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). A General Lighthouse Authority (GLA is defined as being a dedicated Government Agency of a Country or Nation tasked with and responsible for the provision and maintenance of Lighthouses Territorial waters, or a territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending at most It is responsible for the provision and maintenance of navigational aids such as lighthouses, lightvessels, buoys and maritime radio / satellite communication systems. A lighthouse is a Tower, building or framework designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or in older times from a fire and used as an A lightvessel, or lightship, is a Ship which acts as a Lighthouse. Trinity House is also the official Deep Sea Pilotage Authority providing expert navigators for ships trading in Northern European waters.
Contents |
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). Samuel Pepys, FRS (23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703 was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament, who is now most famous for Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, KP, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS ( c Sir William Penn ( 23 April 1621 &ndash 16 September 1670) was an English Admiral, and the father of William Penn William Penn ( October 14, 1644 – July 30, 1718) was founder and "Absolute Proprietor" of the Province of Pennsylvania, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern 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. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 Often, especially on naval-related forays during the Second World War, he was seen in Trinity House cap or uniform. Winston Churchill also had a THV named after him THV Winston Churchill.
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. Trafalgar 200 was a series of events in 2005 held mostly in the United Kingdom to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, where a The Duke of Edinburgh is a Dukedom associated with Edinburgh, Scotland. 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. Captain is the traditional customary title given to the person in charge in command of a Ship at sea A harbourmaster (or harbormaster, see spelling differences) is an official responsible for enforcing the regulations of a particular Harbour or A pilot is a Mariner who guides Ships through dangerous or congested waters such as Harbours or River mouths Legally the master remains [1]
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. Samuel Wyatt (1737-1807 was a member of a leading family of 18th and 19th century English Architects.
History
The Corporation came into being in 1514 by Royal Charter granted by Henry VIII. A Royal Charter is a Charter granted by the Sovereign on the advice of the Privy council to legitimize an incorporated body such as a city company Henry VIII (28 June 1491 &ndash 28 January 1547 was King of England and Lord of Ireland, later King of Ireland and claimant to the Kingdom of The first Master was Thomas Spert, captain of Henry’s flagship Mary Rose. Sir Thomas Spert was the first and longest serving Master of Trinity House. The Mary Rose was an English Tudor Carrack warship and one of the first to be able to fire a full Broadside of cannons The name of the guild derives from the church of Holy Trinity and St Clement, which adjoined the king's new dockyard at Deptford. Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in south-east London. [2] For many years, Trinity House depots were maintained in Harwich, Great Yarmouth, Penzance, Swansea, East Cowes and on the Thames (closed some time ago). Harwich (ˈhærɪdʒ is a town in Essex England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a Coastal Town in Norfolk, England. Penzance (Pensans also Penzans, IPA: /pɛnˈzæns/ is a town Civil parish, and Port in the Penwith district of Cornwall Swansea ( Abertawe "mouth of the Tawe " is a city and county in Wales. Cowes is an English Seaport town on the Isle of Wight, an island south of Southampton. The Thames ( is a major River flowing through southern England. 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.
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. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The Channel Islands ( Norman: Îles d'la Manche, French: Îles Anglo-Normandes or Îles de la Manche) are a group of Islands Gibraltar (dʒɨˈbrɒltər is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar
- Providing aids to navigation, e. g. lightvessels, lighthouses, buoys, radio navigation services etc. A lightvessel, or lightship, is a Ship which acts as a Lighthouse. A lighthouse is a Tower, building or framework designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or in older times from a fire and used as an
- Serving as a charitable organisation for mariners; looking after their safety, welfare, training etc.
The Corporation also inspects buoys provided by local harbour authorities, and provides a Deep Sea Pilot Service. A pilot is a Mariner who guides Ships through dangerous or congested waters such as Harbours or River mouths Legally the master remains It no longer provides local pilots for entering ports. Contrary to popular belief Trinity House is not (and never has been) part of HM Coastguard although it does work closely with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Her Majesty's Coastguard is the service of the Government of the United Kingdom concerned with co-ordinating Rescue at sea The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is a UK Executive agency working to prevent the loss of lives at sea and is responsible for implementing British and International
Trinity House is financed from “Light Dues” levied on commercial shipping calling at ports in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located
Lighthouse stock
Trinity House maintains 71 lighthouses ranging from isolated rock towers like the Eddystone to mainland towers like Southwold lighthouse. Portland Bill is a narrow Promontory (or bill) of Portland stone, which forms the most southerly part of Isle of Portland, and therefore Southwold Lighthouse is a Lighthouse in Southwold, Suffolk, England.
All lighthouses have been automated since November 1998, when the UK's last manned lighthouse, North Foreland in Kent, was converted to automatic operation. North Foreland and South Foreland are two Chalk headlands on the east Kent coast of southern England.
Lighthouse automation began as far back as 1910 thanks to an ingenious invention of Gustaf Dalen. Nils Gustaf Dalén ( November 30, 1869 &ndash December 9 1937) was a Swedish Nobel Laureate and industrialist the founder of the 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 Operations and Planning Centre, in Harwich, Essex.
The other General Lighthouse Authorities 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 and the Isle of Man
Ensign
The Ensign of Trinity House is a British Red Ensign defaced with the shield of the coat of arms (a St George's Cross with a sailing ship in each quarter). The British Isles (Irish variously Na hOileáin Bhriotanacha, Oileáin Iarthair Eorpa, Éire agus an Bhreatain Mhór; Ellanyn Goaldagh Eileanan The Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL is the body that serves as the Lighthouse authority for all of the island of Ireland plus its adjacent seas and islands Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. The Northern Lighthouse Board ( NLB) is the General Lighthouse Authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. The Isle of Man (Ellan Vannin ˈɛlʲən ˈvanɪn or Mann (Mannin) is a self-governing Crown dependency, located in the Irish Sea at the geographical The Red Ensign or " Red Duster " is a Flag that originated in the early 17th century as an Ensign flown by the Royal Navy. The Master and Deputy Master each have their own flags. [3]
See also
Notes
- ^ (pp 8 & 9) Quarterdeck (PDF). Her Majesty's Coastguard is the service of the Government of the United Kingdom concerned with co-ordinating Rescue at sea The International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (or IALA for short is a non-profit organization founded in 1957 to collect and McBooks Press (March 2007). Retrieved on 2007-08-06. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1538 - Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada.
- ^ Moorhouse, Geoffrey (2005). Great Harry’s Navy. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, pp169,170. ISBN 0-297-64544-7.
- ^ britishflags.net- Trinity House
External links
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic