MAIN 
 
 m 
 
 E CORPQRATION 
 
 OF 
 
 NITY HOUSE 
 
 OF 
 
 IPTFORD STROND : 
 
 Si a^cmoi'c 
 
 OF 
 
 llN, fflSTOP^Y, 8j f^UNCTIONS. 
 
 PRINTED 
 
 PR 11^ ATE DISTRIBUTION) 
 
 BY 
 
 5BS, 5, POSTERN ROW, TOWER HILL. 
 
 MDCCCLXVIII. 
 
 ?s: 
 
1^ " ^ 
 
 THE CORPORATION 
 
 OF 
 
 TRINITY HOUSE 
 
 It 
 
 OF 
 
 DEPTFORD STROND : 
 
 Si ai^enioir 
 
 OF 
 
 Its Oi^igin, Histoi^y, Sj junctions. 
 
 
 PRINTED 
 
 fFOJ? PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION) 
 
 BY 
 
 SMITH & EBBS, 5, POSTERN ROW, TOWER HILL. 
 
 MDCCCLXVIII. 
 
7 
 
 c-|'|.'i o^ Ch<x>uuG At^ooa y\t 
 
\IK( 
 
 TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS 
 THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH, K.G., K.T., 
 
 piaster of i\t if orporatbn of Sirinitg ^onse, 
 
 ETC., ETC., ETC., 
 
 THE FOLLOWING PAGES ARE, 
 
 BY PERMISSION, 
 
 MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, 
 
 WITH THE LOYAL DUTY, 
 
 PROFOUND ESTEEM, 
 
 AND 
 
 SPECIAL CONGRATULATION 
 OF THE COMPILER. 
 
 Trinity House, 
 
 July, 1868. 
 
 895801 
 
To THE Elder Brethren of the 
 
 Corporation of Trinity House 
 
 OF Deptford Strond. 
 
 Brethren, 
 
 Upon the election of H.R.H. the Prince 
 Alfred to the office of Master of this Corporation 
 in 1866, I had the honour of receiving his Royal 
 Highness' command to submit, for his information, a 
 short account of the Origin, History, and Duties of 
 this Ancient and Honourable Fraternity. 
 
 I thereupon drew up such a statement, in the 
 shape of a Letter to His Royal Highness, which, 
 after having the good fortune to prove acceptable 
 to our Master, was submitted to our Court ; and, 
 a general wish being then expressed that the subject 
 matter thereof should be printed for the information 
 of the Brethren, I have put it into the form of a 'brief 
 memoir, adding whatever I thought would tend to 
 make it more complete. These additions are com- 
 
vi CORPORA TION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 piled from very many and various records in this 
 House, and are altogether either verbally transcribed 
 from, or substantially identical with, the actual reports 
 or minutes of the Corporation's affairs. 
 
 It is at best but an imperfect and brief memoir, 
 but, such as it is, I trust it may be found useful in 
 affording some slight assistance to those who wish 
 to master the numerous details of those important 
 increasing public duties which the Elder Brethren are 
 called upon to fulfil, and that its pages will be accept- 
 able to the Members of this Corporation. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 Brethren, 
 Your very faithful and obedient servant, 
 
 FREDERICK ARROW. 
 
 Trinity House, 
 
 July, 1868. 
 
A MEMOJ-R; 
 
 Originally suggested by research undertaken in 
 obedience to a desire expressed by His Royal Highness 
 the Master, the following pages have been prepared, in 
 the behef that a brief memoir of the records, purposes, 
 and functions of this ancient Corporation may prove 
 welcome, not only to its administrative heads and 
 officials, but to many interests identified with the com- 
 mercial and nautical prosperity of Great Britain. 
 
 The printed information hitherto extant is limited 
 to the Charter of Confirmation granted by James II. 
 (with the minor concession, by Charles II., of Thames 
 Ballastage), and a compilation from the records of 
 the Corporation, down to 1746, by its then secretary, 
 Mr. Whormby, supplemented by a memoir drawn up, 
 in 1822, by Captain Joseph Cotton, then Master. But 
 the data of these latter are necessarily imperfect, as 
 the destruction by fire, in 17 14, of the house in Water 
 Lane had already involved a disastrous loss of docu- 
 mentary evidence, leaving much to be inferentially 
 traced from collateral records of the Admiralty and 
 Navy Boards. These, however, sufficiently attest ad- 
 
 • For Master ?r.7rt' Deputy-Master- 
 
8 CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 ministrative powers and protective influence, scarcely 
 inferior to the scope of those departments. 
 
