Cannanore (now Kannur) was an important seaport under the 15th century rulers of North Malabar, the Kolathiris and the Arakkal Kingdom.
In order to warn ships at sea of land, a system of hoisting a lantern with an oil wick lamp was introduced in 1843 by the British.
This light remained in operation till the new lighthouse tower was constructed at the present location during 1975–76.
Today, the light uses modern PRB-42 equipment with 6 volt, 30 watt Type 'C' sealed beam lamps, supplied by Messers J.
The GI lantern house installed at the station is 2.4 meters in diameter and was fabricated at Cochin.