This September, Lighthouse Explorers is returning to Trinity Buoy Wharf for Open House Festival, with free 30-minute lighthouse heritage talks exploring the history and heritage of London’s only lighthouse.
The talks will take place across both Open House weekends, on Saturday 12, Sunday 13, Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September 2026. They’re completely free, but places need to be booked in advance through the Open House programme.
Why is there a lighthouse in London?
We normally associate lighthouses with remote headlands, rocky islands and stretches of open coastline, which makes the lighthouse at Trinity Buoy Wharf a little unusual.
Sitting where the River Lea meets the Thames, Trinity Buoy Wharf has a long connection with Trinity House and the development and testing of lighthouse equipment. It offers a very different side of lighthouse history, connected with experimentation, engineering and London’s maritime landscape.
During each 30-minute talk, I’ll introduce the history of the lighthouse and the wider site, exploring why there is a lighthouse here in the first place and some of the people, technology and stories connected with it.
Returning to Trinity Buoy Wharf
Trinity Buoy Wharf has become a particularly important place for Lighthouse Explorers.
We’ve previously brought one of our group trips here, giving people the chance to explore the lighthouse and discover its history together.
Then, in July, the Longplayer space inside the lighthouse became the location for the very first Travelling Pharology Archive pop-up.
The Archive began as part of my MA research into how community-generated lighthouse heritage could be presented within museums and heritage spaces. It brings together stories, photographs, objects and experiences connected with lighthouses, looking beyond the buildings themselves to the many different ways people interact with them.
Although the original research project has now finished, the Travelling Pharology Archive is continuing. It will keep travelling to different museums, heritage sites and community spaces, collecting new stories and evolving along the way.
So it feels particularly fitting to return to Trinity Buoy Wharf for Open House, this time to share more of the history of the lighthouse itself.
Come along
The Lighthouse Heritage talks will run on:
- Saturday 12 September 2026
- Sunday 13 September 2026
- Saturday 19 September 2026
- Sunday 20 September 2026
Each talk lasts approximately 30 minutes and is free to attend, but advance booking is required through Open House.
Whether you already know far too much about lighthouses, have spotted the lighthouse at Trinity Buoy Wharf and wondered why on earth it is there, or just want to explore somewhere unique in London, come along.
Book your free place through the Open House Festival programme:
https://programme.openhouse.org.uk/listings/2205