THE LIGHTHOUSES OF ENGLAND.
Management of English Lighthouses--The Trinity House--Early
History of this Corporation--Management of Lighthouses
vested in--The Power of the Crown to grant Patents for
Lighthouses--Recent Law for the Regulation of
Lighthouses--Revenue of Corporation--Rates of Dues--How
collected and disbursed--Constitution of the
Corporation--The Public Lights of England.
It will now be necessary to give some account of the important
institution to whose members is entrusted the management of
Lighthouses, and of various interests connected with the Seamen and
Shipping of this country. This is the Corporation of the Trinity House
of Deptford Strond, whose full title is as follows:--'The Master,
Wardens, and Assistants of the Guild, Fraternity, or Brotherhood of
the most glorious and undivided Trinity, and of St. Clement, in the
parish of Deptford Strond, in the county of Kent.'
The early records of this corporation were destroyed by fire in 1714,
so that the origin of the institution cannot be precisely stated. But
it appears that the purpose for which it was first established was,
for the increase of correct information of the intricacies of
navigation connected with the channels leading into the Thames, and
with the river itself, and that the society was originally an
association of seamen formed for the purpose of forwarding and
assisting the attainment of the object.
In the reign of Henry VIII. the arsenals of Woolwich and Deptford were
founded, the latter being afterwards put under the direction of the
Trinity House. It is in this reign that we meet with the first
official document relating to the establishment at Deptford Strond. A
royal charter of incorporation was granted in the sixth year of the
reign, wherein Henry grants license to his beloved people and
subjects, the shipmen and mariners of England, to _new begin_, erect,
create, ordain, found, unite, and establish a certain guild or
perpetual fraternity of themselves and other persons, as well men as
women, in the parish-church of Deptford Strond, in the county of Kent.
This charter permits the brethren to elect one master, four wardens,
and eight assistants, to govern and oversee the guild, and have the
custody of the lands and possessions thereof, &c. Queen Elizabeth, in
the first year of her reign, recognised all the rights and immunities
of the corporation, and in the eighth of her reign an act was passed
enabling them to preserve ancient sea-marks, to erect beacons, marks,
and signs for the sea, and to grant licenses to mariners during the
intervals of their engagements to ply for hire as watermen on the
river Thames. This act recites the destruction of steeples, woods, and
other marks on the coasts, whereby divers ships had been lost, to the
great detriment and hurt of the common weal, and the perishing of no
small number of people, and forbids the destruction of any existing
marks after notice under a penalty of one hundred pounds.
In the reign of James I. a question arose as to whether the privileges
granted to the Trinity House by the act of 8th of Elizabeth included
_lighthouses_, which, it would appear, were not introduced in England
at the time it was passed. The opinion of Sir Francis Bacon was sought
in the matter, and on it an order in council was founded, 26th March,
1617. The opinion was,--'That lighthouses are marks and signs within
the meaning of the statute and charter. That there is an authority,
mixed with a trust settled in that corporation, for the erection of
such lighthouses, and other marks and signs as may serve from time to
time, as the accidents and moveable nature of the sands and channels
doth require, grounded upon the skill and experience which they have
in marine service, and this authority and trust cannot be transferred
from them by law, but as they only are answerable for the defaults, so
they only are trusted with the performance, it being a matter of a
high and precious nature, in respect of the salvation of ships and
lives, and a kind of starlight in that element.'
There is reason to believe that this sensible decision of the
attorney-general was not altogether pleasing to the king, whose habit
of selling monopolies and patents was thereby checked. That this was
the case appears from the fact, that, on Sir Francis Bacon becoming
lord-keeper, the same point of law was revived before his successor in
the office of attorney-general, Sir Henry Yelverton. The result of
this was a report that suited the king's purposes better at the time,
but was subsequently the cause of much evil, loss, and expense,
because the management of several lighthouses was thenceforth
entrusted to individuals. Without interfering with the authority
already possessed by the Trinity House, this report states that the
crown had also a power and right by the common-law to erect such
houses. 'And therefore,' says the report, 'howsoever the ordinary
authority and trust for the performance of this service is committed
to the said corporation alone, as persons of skill and trust to that
purpose, yet if they be not vigilant to perform it in all places
necessary, his majesty is not restrained to provide them according to
his regal power and justice, for the safety of his subjects' lives,
goods, and shipping, in all places needful.'
Thus patents for and leases of lighthouses were granted to private
individuals, and were no longer the exclusive right of the Trinity
House. This state of things continued from that period nearly to the
present time. But the inconvenience and disadvantage resulting from
the measure had long been felt, and it was found that the lighthouse
system was, in too many instances, conducted with a view to private
interest rather than public good. An act was therefore passed, in the
sixth and seventh years of the reign of his late majesty William IV.,
in order to the attainment of uniformity of system in the management
of lighthouses, and the reduction and equalization of tolls payable in
respect thereof. By this act provision was made for vesting all the
lighthouses on the coast of England in the corporation of the Trinity
House, and placing those of Scotland and Ireland also under their
supervision. All the interest of the crown in lighthouses possessed by
his majesty was vested in the corporation, in consideration of three
hundred thousand pounds allowed to the Commissioners of Crown Land
Revenue for the same, and the corporation were permitted to buy up the
interests of the various lessees of the crown and of the corporation,
as well as to purchase the other lighthouses from the proprietors of
them, subject in case of dispute to the assessment of a jury. Under
this act purchases have been made by the corporation of nearly the
whole of the lighthouses not before in their possession, the sum
expended for that purpose amounting to nearly a million of money.
