286 HARBOURS AND LIGHTHOUSES. PART IV. 



north pier was subsequently abandoned, and a new 

 north pier was erected, on a plan chiefly intended to 

 assist in warping ships into the harbour. The fol- 

 lowing cut gives an indication of .the nature of this 

 curious and interesting old haven. 



YARMOUTH "OLD PIER. [By R. P. I-eitch.] 



The lighting up of the coast by means of beacons and 

 lighthouses, for the purpose of insuring greater safety 

 to shipping approaching our coasts by night, received 

 very little attention in early times ; our lighthouses 

 being amongst the triumphs of modern engineering. 

 So long as our mercantile navy was comparatively 

 insignificant and the amount of our foreign trade but 

 small, the lighting up of our shores after dark was of 

 much less importance than it is now. 



The idea of the lighthouse is very old, and the ancient 

 commercial nations were familiar with its use, erecting 

 a Pharos on any dangerous part of a much-frequenlcd 

 coast. The Romans were the first to introduce the 

 practice in England, and on the summit of Dover Mount 



