London's only lighthouse, Trinity Buoy Wharf

London's only lighthouse is at Trinity Buoy Wharf, next to East India Dock, on the Thames.

I took the DLR train to East India and walked to the docks. They are located in Blackwall, northeast of the Isle of Dogs. Firstly I walked along the Thames and had a good view of the O2 arena.

The Virginia Quay Settlers Monument faces the O2 and commemorates the departure of settlers for Jamestown, Virginia (USA) in 1606. The bronze plaque was put up in 1928 and the stone and bronze monument in 1951.

I then walked the short distance to the East India Dock Basin. This is one of the 1400 beacons that were lit for the new millennium in 2000 -

The docks were constructed between 1803 and 1806 for the East India Company ships sailing to Blackwall. Today the basin is now a salt marsh wildlife sanctuary. There weren't many birds there when I visited.

I went onto Trinity Buoy Wharf

This is on the confluence of the Thames and Bow Creek. Walking to the wharf entrance there is a major building site to the left, for high rise apartments etc, and on the right are some old ship builders buildings

The wharf came into use in 1803 by Trinity House as a maintenance depot and storage for buoys as well as a dock for the lightships. The original lighthouse was demolished in 1922, leaving the second, which was built in 1864-66.

However the lighthouse was never used as an actual lighthouse. Instead it was used to test lighting systems for Trinity House's lights around England and Wales. Michael Faraday carried out experiments there. Both lighthouses were also used for training prospective lighthouse keepers.

Michael Faraday (1791 – 1867) was an English scientist best remembered for his study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. He worked on the construction and operation of lighthouses as well as high-quality optical glass for lighthouses. His workshop still stands, it's the wooden hut in the photo above. This is the inside -

A few weeks later I went to Highgate West Cemetery and saw the grave of Michael Faraday -

The wharf was closed in 1988. Container City then arrived, used as studios. Now the whole area is used as an art centre by the University of East London.

There are also a few relics stored outside

The lighthouse is now home to the "Long Player". This is a musical composition that will play for 1000 years. It is a unique sound installation and features a 20 minute recording of the sound of Tibetan singing bowls, continuously repeated. It is infinitely varied by a computer programme that ensures the same sequence of sound will never be heard more than once in 1000 years. 
Unfortunately the lighthouse was closed when I visited due to the Covid-19 lockdown. You should be able to hear the live stream online, see longplayer.org (I couldn't get it to work). See more on the Longplayer Trust.