Episode Details

In an area of London known as the Docklands, where the River Lea meets the River Thames, is a part of the waterfront known as the Trinity Buoy Wharf. And on the wharf is London’s only lighthouse. The lighthouse at the Trinity Buoy Wharf was never used for navigation. The wharf itself was also used by Trinity House, the English lighthouse authority, for the manufacture of chains, buoys, and light buoys. The first lighthouse on the wharf, designed by Trinity House engineer James Walker and built in 1852, was demolished in the late 1920s. The lighthouse that still stands—also known as the Bow Creek Lighthouse, Blackwall’s Experimental Lighthouse, or simply the Experimental Lighthouse—was completed in 1866. It was designed by engineer James Douglass. Both of the lighthouses were used by Trinity House, the English lighthouse authority, for the training of prospective lighthouse keepers. The scientist Michael Faraday also carried out experiments there.

The Trinity Buoy Wharf was closed in 1988. The site has been developed as a center for the arts and cultural activities. A lightship at the wharf was converted into a recording studio, and there are art and dance studios at the site. Musician and composer Jem Finer has repurposed the lighthouse in a unique way. Since 2001, the lighthouse has been looked after by the Longplayer Trust. Jem Finer’s ambient sound piece called Longplayer started playing in the lighthouse at the stroke of midnight just as the year 2000 began. It’s been playing ever since, and the intention is that won’t repeat