From Preston Herald, Saturday 18 July 1903:
MORECAMBE Lightship Run Down.
  The new Morecambe Bay Trinity House lightship, valued
at about £20,000, was run into by the coasting steamer Abbot, of Newry,
Ireland, early in the morning [16 July 1903], and foundered in twelve fathoms of water
quarter-of-a-hour after the collision. It seems that she was from Liverpool
with a general cargo, and, through an untoward circumstance, she crashed into
the lightship, near the forepeak on the port side. It was seen that lightship
was doomed, and she began to fill rapidly. Indeed, but for the watertight
bulkheads, she would
have sank immediately. Captain Williams and crew of seven, who were on the
lightship, lowered their boat and got some their belongings together just
before the ship went down. The sea was perfectly calm at the time, and the men
got on to the coaster without difficulty. The Abbot, which was badly damaged
about the bow, then made for Fleetwood 20 miles distant, where they arrived
shortly before noon, the Abbot berthing alongside the quay near the railway
bridge. The Abbot is a new vessel belonging to Messrs. Fisher's, Newry, and Captain
McBride is her master.
Abridged report of court case from Belfast News-Letter, 24 September 1903
 A CAPTAIN FINED. At Belfast, yesterday, the Trinity House
authorities summoned Wm. McBride, master of the Newry steamship, Abbot, for
negligently running foul of and sinking the Morecambe Bay light vessel on the
16th of July. Evidence was given that as a result of a collision: the
lightship, which was valued at £12,000, became a total loss; that before
the collision the Abbot was repeatedly hailed without response; and that after
being struck, the lightship sank in 17 minutes, the crew having a very narrow
escape. The defence was that there had been no culpable negligence, and that
in any case the captain was not responsible. A fine of £20 was imposed.
  The Abbot was on a voyage Liverpool to Whitehaven, weather was calm
without fog and the collision occurred at 6am when there was daylight. The
crew of the Light vessel reported that no-one was to be seen at the helm of
the Abbot and that her course was not straight. After they had no response from
hailing her several times, they had not then enough time to fire a gun or operate
the fog signal. She struck the Light vessel near the port bow.
Discussion: The 1948 West of England Pilot gives the location of the
Morecambe Bay Light Vessel as 15.25m west of Rossall Point. At that date there
was also another "Light and Bell boat" 3.25m WNW of Rossall Point named
"LUNE". (The 1964 Pilot quotes the Morecambe Bay LV as 16.25 miles west of Rossall Point.)
  At a simlar date (to 1903), a lightvessel (called Morecambe
and not Morecambe Bay) also marked the Grange channel into Morecambe -
this was driven ashore in 1894, and again in 1903. It was discontinued after being driven from its
moorings
A wreck detected
at 53°54.415N, 3°30.914W and charted as "wreck 17.7m deep": this
location is 16.5nm at 267° from Rossall Point. This was surveyed in 1997
and is 38m long by 8m wide and rose 4.5m from the seabed, lying 178/358°.
There is evidence of cables extending 60m NW of the southern extremity of the
wreck. There is a significant magnetic anomaly. The size and location all tie
in with the remains of an iron light vessel.
  A portion of anchor cable is also charted nearby (0.1nm
away at 327°) as an obstruction.
Lightvessel no. 72 (same builder at similar date as LV no. 70) abandoned in the River Neath (note she has a taller light tower than originally fitted).
Note that in 1894, this lightship had been driven from her moorings by adverse weather - with no loss:
[from Blackpool Gazette - Friday 28 December 1894]:
Confusing to the Pilots. The Morecambe lightship which broke
adrift on Saturday, secured an anchorage at the Nelson buoy, and was
towed off by a steamer to Fleetwood. Her position in the Ribble
estuary caused much confusion among mariners, and the men in the pilot
boat Foam were under the impression that they were in Morecambe Bay.
The lightship was firing rockets when they saw her, but they supposed
these were intended as signals that some vessel had gone ashore.
The Morecambe Lightship. The Trinity House tender arrived at Fleetwood on Monday evening with
anchors and chains, for the Morecambe Bay Lightship. towed into Fleetwood on Sunday night. Had the
weather been favourable, the tender would have taken the lightship out to her original position in
Morecambe Bay and again fixed her, but the thick hazy weather made it impossible, The lightship,
however, was taken to her position on Wednesday.
