| alt =
| coordinates = {{coord|53|24|47|N|03|07|33|W|display=inline}}
| location = 
| gbgridref = SJ 2526891296
| area = Wirral, Merseyside
| built = 1761
| built_for = 
| demolished = 
| rebuilt = 
| restored = 
| restored_by =
| architect = 
| architecture = [[Lighthouse]]|
| designation1 = Grade II
| designation1_date = May 1952
| designation1_number = 1259738
}}
Leasowe Lighthouse was built in 1763 by Liverpool Corporation's Docks Committee<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.leasowelighthouse.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=44 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808140855/http://www.leasowelighthouse.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=44 |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 August 2018 |title=Leasowe Lighthouse: Significant Dates |publisher=Friends of Leasowe Lighthouse |access-date=14 January 2008}}</ref> (the forerunner of the [[Mersey Docks and Harbour Board]]) and is the oldest brick-built lighthouse in Britain.<ref name="Leasowe Lighthouse">{{citation|url=http://www.leasowelighthouse.co.uk/ |title=Leasowe Lighthouse: A Wirral Highlight |publisher=Friends of Leasowe Lighthouse |access-date=14 January 2008}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://www.visitwirral.com/site/attractions/leasowe-lighthouse-p44212?listingurl=%2Fsite%2Fattractions%2Fsearchresults%3Frp%3D3%26src%5Fname%3D%26posted%3D1%26src%5Fcategory%3D%26x%3D103%26src%5Farea%3D%26y%3D13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081005034902/http://www.visitwirral.com/site/attractions/leasowe-lighthouse-p44212?listingurl=%2Fsite%2Fattractions%2Fsearchresults%3Frp%3D3%26src%5Fname%3D%26posted%3D1%26src%5Fcategory%3D%26x%3D103%26src%5Farea%3D%26y%3D13 |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 October 2008 |title=Leasowe Lighthouse |publisher=visitwirral.com |access-date=14 January 2008}}</ref> According to local tradition its foundations were built on bales of cotton from a nearby shipwreck.<ref name="Leasowe Lighthouse" /> Around 1763, [[William Hutchinson (privateer)|William Hutchinson]] installed what may have been the first parabolic reflector in a lighthouse. The lighthouse was one of four lights on the North Wirral foreshore, the others being two at [[Hoylake]] and another – a lower light – at Leasowe. The latter was soon destroyed by the sea and was replaced by a lighthouse on [[Bidston Hill]] in 1771.

The lighthouse was operational until 14 July 1908,<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.wirral.gov.uk/LGCL/100006/200073/670/content_0001020.html|title=Leasowe Lighthouse |publisher=Metropolitan Borough of Wirral |access-date=14 January 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927004952/http://www.wirral.gov.uk/LGCL/100006/200073/670/content_0001020.html |archive-date=27 September 2007 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> 
with the only known female lighthouse keeper in those days, a Mrs. Williams. It then became a tearoom for a period, but was unused before 1989, since when it has been the base for the ranger service of the [[North Wirral Coastal Park]].<ref name="Birkenhead – An Illustrated History">{{citation |title=The Wirral ~ Photographic Memories |first=Jim |last=Rubery |pages=42 |year=2003 |isbn=1-85937-517-0}}</ref> The lighthouse is a [[Grade&nbsp;II]] [[Listed building#England and Wales|listed building]]<ref>[https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1259738 ''Leasowe lighthouse''] at Historic England; retrieved 29 June 2024</ref> and houses a visitor centre which is occasionally open to the public.