The lighthouse was decommissioned on 27 June 2013, because of the encroaching sea.
The modern electrical equipment and hazardous materials (mercury) have been removed.
Trinity House has increased the power of the light at Southwold Lighthouse to compensate for the closure of Orfordness lighthouse.
Unless demolished, the Orfordness tower was expected to survive for seven to eight years before falling into the North Sea.
In September 2019 however, high tides and harsh weather damaged the lighthouse's ancillary bungalow, originally an outbuilding of the lighthouse keeper's cottages, causing it partly to collapse, requiring it to be demolished, and brought the shoreline only feet from the lighthouse itself.
In July 2020 work began to dismantle the structure.

The 1913 optic has been removed and is now displayed at the London headquarters of the International Maritime Organization.
The lighthouse was decommissioned on 27 June 2013, because of the encroaching sea. The modern electrical equipment and hazardous materials (mercury) have been removed. Trinity House has increased the power of the light at Southwold Lighthouse to compensate for the closure of Orfordness lighthouse. Unless demolished, the Orfordness tower was expected to survive for seven to eight years before falling into the North Sea. In September 2019 however, high tides and harsh weather damaged the lighthouse's ancillary bungalow, originally an outbuilding of the lighthouse keeper's cottages, causing it partly to collapse, requiring it to be demolished, and brought the shoreline only feet from the lighthouse itself. In July 2020 work began to dismantle the structure.
The 1913 optic has been removed and is now displayed at the London headquarters of the International Maritime Organization.
Orfordness Lighthouse