I went on a fascinating tunnel and lighthouse tour as Sunderland landmark Roker Pier reopens
It’s possibly Sunderland’s most famous landmark (sorry Penshaw Monument) and, two years after Storm Babet ravaged its Grade II-listed features, red and white icon Roker Pier is back open.
It means, too, that tunnel and lighthouse tours can resume, giving visitors a fascinating foray into the heritage of this great feat of Victorian engineering.
Bookings are now live for the tours, which take visitors along the length of the tunnel beneath the pier and up to the impressive lighthouse - but they’re very popular so you’ll have to be fast.
Demand for the tours to return has been high and understandably so. A look behind the scenes, the tours give you the chance to see what lies beneath the pier as you walk the roughly half a mile distance of the service tunnel, which later became the only way the lighthouse keeper could get to work in stormy weather.
Despite Babet’s best efforts, the tunnel suffered little damage in the storm, but couldn’t open as the £200,000 worth of repairs took place above.
The dedicated group of volunteers at Roker Heritage Group, who run the tours, have carried out all the necessary safety checks and have some new volunteer recruits as tours get back up and running for the remainder of the summer season.
Volunteer Steve Breeze said: “We’re so pleased to be back up and running. People ask all the time about them coming back, as soon as they see us in our red shirts.
“We are restricted by tides as to when we can do the tours, but there’s that much demand that if we can do them, we will. It would be great to have more volunteers - the more guides, the more tours we can do.”
You can expect to be in the tunnel and lighthouse for up to two hours on the tour, with the guides talking you through the history of the landmark en route.
A feat of engineering
Painstakingly constructed by 100 men over 18 years from 1885 to 1903, the Grade II-listed pier and lighthouse was a real feat of engineering.
Built at the height of Sunderland’s shipbuilding powers, the Roker lighthouse and pier and its sister New South Pier were created to protect the docks and shipping at this vital harbour.
It was built at a cost of £290,000, equivalent to £32million in today’s money, funded by the mighty River Wear Commissioners (RWC) and it’s testament to their wealth and power that she was so well constructed.
A credit too to the young RWC chief engineer Henry Hay Wake who was tasked with designing the pier and overseeing her construction.
To meet the challenges of constructing Roker Pier, Wake had to design, and in turn patent, a wide range of new machinery and equipment and he moved to Roker Terrace to be as close to the site as possible.
Such was his accomplishment with Roker Pier, that his skills and expertise were much in demand after its construction.
A real hidden gem
Fascinating tours of the tunnel initially started following the major £2.5million Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration scheme in 2018 which brought this hidden gem back to life.
When Sunderland City Council began the initial restoration in 2012, the lighthouse was little more than a shell, having been repeatedly vandalised and stripped of many of its original features after the last lighthouse keeper post ended in the 1970s.
Restoration has included conservation of the lantern house, repairs to the tunnel floor and drains and work to improve access. Many of the original features have also been lovingly recreated.
Tours start at the new portal entrance in front of the pier gates.
From there, you descend into the eerie tunnel which sits directly beneath the pier and was once lit by gas lamps.
It’s around a half mile walk to the lighthouse as the tunnel curves out to sea, with a host of interesting features along the way, including remnants of the old gas lamps and stones etched with the names of Henry Hay Wake’s children. The father of eight was very proud of the structure and would regularly bring his children on site during construction.
Either side of you, the walls are around 15ft thick and were made of granite-faced blocks, each weighing up to 45 tons. They were constructed in a purpose-built blockyard on the promenade, with The Blockyard still used as a colloquial name for the area today.
You ascend into the old workshop, then up a winding spiral staircase into the impressive engine room with its striking blue-green glazed tiles. The room above is equally impressive with its Brazilian mahogany panelling and parquet flooring, rich detailing which surpasses any other lighthouses nearby.
The lighthouse’s distinctive red and white colouring, though incidentally the colours of SAFC, is due to the colour of the Aberdeen granite. Red and white is a popular colour scheme for lighthouses to make them stand out and, in another ingenious touch by Wake, the natural colours of the alternating stone were chosen so that the lighthouse didn’t need repainting.
On the top floor is the light itself, which is today automatic and still an important navigation aid. Her electronic light range of 3.5mile nautical miles acting as a beacon of Sunderland.
You will need to pre-book a tunnel tour on the Roker Pier website with bookings now live.
Prices are currently £12 for adults and £10 for children (over ten years only). Proceeds from the tours go to Roker Heritage Group which is a not for profit group.
Due to the steep staircases of the lighthouse and the tunnel itself, the tours are not suitable for people with limited mobility.
You will need suitable footwear for the tour which can get damp under foot. Hard hats are provided.