Trinity House
The Corporation of Trinity House is the official General Lighthouse Authority for England,
Wales and other British territorial waters (with the exception of Scotland, Northern
Ireland and the Republic of Ireland).
It is responsible for the provision and maintenance of navigational aids such as lighthouses, lightvessels, buoys and maritime radio / satelite communication systems. Trinity House is also the official Deep Sea Pilotage Authority providing expert navigators for ships trading in Northern European waters.
Contrary to popular belief Trinity House is not (and never has been) part of HM Coastguard although it does work closesly with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency
For many years, Trinity House depots were maintained in Harwich, Great Yarmouth, Penzance, Swansea, East Cowes and on the Thames (closed some time ago). In December 2002 it was announced that the Great Yarmouth, Penzance and East Cowes depots would close, leaving only Harwich and Swansea remaining, plus the two large tenders Patricia and Mermaid.
The Trinity House headquarters are located in Harwich, on the Essex coast.
History
The Corporation came into being in 1514 by Royal Charter granted by Henry VIII. The first Master was Thomas Spert, captain of Henry’s flagship Mary Rose. The name of the guild derives from the church of Holy Trinity and St Clement, which adjoined the king's new dockyard at Deptford.[1]
Governance
Trinity House is ruled by a court of thirty-one Elder Brethren, presided over by a Master, at present HRH the Duke of Edinburgh. These are appointed from 300 Younger Brethren who act as advisors and perform other duties as needed. The Younger Brethren are themselves appointed from lay people with maritime experience, mainly naval officers and ships' masters but also harbourmasters, pilots, yachtsmen and anyone with useful experience.[2]
Operational Responsibilities / Role of the Corporation
Trinity House has three main functions:
- The care of all lighthouses in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar.
- Providing aids to navigation, e.g. lightvessels, lighthouses, buoys, radio navigation services etc.
- Serving as a charitable organisation for mariners; looking after their safety, welfare, training etc.
The Corporation also inspects buoys etc provided by local harbour authorities, and provides a Deep Sea Pilot Service. It no longer provides local pilots for entering ports.
Trinity House is financed from “Light Dues” levied on commercial shipping calling at ports in the United Kingdom.
Lighthouse Stock
Trinity House maintains 71 lighthouses ranging from isolated rock towers like the Eddystone to mainland towers like Southwold lighthouse.
All lighthouses have been automated since November 1998, when the UK's last manned lighthouse, North Foreland in Kent, was converted to automatic operation.
Lighthouse automation began as far back as 1910 thanks to an ingenious invention of Gustaf Dalen. His sun-valve was fitted in a number of lighthouses powered by acetylene gas. The vital component was a black metal rod, which was suspended vertically and connected to the gas supply. As it absorbed the sun's heat, the rod expanded downwards, cutting off the gas during the day.
Automation in the modern context began in the early 1980s, made possible firstly by the construction of lantern top helipads at remote rock lighthouses, to enable the rapid transfer of technicians to a lighthouse in the event of a breakdown - and secondly, by the development of remote control technology which enables all lighthouses and lightvessels to be monitored and controlled from the Trinity House Central Planning Unit, in Harwich, Essex.
Master of the Corporation
The Master of the Corporation (now a merely honorary title) is the Duke of Edinburgh. Previous Masters of Trinity House have included the diarist Samuel Pepys and the Duke of Wellington, and Admiral William Penn (father of William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania). Other prominent individuals in Britain, often connected with commercial shipping or the Admiralty, have been associated with Trinity House, including Winston Churchill, who gained his status as an Elder Brother of Trinity House as a result of his position as First Lord of the Admiralty before and during World War I. Often, especially on naval-related forays during the Second World War, he was seen in Trinity House cap or uniform.
Trinity House - Headquarters of the Corporation of Trinity House
The present Trinity House, was designed by architect Samuel Wyatt and built in 1796, it has a suite of five state rooms with views over Trinity Square, The Tower of London and The River Thames. Equivalent bodies in other parts of the British Isles:
- Commissioners of Irish Lights - Ireland (Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland)
- Northern Lighthouse Board (formerly known as Commissioners for Northern Lights) - Scotland
See also
Notes
- ^ Moorhouse, Geoffrey (2005). Great Harry’s Navy. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, pp169,170. ISBN 0-297-64544-7.
- ^ (pp 8 & 9) Quarterdeck (PDF). McBooks Press (March 2007). Retrieved on 2007-08-06.
External link
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