The file consists of of correspondence between the Engineer to the Humber Conservancy Board (Arthur Ernest Butterfield) and the Secretary of the Conservancy Board (Alfred William Franklin), the Engineer for the North Eastern Railway based at York, and various contractors. The subject matter is the installation of a fresh water supply for the Saltend Lighthouses; specifications detailing this work can be found within the file. It also includes correspondence documenting difficulties experienced by the Board in finding a tenant for the lighthouse cottage, and in filling the position of Lighthouse Keeper.

A specification for re-painting the lighthouses and cottages at Saltend and Thorngumbald, plus chalk protection work on the embankments at Saltend, can be found within the file. It also includes a report from the Lighthouse Keeper of a Zeppelin sighted flying towards the Saltend Tank Farm.