36 letters addressed to William Fowke (1754- 1839) (one in bad condition) ref Teignmouth Light (Tynemouth) 1700.

Administrative / biographical background
In 1664 Colonel Villiers, governor of Tynemouth Castle, obtained a grant of 1s toll from every English ship and 3s from every foreign ship for the maintenance of the light, and built a new lighthouse at the north-east corner of the Castle promontory. A free-standing structure, this was a replacement for the beacon which had previously burnt on a turret of the priory church. An 18th century view shows it to have been a stepped tower, presumably of stone, of 3-4 stages beneath a conical roof. The light was provided by coals burnt in an iron basket. This tower survived until c. 1775 when it was partly or wholly taken down and rebuilt. From the Villiers family it passed to their relatives the Fowkes. In 1775 the old tower was rebuilt. In 1802 a revolving oil lamp with reflectors was installed in place of the coal fire. The lighthouse was purchased from William Fowke by the London Trinity House in 1836. In England and Wales private ownership of lighthouses was allowed until 1836, by which time the majority of English lighthouses were already under the full jurisdiction of Trinity House