In 1673 King Charles II had instructed the landowners (the Dean and chapter of Durham) to grant a licence to Sir John Clayton and George Blake to erect a lighthouse on Inner Farne as part of a proposed network of beacons along the Northumberland coast; however the scheme never came to fruition because the authorities (the Elder Brethren of Trinity House) were unable to persuade its potential beneficiaries (the ship-owning merchants of Newcastle upon Tyne) to contribute to the maintenance of the light.

Twenty-one years later, however, when Blackett again submitted a proposal, he finally gained permission: this time for a pair of coal-fired beacons, which he built at his own expense: one on Staple Island (for which he constructed a squat stone building which was known as the Pinnacle Lighthouse) and the other on Inner Farne (which he erected on the top of Prior Castell's Tower).

The loss of a succession of ships there in 1823 and 1824 (among them the George and Mary, sunk with the loss of all 100 souls on board) prompted Trinity House to act, and (having purchased the lease of the islands from the Blackett family in 1825) they swiftly moved to construct a new lighthouse on one of the furthest outlying islands: Longstone.

Grace Darling gained great renown when news of her part in the subsequent rescue attempt became known to the public; she and her father were both later awarded the silver medal for bravery by the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck.

[14] Around about 1890 a more powerful siren apparatus was installed,[15] which sounded through a pair of larger vertical trumpets, and compressed air was produced using Blackstone & Co semi-diesel engines.

[17] In 1942, during the Second World War, the fog signal house was destroyed by bombing and in 1951 a new keepers' accommodation block was built in its place.

[18] This formed part of a comprehensive upgrade, begun in 1946 and only completed in 1952, during which the light was electrified and a new optic (of an unusual 'spectacle' design) was installed[19] (manufactured by Chance Brothers).

[21] Three single-cylinder and two five-cylinder Gardner diesel engines were installed at this time, to provide electricity for the lamp (by way of three 5.5 kW generator sets) and compressed air for the fog siren (by way of two Reavell compressors).