Lighthouse, Pembrey Old Harbour

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What is recorded here

Pembrey Old Harbour's lighthouse replaced the tall chimneys of Court Farm as the guide into a silting coal port. Nineteenth-century lists record its fixed light, but trade moved to Burry Port and the tower was destroyed before the late-1990s coast survey.

Why it was built

The lighthouse gave ships a clear line into Pembrey's small harbour. Before it was built, crews used the tall chimneys of Court Farm as their leading mark, an improvised aid that showed the need for a light made for the job.

People and work

Sailors bringing vessels into the coal harbour depended on the fixed light after dark. A published nineteenth-century lighthouse list said it could be seen from nine miles away, giving crews a mark beyond the difficult, silting entrance.

How it changed

The harbour lost business after the larger harbour at Burry Port opened to the east. As Pembrey's channel continued to fill with silt, its light lost the working purpose for which it had been provided.

What survives

Nothing visible remains of the tower. A coast survey made in 1995–97 recorded it as destroyed, and later views from the air found no trace at the site. The old harbour works survive as the setting of the lost light.

Why it mattered

This vanished light records the short working life of Pembrey as a coal port and the practical dangers of reaching it. Its replacement of familiar farm chimneys also shows the change from local knowledge to a purpose-built shipping guide.