 The history of the Corporation of Trinity House, 
 properly beginnJng; v;it*]i the original Charter of King 
 Hefiry VIM, in 1514, has claim to yet higher antiquity, 
 for that 'deed* ncit.'-pniy 'inenf ions the Almshouse at 
 Deptford (erected some hundred years before) as the 
 head-quarters, or seat, of the Society of Mariners which 
 it enrols, but affords evidence of a practically corporate 
 influence already long existing. As an Association for 
 protection of maritime interests, and for relief of the 
 aged and indigent, the Society had manifestly so 
 inspired confidence and acquired authority as to estab- 
 lish regulations for the navigation of ships and the 
 government of seamen, which, by general consent, had 
 been adopted throughout the service ; and the power 
 conferred by the Charter to confirm and enforce such 
 regulations, so far as consistent with the laws of the 
 Realm, appears to have been a natural recognition of 
 tested and approved capacity, which had gradually 
 attracted official attention and respect. 
 
 Originally, then, a voluntary association of the 
 " Shipmen or Mariners of England," the Corporation 
 of Trinity House of Deptford Strond, was first so 
 entitled in the Charter granted by King Henry VIII., 
 where they are described as " The Guild or Fraternity 
 of the most glorious and undividable Trinity of St. 
 Clement." The subsequent Act (8th) of Elizabeth 
 refers to the Master, Wardens, and Assistants of the 
 
CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. g 
 
 Trinity House of Dcptford Strond ; and the Charter 
 of James I. and all later Charters are granted to "The 
 Master, Wardens, and Assistants of the Guild, Frater- 
 nity, or Brotherhood of the most glorious and undivided 
 Trinity, and of St. Clement, in the parish of Deptford, 
 in the county of Kent." 
 
 The Grant of Arms to the Corporation, dated 1573, 
 prescribes : — Argent, a plain cross Gules, between four 
 ships Sable, the fore and topsails up, and underneath, 
 on a wreath of their colors, a Demi-Lion Rampant 
 Gardant, and crowned with a crown imperial Or : in 
 his right paw an arming sword Argent, hilt and pomell 
 Or, langued and armed Azure, doubled Gules. Motto, 
 Trini/as m Unit ate. 
 
 Whether the distinctive name be referable to the re- 
 ligious element in the constitution of the Guild — which 
 included provision for the maintenance of a chaplain, 
 and for conduct of Divine Service in the parish church 
 — or whether, as the wording of the original Charter 
 may be construed to imply, it was conferred at the 
 pleasure of the Sovereign, does not certainly appear. 
 Whencesoever derived, it is reverently valued and 
 cherished by the holders, not only as deeply symbolic 
 of unity and brotherhood, but as an abiding relic of the 
 rooted, simple piety of our sea-faring ancestors, yet 
 manifest in the preambles of their trade indentures, 
 and in the traditions which tenaciously survive them. 
 
 Undoubtedly the like title was conferred upon 
 two public bodies of similar kind and purpose, incor- 
 
lO CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 porated during the same reign ; but these (haihng 
 from Hull and Newcastle) were strictly local or pro- 
 vincial, and the higher status of the Trinity Corporation 
 was soon emphatically recognized, in the ensuing 
 reign, by Parliamentary authority to "Erect and 
 maintain Beacons, Marks, and Signs for the sea, for 
 the better navigation of the Coasts of England " — a 
 function which has gradually expanded into the 
 present National Lighthouse organization. 
 
 The House, or Hall, at Deptford, where the affairs of 
 the Corporation were first conducted, adjoined the 
 apartments of the almspeople. It is supposed that 
 there was also a Branch or Station at Leigh, in Essex, 
 where vessels arriving were supplied with pilots, as the 
 outward-bound were similarly provided at Deptford. 
 The buildings at St . Clement falling, in course of time, 
 to decay, a new Hall and additional Almshouses were 
 built, in 1765, on land now called the Upper Ground, 
 remaining to this day ; and here, until recently, was 
 held the annual election of Officers, on Trinity Monday. 
 The building is now only used as a pay hall, for dis- 
 tribution of alms and pensions. 
 
 The daily business of the Corporation — requiring 
 convenience of access to ship-owners and their 
 associate trades — was first conducted at a house in 
 Ratcliffe, next at Stepney, then in Water Lane, Tower 
 Street ; and finally, on this tenement — twice burnt 
 and restored — becoming dilapidated, an estate was 
 purchased (1792) on Tower Hill, where the present 
 
CORPORA TION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 1 1 
 
 Trinity House was erected, from designs by Wyatt, 
 in 1798. 
 
 Returning to Deptford, and the earlier time, it is 
 noteworthy that the birth of the Corporation coincided, 
 or nearly, with other manifestations of Tudor zeal for 
 the Navy and Marine of England, in which the 
 Trinity House was, from the first, an important 
 auxiliary ally. About the year 1520, when the Charter 
 was but six years old, commenced the formation of 
 Admiralty and Navy Boards, the primary suggestion 
 of which is ascribed to Henry VH. On the conse- 
 quent establishment of Dockyards and Arsenals, the 
 Deptford Building Yard was confided to the direction 
 of the Trinity House, together with superintendence 
 of all Navy stores and provisions. So closely, indeed, 
 were the services related, that the first Master of the 
 Corporation, under the Charter, was Sir Thomas 
 Spert, Commander of the " Heniy Grace-a-Dieu " 
 (our first man-of-war), and sometime Controller of the 
 Navy. The Corporation thus became, as it were, the 
 civil branch of the English maritime service, with a 
 naval element which it preserves to this day. That 
 it exercised very considerable powers in both manning 
 and out-fitting the Navy, and in protecting the in- 
 terests of the mercantile Marine, is abundantly evident 
 from contemporary Government records, which prac- 
 tically replace the minutes destroyed in the fire of 
 1714; testifying that the Trinity Brethren officially 
 reported upon ships to be purchased for the Navy, 
 
12 CORPORA TION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 regulated the dimensions of those to be built, and 
 determined the proper complement for each, of sailors, 
 armament, and stores. 
 
 In 1647, the Charter of James I. was dissolved by 
 Parliament, and the affairs of the Corporation were 
 transferred to a select Committee. But in 1659 the 
 surviving mem.bers re-assembled, and successfully 
 asserted their right to sit and act on the Committee ; 
 and, eventually, the Brotherhood was re-constructed by 
 the power which had temporarily suppressed them. 
 
 On the Restoration shortly ensuing, the Charter was 
 renewed, confirming to the Corporation all its former 
 privileges ; and this renewal having been surrrendered 
 (in proof of loyalty) to the King, shortly before his 
 death, was formally re-granted by his successor, 
 James 11. , in 1685, and remains in force to the present 
 time. 
 
 Although the main duties of the Corporation were 
 essentially of peaceful character, the Charter stipu- 
 lated that its members should be liable to serve the 
 Crown at sea, if required ; and, in set-off to such 
 liability, the Brethren and their subordinates were 
 exempted from land service of every kind. In the 
 course of their history, they have frequently been 
 called upon for service afloat, and notably upon two 
 occasions : during the Mutiny at the Nore, in 1797* 
 when the Elder Brethren, almost in view of the 
 mutinous fleet, removed or destroyed every beacon 
 and buoy that could guide its passage out to sea ; and 
 
CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 13 
 
 again, in 1803, when a French invasion was im- 
 minent, they undertook and carried out the defence of 
 the entrance to the Thames, by manning and per- 
 sonally officering a cordon of fully-armed ships, 
 moored across the river below Gravesend, with an 
 adequate force of trustworthy seamen, for destruction, 
 if necessar>', of all channel marks that might guide 
 an approaching enemy. 
 
 It has, further, been the prescriptive duty and 
 grateful privilege of the Elder Brethren to attend the 
 Sovereign on sea journies, to the end that their 
 special knowledge of coasts, channels, and currents 
 may be, in case of emergency, at command. Within 
 the last half-century their yacht has been thus 
 mustered with the fleet of George IV. in 1822, and 
 with the pageant which attended Her Majesty's 
 first auspicious visit to Scotland with her lamented 
 Consort in I842. Since those dates, with the advance 
 of facihties for journeying at sea, and of inclination 
 to use them, they have frequently had the honour 
 of attending on their Sovereign in her cruises on her 
 own coasts, or to the Continent ; and at the grand 
 Naval Review, when the fleet was reviewed by Her 
 Majesty in the presence of the Sultan, the Trinity 
 yacht had the distinguished honour of leading, as 
 pilot, the Royal Squadron through the fleet. 
 
 The constitution of the Corporation, with the 
 growth and development of the Lighthouse system, 
 and their management of Pilotage, Ballastage, and 
 
14 
 
 CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 charitable provisions, will appear immediately under 
 the appertaininc^ heads. But a glance at recent events 
 is necessary to complete the brief historic summary 
 which is the leading object of the compiler. 
 
 The usefulness of the Trinity House having steadily 
 advanced with all opportunities for extension, it re- 
 ceived in 1836 the culminating recognition of an Act 
 of Parliament, empowering its executive to purchase 
 of the Crown, and to redeem from private proprietors, 
 their interests in all the Coast Lights of England, thus 
 bringing all within its own control. By Crown 
 patents, granted from time to time, the Corporation 
 was enabled to raise, through levy of tolls, the funds 
 necessary for erection and maintenance of these 
 national blessings ; and the benevolent objects of the 
 founders of the Royal Charters were, in most cases, 
 kept in view by provisional clauses, applying all surplus 
 of revenue over expenditure to the relief of indigent 
 and aged mariners, their wives, widows, and orphans. 
 
 This disposal of accruing surplus continued until 
 1853, by which time — occasional reservation of dues 
 notwithstanding — the allowance to out-pensioners 
 alone amounted to upwards of ^20,000 per annum ; 
 in addition to which nearly half as much more of 
 income, derived from property held in trust for 
 charitable purposes, was applied to maintenance of 
 the Almshouses at Deptford and Mile-End (152 in 
 number), and to other charitable uses for the benefit 
 of the Maritime community. 
 
CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 15 
 
 But a Department thus honourably distinguished, 
 and charged not only with administration of important 
 public duties, but with disposal of increasing trusts, 
 was naturally exposed, as all pubhc bodies are to 
 some extent, to the concomitant evils of jealousy and 
 insufficient knowledge of facts. Set upon a hill — in 
 other than the palpable sense* — the Trinity House 
 could hardly expect, and has not uninterruptedly 
 enjoyed, exemption from adverse criticism and even 
 hostile attack. The Brethren have had to sustain 
 several searching inquiries into their affairs and 
 management, before Committees of the House of 
 Commons, the most important of which were in 1732, 
 1822, 1834, 1845, 3-^d 1858. The two first were 
 directed more particularly to the Pilotage systems, and 
 the latter to management of Lights, Buoys, and 
 Beacons ; but from each and all of these ordeals the 
 Corporation has issued with extended authority, and 
 creditable verdicts upon its past course of action, and — 
 save one exceptional subtraction from its means of 
 usefulness — confirmed and strengthened in its powers. 
 It must not be supposed here that the writer deprecates 
 such inquiries. On the contrary, he has, in common 
 with his Brethren, cheerfully recognised their value 
 and usefulness— especially as regards the last one, 
 from whose evidence undoubted good has arisen. 
 
 The exception refers to 1853, when Parliament, 
 departing from received principles of policy, found it 
 
 * Tower Hill. 
 
1 6 CORPORA TION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 expedient to transfer to the Board of Trade the Cor- 
 poration's control of its funds collected from tolls and 
 dues, and at the same time those of the Scotch and 
 Irish Boards. The functions of the Trinity House were 
 thus subjected by the Legislature to considerable modi- 
 fication. Its administrative powers, indeed, were 
 strengthened, and its relations with the sister-kingdoms 
 confirmed ; but the character of irresponsibility, which 
 it had until then possessed, was removed, and a con- 
 trolling power over its expenditure was conceded to 
 the Board of Trade, involving the necessity of official 
 sanction to every item of disbursement in its public 
 accounts. In this arrangement the Legislature as- 
 sumed, for guiding axiom, that whatever might have 
 been the ancient practice, it was no longer right, or in 
 accord with the temper and feeling of the day, to tax 
 shipowners, more than other branches of commerce, for 
 the future relief of persons in their particular service ; 
 and, on that score, to charge them with higher rates 
 of toll than were necessary for efficient maintenance 
 of the essential requirements of Lighthouse service. 
 
 The revision of Trinity House expenditure, thus 
 placed in the hands of the Board of Trade, could 
 hardly help extending beyond the limits prescribed by 
 Parliament. The arrangement, however, has on the 
 whole worked harmoniously, few differences of opinion 
 having arisen, and those confined to subjects on which 
 third parties were concerned ; and the only substantial 
 check sustained, in the change of 1858, is upon the 
 
CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 17 
 
 means of beneficence theretofore enjoyed by the Cor- 
 poration. These appropriations to the charitable 
 designs of its founders were, of course, seriously 
 reduced — to no more in fact, after payment of vested 
 Interests and Pensions, than mere distribution of the 
 private income of the Corporation, derived from its 
 own funded and trust property, still devoted, as before, 
 to the support of its Almshouses, to the grant of casual 
 relief, and to various objects in promotion of the wel- 
 fare of Merchant Seamen and of Navy-men, with a 
 reserve for upholding tha status and dignity of the 
 Corporation at its House. 
 
 Upon a separate provision for remuneration of the 
 Elder Brethren, some misconception exists, which it 
 may be well to correct by a plain statement of facts. 
 Under an Act passed in 1822, an annual sum of 
 ^7,000 was authorised to be appropriated to twenty 
 Acting Elder Brethren. This fixed sum was in sub- 
 stitution for certain fees, called "Elder Turns," charged 
 upon vessels entering or departing from the River 
 Thames, which had been the dues of the Elder 
 Brethren from earliest times, but which were thence- 
 forward carried to the Lighthouse revenue. These 
 dues, though varying in yield, had greatly increased 
 with the advance of trade, and what the Elder Brethren 
 then resigned to the public is now a very considerable 
 revenue: the same causes have also proportionately 
 enlarged the scope of the Corporation, and multiplied 
 its labours, but the so-fixed allowance remains 
 B 
 
1 8 CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 unaltered, and not supplemented — directly or indirectly 
 — from any source whatsoever. 
 
 It remains to summarise, under five convenient 
 heads, the organisation of our Corporation, and its 
 distributed duties, in the following order : — 
 
 Constitution of the Trinity House. 
 
