Lynn F. Pearson – författare

The story of the lighthouse is as fascinating and diverse as the design of the buildings themselves. Roman and medieval attempts to help seafarers navigate, using beacons and other seamarks, preceded elegant Georgian lights, followed in the nineteenth century by huge rock-based lighthouses such as Eddystone, which were great feats of Victorian civil engineering.This book relates the story of their construction, often undertaken in desperately dangerous and stormy conditions, looks at the lives of their keepers, and considers how automation has changed the modern lighthouse. A gazetteer gives brief details of over 160 lights around the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland.

Originally constructed as landing stages for trippers by boat in the nineteenth century, piers later developed into attractions in themselves, with ornate pavilions, delicate ironwork and exotic lighting. Lynn F. Pearson, an architectural historian, outlines the fascinating history of pier and pavilion construction, using colour illustrations and photographs to show the development of these attractions from simple wooden structures to complex entertainment venues. This book explores the allure of seaside developments from the Victorian charm of Weston-super-Mare's grand pier to the seaside developments of the twenty-first century, such as Ilfracombe's Landmark Theatre, which continues to impress and entertain to this day.