The 9-metre-high (30 ft) lighthouse was built as an unwatched automatic light by the Chance Brothers of Smethwick at Battery Point in 1931.

[3] It consists of a black metal pyramid on a concrete base.

[4] Initially, it had been intended to provide Portishead Point with a diaphone fog signal.

However, in response to local unrest at the prospect, the decision was taken to commission a fog bell instead.

[2] Due to structural concerns, the bell was removed in 1998; later, following public campaigning for restoration, the bell was acquired by Portishead Town Council and returned to the town in 2012.