In 1781 a group of merchants and ship owners petitioned Trinity House for navigation lights to be provided around the western approaches to the Solent.

The response was positive, but it was not until 1785 that construction began, on three new lighthouses: one on the clifftop above the Needles, one on Hurst Point and one on St Catherine's Down (which was left unfinished and never lit); all three were designed by Richard Jupp.

[5] It initially displayed a fixed red light with a white sector indicating a clear approach running south of Durlestone Head and past a pair of sandbanks: South-west Shingles and Dolphin Bank.

[5] The bell was struck once every 7.5 seconds;[14] it was sounded by a clockwork mechanism, but using it was 'an arduous piece of work, for the driving weights are very heavy and need to be frequently wound up'.

[15] In 1906, a reed fog signal was installed, together with a pair of oil engines in the basement of the tower to provide compressed air; it sounded from three acoustic horns which protruded through the roof of the lantern,[16] giving one long blast every fifteen seconds.

[17] In 1946, as part of the electrification of the light, Gardner diesel-driven generators replaced the oil engines; these also powered compressors for the fog horn, which were installed along with a set of air tanks just below the lantern room.

[21] Over a 12-week period from early June, civil marine contractors Nuttall John Martin excavated a trench around the base of the lighthouse, to install a ring of stabilising posts, reinforced with concrete.