 The Court, or Governing Body of the Corporation, 
 is composed of a hmited number of members, having 
 three degrees of precedence — those, namely, of Master, 
 Wardens, and Assistants. In the Charter (15 141 of 
 Henry VIII., this number was fixed at thirteen, com- 
 prising one Master, four Wardens, and eight Assistants, 
 who were elected annually by all the other members 
 or Brethren of the Guild. Confirmed, verbatim, by 
 Edward VI. (1547), by Mary (1553), and by Elizabeth 
 ( 1558) ; the scheme remained unaltered until James I., 
 in 1604, granted a Charter in more explicit terms In 
 this a distinction was, for the first time, formally drawn 
 between Elder and Younger Brethren ; the conditions 
 for maintenance of a chaplain and religious services 
 were omitted ; and the number (thirteen) of the Govern- 
 ing Body was increased by addition of eighteen Elder 
 Brethren, making, in all, thirty-one. Upon these no 
 power in the government of the Corporation was 
 directly conferred ; but they were capacitated for 
 acting as Deputies to the ruling members — the Wardens 
 and Assistants — if properly nominated. In the Charter 
 (1609) of James II., the status of the eighteen Elder 
 
CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 19 
 
 Brethren was definitely settled, and the management 
 of the Corporation's affairs was committed to a sum- 
 moned court, consisting of the Master, .Wardens, 
 Assistants, and Elder Brethren, with a Clerk to carry 
 out its instructions ; and this form of constitution is 
 preserved, unaltered, to the present time. 
 
 The Elder Brethren are elected out of the Younger 
 class — that is, from those among them who volunteer 
 and are approved as candidates for the office. Under 
 the regulations now in force, the thirty-one consist of 
 twenty brought up to the Maritime service — deemed 
 the Acting Elder Brethren — and eleven persons of dis- 
 tinction — as members of the Royal Family, Ministers 
 of State, Naval Officers of high rank, etc. The twenty 
 so-called Acting Brethren are officers of the Mercan- 
 tile Marine, or of Her Majesty's Navy ; the latter being 
 a small proportion, consisting, at this time, of two 
 Admirals and one Captain. The Board has this 
 Naval element by a tacit understanding ; but there is 
 no absolute authority or necessity for the admixture, 
 and it is confined to three, in just consideration of the 
 limited opportunity open to officers of the Mercantile 
 Marine for attaining recognized positions like that of 
 an Elder Brother. Vacancies in the Court are filled 
 up, as they occur, by the Elder Brethren themselves, 
 electing by ballot a successor to his vacant seat. In 
 this election, as in the conduct of all the duties of the 
 Corporation, the whole of the Elder Brethren, without 
 distinction, have the same right to participate. Prac- 
 B 2 
 
20 CORPORA TION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 tically, however, as the active duties are performed by 
 the twenty Acting Brethren, to them it is left to decide 
 upon fillijig up vacancies among their ranks; while the 
 selection of filling up the vacancy in the remaining 
 eleven is left to the Master for the time being, within 
 the recognized limits, who, in fact, gives a cofige 
 d^elire. 
 
 Younger Brethren (of whom the number is unhmited) 
 are admissible at the pleasure of the Court. With a 
 right to vote in the election of Master and Wardens, 
 they have no other share in the management of the 
 Corporation's affairs. 
 
 The objects for which the Corporation was founded 
 are generally described in its Charters, as being to 
 "treat and conclude upon all and singular articles any- 
 wise concerning the science or art of Mariners," and, 
 particularly, to aid and encourage Navigation, to pro- 
 vide for the Pilotage of ships (especially the Royal 
 Navy) into and out of port, and to relieve poor and 
 aged mariners. To these was added the Ballastage of 
 ships in the Thames, as a means of clearing and deepen- 
 ing the navigable channels of the river, and of meeting 
 the needs of shipping with the assured and regular 
 supply essential to despatch discharged vessels, and to 
 obviate the evils of detention. But the prominent duty 
 of the Trinity House, in aid of navigation, was that of 
 placing Beacons and Buoys, and of preserving sea- 
 marks along the coast — charges which have gradually 
 grown into the existing system of Lighthouses. 
 
CORPORA TION OF TRINITY HO USE. 2 I 
 
 Among many minor branches of the Brethren's duty, 
 the most noteworthy are the Examination of Masters and 
 Mates in the Roy;il Navy (now styled Navigating Lieu- 
 tenants), and their association, as Nautical Advisers, 
 with the Judge of the High Court of Admiralty. A 
 very grave responsibihty is, of course, involved in cer- 
 tification of Masters of the Queen's ships for Pilotage, 
 with commensurate necessity for perfect knowledge in 
 the examiners of the navigation for which such candi- 
 dates are destined ; while the honourable, though not 
 lucrative, obligation which calls two of the Brethren 
 to the side of the Admiralty Judge, when required, 
 engages them, sometimes for days together, upon in- 
 tricate causes affecting the largest interests. 
 