The revenues of the corporation, which are very considerable, are
derived from tolls paid by the shipping deriving benefit from the
lights, beacons, and buoys, and from the ballast supplied. Also from
lands, stock, &c. held by the corporation, partly by purchase, partly
from legacies, &c. and donations of private individuals. The whole of
these revenues are employed in necessary expenses, such as
constructing and maintaining their lighthouses, and lights, beacons,
and buoys, and the buildings and vessels belonging to the corporation,
in the salaries of the officers of their different establishments, and
in relieving decayed seamen and ballastmen and their widows. Many
almshouses have been erected and are maintained from the same funds.
The present house of the corporation is on Tower Hill. It was built by
Wyatt in 1793. It is of Portland stone, with a rustic basement, over
which is one story adorned with Ionic columns and pilasters. The
Trinity House was formerly in Water Lane, where it was twice destroyed
by fire. The members of the corporation are chosen from among the
highest ranks: of the thirty-one elder brethren, eleven are noblemen
and heads of the government departments, admirals, &c. These are
styled honorary members, and have no pecuniary advantage from their
connection with the institution. The present master is the Duke of
Wellington. Mr. Pitt filled that office for seventeen years, and
William IV. was master at the time of his accession to the throne.
Different committees are appointed for attending to the various duties
of the corporation. The deputy master and elder brethren are from time
to time employed in making voyages of inspection of their lighthouses
and lights, beacons and buoys, and in making surveys &c. on the coast,
and reports on maritime matters. The salary of the deputy master is
six hundred pounds per annum, and of the elder brethren three hundred
pounds each per annum. The duties of the corporation also extend to
the examination of such boys of Christ's Hospital as shall be willing
to become seamen, and to apprentice them to commanders of ships. Also,
the appointment of all pilots into and out of the Thames, prohibiting
under penalties all other persons from exercising the office; the
punishment of seamen deserting, &c. All masters of the Navy, as well
as the pilots, also undergo examination before this corporation.
The rate of dues chargeable by the Trinity House before the passing of
the Act of 1836, varied from one sixth of a penny to one penny per
ton, on each light passed; and it appears from the Parliamentary
Report, that in 1832 the net amount of revenue was seventy-seven
thousand three hundred and seventy-one pounds, and the expense of
maintaining the lights thirty-six thousand nine hundred and four
pounds, leaving a surplus of forty thousand four hundred and
sixty-seven pounds, to be expended in charity to the amount of
thirty-five thousand, and the rest in the erection of new lighthouses,
and the maintenance of the general establishment. By the new Act the
duties levied under former Acts were repealed, and it was enacted that
every British vessel, and every private foreign vessel should pay the
toll of one half-penny per ton for every time of passing, or deriving
advantage from any light, with the exception of the Bell-Rock, for
which one penny per ton is the toll. Every foreign vessel not
privileged must pay double toll. Exemptions were made in favour of the
King's vessels, those of Trinity House, and all vessels going in
ballast or engaged in the herring fishery. Power was given to the
commissioners of northern lighthouses to erect beacons, and moor
buoys, and the harbour-lights on the Scotch coast were placed under
their controul. This Act also confers on the Trinity House the power
of entering any lighthouse under the charge of other boards, to
inspect their condition, and it gives them a controul as to the
erection of new lighthouses, or the alteration of those already
existing, both in Scotland and Ireland. In the event of any
differences of opinion between the three boards, appeal is to be made
to the Privy Council. It is also enacted, that accounts of the receipt
of all monies, and a report of all alterations made during the
preceding year, be annually laid before each House of Parliament.
The public lights of England, including Heligoland (a small island
belonging to England situate about twenty-five miles from the mouth of
the Elbe), amount to seventy-one in number, and have been arranged in
the following classes.
1. Those belonging to and under the management of the
Corporation of the Trinity House 55 lights
2. Those in the charge of individuals under lease from
the Trinity House, and having different periods to
run 3 "
3. Those let by the Crown to individuals for a period of
years on leases renewed since the year 1822 7 "
4. Lights originally held under patents subsequently
sanctioned by Acts of Parliament, and now in the
hands of proprietors 4 "
5. At Heligoland 1 light
6. One floating light at Benbridge Lodge 1 "
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Total number of public general lights in England 71 lights
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A list of the lighthouses of the British Islands, corrected to July,
1836, is published at the Hydrographic Office, Admiralty.