The first lighthouse was established on St Catherine's Down in 1323 on the orders of the Pope, after a ship ran aground nearby and its cargo was either lost or plundered.

Once part of St Catherine's Oratory, its octagonal stone tower can still be seen today on the hill to the west of Niton.

[8] In 1868 a Daboll trumpet fog signal was installed in a building on the cliff edge;[9] it used an Ericsson 4 hp caloric engine to sound a reed attached to an acoustic horn, once every 20 seconds.

[11] A new optic was also provided (a second-order 16-sided revolving dioptric lens array by Chance & co.)[12] which showed a five-second flash every thirty seconds.

[13] The oil lamp was retained for use in emergencies, but in 1905 it was remarked that it had never had to be employed, as the electrical system had never failed in the seventeen years since its installation.

[15] From 1890 a narrow red sector was added to the light, to warn vessels from approaching too near to the shore west of St Catherine's Point.

[8] In 1901 a series of trials of different sirens and reeds attached to trumpets of different sizes and designs took place at St Catherine's (which had sufficient engine power to produce the required volume of compressed air).

[19] The new apparatus, borne on a trough of mercury and driven by a large clockwork mechanism,[20] revolved much faster to give a much quicker flash, once every five seconds.

[17] Up until 2021 the 1904 revolving optic remained in use; the lighthouse had a range of 25 nautical miles (46 km; 29 mi) and was the third-most powerful of all the lights maintained by Trinity House.

[27] In November 2020, however, the Isle of Wight Council granted Trinity House planning consent for "removal of existing lens, light pedestal, service stage railings and cleaning platform from lantern room; replacement platform, railings and stationary led light on pedestal".