 It is sufficiently evident that, in the early days of the 
 Corporation, the Court {i.e. all the members assembled) 
 transacted the business in hand through the medium 
 of its Deputy-Master, Wardens, and Clerk ; but, with 
 gradual development and enlargement of their affairs, 
 the Executive found it necessary to devise a sub- 
 division of details into three or four departments, each 
 superintended by a Committee of members of the 
 Court. This distribution has remained practically un- 
 altered to the present time, the general principle of the 
 Elder Brethren being that of vigilant, personal conduct 
 of every important duty, without resort to avoidable 
 agency or extraneous aid. With this object, they 
 divide themselves into seven Committees, viz. : of 
 Warde?is, for Ballasiage, for Pilotage, for Lights^ for 
 
22 CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 Exajnination, for Pefisioners, and for House Affairs. 
 whose respective duties are, in outline, as follow : — 
 
 The Committee of Wardens^ over which the Deputy- 
 Master (Chairman, ex-officio, of all Committees) regu- 
 larly presides, takes cognisance of all questions con- 
 nected with finance, controls the revenue, invites 
 tenders, examines and accept contracts, etc., and 
 generally considers all matters of importance to mature 
 them for discussion at the Courts. 
 
 The Co7nmittee for Ballastage, or supervision of the 
 details of that branch. 
 
 The Committee for Pilotage is concerned with all 
 matters of detail connected with the various Pilotage 
 establishments, together with the appointment of 
 Pilots round the coast ; and investigates, either directly 
 or indirectly, or through the sub-commissioners at out- 
 ports, all complaints of carelessness or inefficiency — 
 those of serious character being always personally in- 
 vestigated. 
 
 The Cominittee for Lights is charged with the direc- 
 tion of Lighthouses, Buoys, Beacons, and Light-vessels 
 within the jurisdiction of the Corporation ; providing 
 for their maintenance and repair, regulating the supply 
 of stores and the appointment of keepers, and con- 
 stantly inspecting the several stations — a service 
 entailing unremitting attention upon the members, 
 some of whom are constantly on duty, either afloat in 
 the steam-vessels or on land journeys, accompanied fre- 
 quently by other members of the Board. 
 
 *For " or supervision of " re(ui '" supervises." 
 
CORPORA TION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 23 
 
 The Examining Committee undertakes to consider, 
 in the first instance, all questions relating to the navi- 
 gation of our coast, the site and condition of Lights, 
 Buoys, and Beacons, and the alterations which they 
 may from time to time require, reporting thereon to the 
 Board, by whom each recommendation is finally dis- 
 posed of. This Committee also discharges the like 
 duty with respect to Lighthouses abroad, and to the 
 many questions relative to analogous subjects submitted 
 for their advice by Foreign Governments or Colonial 
 Authorities, whenever questions relating to them are 
 referred to the Corporation. Its members, further, 
 personally examine Masters and (under recent order) 
 Sub-Lieutenants of her Majesty's Navy, for the pilot- 
 age of the English Channel, together with applicants 
 for Licenses to pilot in the River Thames, and in 
 the North and South Channels, from the Humber 
 to the Isle of Wight. This Committee, moreover, 
 frequently surveys and inspects the channels of the 
 Thames, and the shoals of the North Sea, and other 
 points of the coast at which changes affecting naviga- 
 tion by shifting or scouring, growth or wasting of the 
 sands, require to be watched and notified. 
 
 The Cofmnittee for Pensioners, composed of junior 
 Members of the other Committees, examines into, and 
 reports to the Board upon, apphcations for charitable 
 relief, or for Almshouses or Out-Pensions. 
 
 The Committee for House Affairs provides for 
 proper ordering and repair of the House on Tower 
 
24 CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 Hill, regulates the supplies required for its various 
 departments, and superintends the exercise of its 
 hospitality in a manner befitting its position. 
 
 The direct action of these Committees is restricted 
 to matters of detail, and such as call for immediate 
 attention ; all questions of importance, at the dis- 
 cussion of which, if necessary, the Deputy Master 
 presides, and the Wardens join, being submitted by 
 them for the decision of Board or Court, as the case 
 may be. The minutes of their meetings are read 
 for confirmation at the Courts held on the first 
 Tuesday of every month (at which all the Acting 
 Elder Brethren are present), affording opportunity 
 for re-consideration of any question which may have 
 arisen, and for rectification, if necessary. 
 
 Changes in the Committees are annually effected on 
 Trinity Monday by transferring, as advisable, members 
 from one to another Committee ; so that, after gaining 
 experience in one branch, an Elder Brother becomes 
 acquainted with the detail of another, and gradually 
 acquires full practical knowledge of all the details of 
 the service. 
 
 The official establishment, or staff, of the Corpora- 
 tion, consists of a Secretary and Assistant-Secretary, 
 eight senior Clerks, seven Assistant-Clerks, twelve 
 junior Clerks, and four temporary Clerks — in all, 
 thirty-three ; and of one Engineer, three Assistants, 
 and one Draftsman and Clerk of Works. On purely 
 scientific questions the Trinity House is careful to 
 
CORPORA TION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 25 
 
 consult men of the first eminence ; and the privilege 
 of intimate association, through many years, with the 
 lamented Faraday (worthily succeeded by Professor 
 Tyndall), will always be especially and gratefully re- 
 called by his contemporary Elder Brethren. 
 
