The Keepers' House was rebuilt after the fire of 1890, but exactly inside the original foundations of the older building. It was kept in use until the Light closed in 1914. Originally intended for five men, it was eventually home to only one man, Archibald Stanton, the last keeper of the Light - he turned the key on the building in August 1914 and its decay has been steady since that time. It is now virtually derelict.
The Keepers' House is connected to the main Light, which has three floors (the works and store, living quarters and light platform), by a re-inforced steel keep-door, designed to be bolted fast in severe weather, when the men would leave the Keepers' House and take up residence in the Light itself. The Keepers' House is linked to the Boathouse by means of a tunnel that leads to the inlet where the Boathouse was situated. Men would climb the Light via the vast engineering marvel of the Spiral Stair, which was accessed immediately inside the keep-door.
Amongst the many stories pertaining to the Keepers' House is that of Annie Weekers, who was the wife of Abraham Weekers, the Head Keeper at the time of the 1890 fire. Abraham perished in the fire, and although Annie was safe in Barnstaple at the time of the disaster, she died shortly afterwards of a mysterious illness and it was claimed by subsequent Keepers that they saw her likeness flitting from room to room in the Keepers' House, calling out "Abraham! Abraham, where are you, my dear?"
The story of Annie Weekers sustains to this day, and many sightseers to the Light claim she has passed them on the moorside tracks around the Light, hurrying to the Keepers' House with her head down, hidden in a black shawl, weeping.
Annie Weekers, 1889, courtesy Barnstaple Folklore Archive
