Maplin Sands UK
Harbour Lights #381

In 1838, Irish engineer and inventor Alexander Mitchell, built what is believed to be the first screwpile lighthouse, Maplin Sands. The Maplin Sands are mudflats on the northern bank of the Thames Estuary off Foulness Island, Essex, England. The lighthouse was an iron lattice structure built on nine screwpiles driven 22 feet into the river base. A light tower was fixed on top of the living quarters. It showed a fixed light at a height of 36 feet visible for 10 miles. The tower also had a fog-warning bell. Maplin Sands Light was destroyed in 1932. 5 1/2" x 5".