New online service – You can now open new savings accounts and view your branch account and mortgage via our online service.

Member event report: Orfordness Lighthouse

Written by Ipswich Building Society

9 Aug 2018

Tags

Events, Member Event, Orfordness

2 min read

Our latest member event took us back to one of our yearly favourites – a leisurely walk and tour of Orfordness Lighthouse.

The 18th century building stands on the shingle spit of Orford Ness – a desolate, bleak landscape, but one that is also steeped in a rich and somewhat secretive history. Reachable only by a short boat ride across the river Ore, this area was used for secret military testing during the 20th century. The site has since been administered by the National Trust as a nature reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

The walk to the lighthouse was pleasant but testing, the shingle shifting and yielding underfoot. As the heavens opened, we arrived and enjoyed hot drinks and sandwiches as we took in our surroundings and entered the old lighthouse – a solitary bastion looking out over the windswept coast.

Our tour guides Mike and Lydia told us more about the history of the building and their eventual plans to preserve it – the lighthouse remains perilously close to the sea, with the shoreline having advanced more than 50 metres inland since the lighthouse’s construction in 1792. Despite recent measures to delay the sea’s advance it is thought that the lighthouse will need to be moved by 2020 before it collapses into the sea.

Our thanks to the Orfordness Lighthouse Trust and all of the volunteers who work to preserve the building and keep it open to the public. If you’re interested in finding out more about the lighthouse or the history of Orford Ness itself, visit their website.

This article was published under our previous name of Ipswich Building Society. We changed our name in 2021 – find out more.

Found this useful? Why not share

Keep informed and get involved.

Keep Informed

Sign up to our newsletter.

Our blog contains the latest goings-on and updates across the Society and you can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram. Exclusively for our members we offer a monthly email round-up of must have stories and latest news, so sign up today.










    KEEP UP TO DATE

    Latest news and information

    Our blog contains the latest goings-on and updates across the Society and for members we offer a monthly roundup of must-have stories and latest news in our Freehold Post email newsletter.

    For announcements, alerts or tips follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram – we’re (almost) everywhere!

    Your browser is out-of-date.

    Welcome to our new website. This site is not fully supported in Internet Explorer.
    Please download one of the browsers below to continue using this website.

    • Google Chrome
    • Microsoft Edge