 The Engineering Department undertakes the various 
 duties connected with erection of new, or maintenance 
 of existing, Lighthouses, Keepers' dwellings. Beacons, 
 Buoys, etc., detailed plans and drawings of which are 
 prepared and preserved for use or reference. It super- 
 intends the construction of lanterns and optical 
 apparatus, and has charge of the protective works 
 necessary for securing the foreshore adjacent to 
 Lighthouses from encroachment of the sea and storm 
 casualties ; also of the engines of the steam vessels, 
 etc., etc. At its head is Mr. James N. Douglass, a 
 gentleman brought up in the service of the Corpora- 
 tion, and one of a family distinguished for skill and 
 courage in carrying out engineering works of ex- 
 ceptional difficulty and danger. The father of Mr. 
 Douglass superintended the erection of the Lighthouse 
 on the Bishop Rock, Scilly Islands — a work exceeding, 
 in the aggregate of obstacles surmounted, the notable 
 triumph at Skerryvore. In this, Mr. James Douglass 
 assisted, and he has, independently, raised the Light on 
 Small's Rock. His younger brother is now engaged 
 upon a Tower on the Wolf Rock — after the design of 
 the late eminent engineer Mr. James Walker — a feat 
 which will assuredly rival those works of his eminent 
 
26 CORPORA TION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 relatives, as a monument of skill and perseverance, 
 illustrative of hereditary genius. 
 
 Of Lights, Buoys, and Beacons.- 
 
 Beacons were erected on the coasts of Britain, for 
 guidance of mariners, soon after the Roman Invasion ; 
 and it is considered probable that, from some of these, 
 warning fires were exhibited by night. None, how- 
 ever, now remain to palpably attest their existence — 
 possibly because such warnings were subsequently 
 discredited and abandoned, as likely to produce a 
 balance of harm in aiding an enemy's fleet while pro- 
 tecting our own. 
 
 In early records of the Trinity House, the sea-marks 
 first mentioned are the Buoys and Beacons in the 
 River Tees, with others in Yarmouth Roads, and the 
 entrance to the Thames, all of which are referred to in 
 terms indicating that they had then been for a long 
 time in existence. Watch-towers, also, surmounted with 
 coal fires, were here and there erected for harbour-lights 
 in and about the reign of Henry VIII. ; but no record 
 is found of any sea-light for guidance of passing vessels 
 having been established on the coast of England until 
 the year 1600, when two Lighthouses were built by the 
 Trinity House at Caistor, in Norfolk. Next came 
 those at Lowestoft, in 1609; Dungeness, in 161 5 ; 
 North and South Forelands, in 1634 ; Winterton and 
 
 * For Detailed List, see Appendix. 
 
CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 27 
 
 Orford, in 16375 Tyncmouth, in 1628; Harwich, in 
 1664 ; Hunstanton, in 1665 ; Spurn Point, in 1675 ; 
 St. Agnes, Scilly, in 1680 ; and Eddystone, in 1698. 
 In all these the means of illumination were candles, 
 oil, or coal-fires, either open or part closed. 
 
 The first floating-light was moored at the Nore, in 
 1 73 1, and another was stationed at the Well, or Dud- 
 geon Shoal, off the Lincolnshire coast, in 1736. Both 
 of these were sloops, with lanterns hoisted on cross- 
 yards. 
 
 Towards the middle of the eighteenth century, the 
 necessity for improvement on existing methods of 
 illumination — which had so far been most primitive 
 — became strongly felt. After many experiments, an 
 improved lamp, with a reflector, was placed in the 
 Lowestoft High Light, and remained on trial during 
 the winter of 1778. The shape and material of this 
 reflector are not recorded, but there is reason to sup- 
 pose that it was parabolic in form, and lined with 
 facets of silvered glass for a reflecting surface. 
 
 The reflecting system was not definitely adopted 
 until 1788, when the Elder Brethren, acting upon the 
 result of experiments which had attracted their atten- 
 tion in France, introduced into the Lighthouses under 
 their control the Argand Lamp and Parabolic Reflector. 
 The first house so lighted was that at Portland, where, 
 in 1789, the High Light was fitted with lamps and 
 reflectors, and the Low Light with lamps and lenses. 
 This was the first introduction of Lenses into use for 
 
28 CORPORA TION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 Lighthouse illumination, which, however, were little 
 more than an exaggeration of the common bull's-eye. 
 
 The Argand Lamp and Reflector gave the means of 
 effecting a distinction between different Lighthouses, 
 by what is called a Revolving Light. The light from 
 the Reflector could now be thrown in any particular 
 direction, as desired, by fixing one or more lamps upon 
 a framework contrived to revolve ; and thus a brilliant 
 flash would be visible to the observer every time that 
 the lamp came round to his position, total darkness 
 ensuing until the framework had completed a revolu- 
 tion. An apparatus of this description was placed in 
 the St. Agnes Lighthouse, at Scilly, in 1806, and 
 another in that of Flamboro' Head in the same year. 
 
