The Wyre Light was a 40 feet (12 m) tall iron Screw-pile lighthouse

Screw-pile lighthouse

A screw-pile lighthouse is a lighthouse which stands on piles that are screwed into sandy or muddy sea or river bottoms. The first screw-pile lighthouse was built by blind Irish engineer Alexander Mitchell...

 marking the navigation channel to the town of Fleetwood

Fleetwood

Fleetwood is a town within the Wyre district of Lancashire, England, lying at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 26,840 people at the 2001 Census. It forms part of the Greater Blackpool conurbation. The town was the first planned community of the Victorian era...

, Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The lighthouse was designed by Alexander Mitchell

Alexander Mitchell (engineer)

Alexander Mitchell, was an Irish engineer who from 1802 was blind. He is known as the inventor of the screw-pile lighthouse...

 an Irish engineer who developed the screwpile concept. It was one of the first screwpile lighthouses ever built and inspired other similar constructions such as the Maplin Sand Light (UK) and the Thomas Point Shoal Light

Thomas Point Shoal Light

The Thomas Point Shoal Light, also known as Thomas Point Shoal Light Station, is a historic lighthouse in the Chesapeake Bay on the east coast of the United States, and the most recognized lighthouse in Maryland. It is the only screw-pile lighthouse in the bay which stands at its original site...

 in the United States.

The 'Wyre Light' stood 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) offshore on the 'North Wharf Bank', sandbanks which mark the 'Lune Deep' and the navigation channel of the Wyre

River Wyre

The River Wyre is a river in Lancashire, United Kingdom, which flows into the Irish Sea at Fleetwood. It is approximately 28 miles in length...

. The Wyre Light along with a pair of on shore lighthouses, the Beach Lighthouse and the Pharos

Pharos Lighthouse (Fleetwood)

The Pharos Lighthouse is a tall sandstone lighthouse situated in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The lighthouse was designed in 1839 by Decimus Burton and Capt H.M. Denham. Burton has been commissioned three years previously by Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood as the architect of the new town of...

 provided a navigational guide to shipping entering the Wyre

River Wyre

The River Wyre is a river in Lancashire, United Kingdom, which flows into the Irish Sea at Fleetwood. It is approximately 28 miles in length...

 estuary

Estuary

An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....

.

The Light's base consisted of seven wrought iron piles embedded in the sands. Each was 16 ft (4.9 m) long with cast iron screw bases 3 ft (0.9144 m) in diameter. The six corner piles formed a hexagonal platform of 50 ft (15.2 m) diameter. (The seventh pile served as a centre pillar.) The platform supported the lantern and a two story building to house the keeper. Construction began in 1839 and the Light was lit on 6 June 1840. The light was destroyed by fire in 1948 and not replaced. After the fire, the Light was made automatic and eventually replaced by a lighted buoy in 1979