1901
Census list for Morecambe Bay Floating light. The court case
quotes, among these, witnesses Thomas Williams (master), John Thomas
(signal driver) and Hugh Owen (lamplighter). The census list has 7 crew
aboard and 4 crew on shore.
Morecambe was developed as a harbour when the railway reached it, allowing passengers to take ferries to the Isle of Man and to Ireland. There was a lightship, provided by the Railway Company, marking the channel in - close to where Heysham is now.
This lightship was driven from her moorings in 1894, when the damage was sufficiently serious that a new vessel to act as a lightship was procured.
This second lightship was, in turn, driven from her moorings in 1903. Since Heysham was now being developed as a port, with better tidal access, it was removed in 1904.
There was no loss of life in either case - full details below:
Note that, confusingly, there was a Morecambe Bay Light-vessel, which was stationed many miles offshore, to act as a reference point for vessels heading into the ports of Morecambe Bay. This vessel was sunk by collision in 1903 - details here
Ashore 1894
Wooden schooner Fylde
built Hugh Singleton, Fleetwood 1857
From Liverpool Echo - Monday 12 February 1894
Lightship ashore near Battery Inn also called Sandylands.
The wreck of the lightship was left on the shore - and was still
identifiable around 1920 (from Keith Willacy collection; Alhambra in background):
From Leeds Mercury - Thursday 01 November 1894
Lancaster Guardian - Saturday 29 December 1894
From 1863 in position as Morecambe Lightship (marking channel into Morecambe)
Driven from moorings in 1894 onto shore near Battery Inn/Hotel
- abandoned.
MORECAMBE LIGHTSHIP DRIVEN ASHORE. Yesterday a strong
northerly gale and heavy sea prevailed at Morecambe, During the
evening the wind increased until before midnight it blew perfect a
hurricane. About that time [11 February 1894] the lightship,
maintained by the Midland Railway Company at the entrance to Morecambe
Channel, nearly six miles from the harbour, broke from her moorings on
the edge of the bank known as Clark's Wharf, and bumping over the
bank, drifted before the storm in the direction of Heysham. The
position of the men in charge, George Alexander, Morecambe; Abbott
Taylor, Morecambe; and Joseph Crossdale, Ulverston, was most perilous,
the heavy waves washing completely over the vessel, which was entirely
at the mercy of the wind and sea. They took refuge first in the
lamphouse, and then in the cabin. Meanwhile, the vessel drove towards
Heysham Point. Had she struck there not a soul could have been saved.
Fortunately she just cleared these dangerous rocks, and the crew,
hoisting the foresail, headed for the shore, and about four o'clock
the vessel was driven broadside on high up the beach opposite
Sandylands, close to the Battery Inn, Morecambe [now Battery Hotel, SW
of the Stone Pier]. On the tide receding, the crew reached shore,
extremely thankful for their providential escape. During her four
hours' buffeting in the darkness of the night, the vessel's bottom was
damaged, bulwarks stove in, and other damage sustained, but there is
little probability of her being got off. The tide washed heavily over
the promenades and harbour, and considerable damage done by the
hurricane to new buildings.
  THE NEW MORECAMBE LIGHTSHIP. - There arrived at Morecambe
harbour on Tuesday morning, a vessel, purchased by the Midland Railway
Company, to replace the old Morecambe lightship which, during a severe
storm in February, broke from her moorings, and after drifting a
distance of nearly ten miles was cast ashore near the Battery Inn,
Morecambe, after having for between thirty and forty years guided the
mariner to the entrance of the Morecambe channel, at the mouth of the
bay. The old hulk was subsequently floated, but on survey was found to
be too seriously damaged for future service, and a trading vessel was
temporarily engaged by the company. Since then they have purchased the
schooner Queen of the South, engaged in the fruit carrying trade in
the west of England. This is a much larger vessel than the old
lightship, being 82ft. long, 18.5 ft. beam, and 12ft. deep, with a
gross tonnage of 187, and strongly built of oak and elm throughout.
She has been re-fitted for her new service by Mr. Paul Rogers,
Carrickfergus, having received an additional sheathing, and been
otherwise strengthened in various ways, and a lamp-house erected on
deck. After the remainder of her fittings have been put in at
Morecambe, she will be placed at her station.
  The Morecambe Bay lightship broke from her moorings, and was
taken to Fleetwood Harbour by the steamer Ariadne. It may here be
stated that the Morecambe new Lightship weathered the storm admirably.