 But the most important advance in the earlier science 
 of Lighthouse illumination was brought into notice in 
 England in 1827. It consisted in an application of 
 Buffon's method for augmenting the power of a lens by 
 grinding it down into concentric rings (called by Buffon 
 'steps'), so as to diminish its thickness, without re- 
 duction of focal length. The principle was first applied 
 by MM. Arago and Fresnel, under whose direction a 
 Lenticular apparatus was fitted at the Tour de Corduan, 
 and experiments were made before the Elder Brethren 
 by Doctor (afterwards Sir David) Brewster, in 1827, 
 with a lens manufactured by Gilbert, of London ; but 
 it was not until 1836 that the system was adopted in 
 England. In that year a Lenticular apparatus was 
 fitted, and a Revolving Light of the first power ex- 
 
CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 29 
 
 hibited at the Start Point Lighthouse, now about to be 
 superseded by a modern instrument. 
 
 Under the Catoptric or reflecting system, it was pos- 
 sible to use several Argands, all showing in the same 
 direction, but the Lenticular or Dioptric admitted one 
 lamp only. It, therefore, became most desirable to 
 intensify this single centre in order to equalise its 
 illuminative power with that of the greatest number of 
 Argands then commonly employed in one light. This 
 was finally accomplished by a Frenchman, Carcel, by 
 means of a burner, capable of holding four concentric 
 circular wicks, producing an intense flame of about 
 four-inch diameter, and three inches high. According 
 to the latest experiments, the light of this lamp is equal 
 to that from fourteen Argand burners. 
 
 In both Argand and Concentric-wick lamps, Sperm 
 Oil only was used, until in 1845 its high price, as com- 
 pared with Rape-seed variety, became the subject of 
 attention. A consequent modification of the Argand, 
 invented by Mr. G. Herbert, an officer of the Corpo- 
 ration, was found to render it capable of burning 
 Rape ; and, by prompt adoption of the alteration, a 
 great saving was effected, and Sperm finally super- 
 seded. 
 
 The latest and most important improvement which 
 has been incorporated with our Lighthouse system is 
 the Magneto-Electric Light, produced on a plan 
 invented and patented by Professor Holmes, of 
 London, which was submitted by him to the Elder 
 
30 
 
 CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 Brethren in 1857, and is, in fact, the practical apphca- 
 tion of the late Professor Faraday's discovery, so far 
 back as 1831, of Magneto-Electricity. After many 
 preliminary experiments, and a test exhibition of it, 
 for three months, at the South Foreland, the light 
 was permanently established at Dungeness on the 
 6th of June, 1862, and its application will shortly be 
 extended. Three stations on the East Coast are now 
 in course of preparation for receiving it. 
 
 Floating Lights, or those exhibited from vessels 
 moored near shoals, rocks, or other dangers, have 
 benefited materially by successive improvements in 
 shore-lights, so far as applicable to a floating body. 
 The lantern, instead of being suspended from a cross- 
 yard, is now made larger, and appears, as it were 
 incorporate with the mast. Within it are Argand 
 lamps, hung upon gimball-work, to counteract the 
 rolling and pitching of the vessel, and so arranged as 
 to show either a fixed light all round the horizon, or a 
 revolving light emitting a powerful flash at regular 
 intervals. The unsteadiness of the vessel's motion 
 has hitherto prevented introduction of the Lenticular 
 system into this branch of the service, as on a shifting 
 basis the requisite nicety of adjustment cannot be 
 obtained. 
 
 Light-ships are commonly built of wood, and differ 
 but little in shape from ordinary sea-going vessels. 
 Iron has been tried as a material for their construc- 
 tion, but the inconvenience and expense entailed by 
 
CORPORA TION OF TR INI T V HO USE. 3 1 
 
 their frequently getting foul and corroded, have led 
 the Corporation to resume exclusive employment of 
 wood. 
 
 Buoys, for floating sea-marks, have been made of so 
 various shapes and sizes that no classification of them 
 can be attempted. The first buoy moored was, 
 probably, a cask, and that primitive form is used in 
 some of our harbours to the present day. The conical 
 shape, however, has been generally used for service 
 on exposed stations, as least liable to break from 
 moorings, exhibiting more conspicuous mark, and 
 more easily shifted than any other. Wood has been 
 hitherto the chief material used for this purpose, but 
 iron is now being extensively employed in the con- 
 struction of our sea-marks, the objections to its use 
 for Light-vessels not applying to buoys, as they can be 
 got at and kept clean with comparative ease. The 
 use of iron, again, admits of larger size than is prac- 
 ticable in wood, and (with special construction) of the 
 addition of a large bell, which materially increases the 
 value of sea-marks. 
 
 In this ' abstract and brief chronicle ' of salient 
 points in the progress of Lighthouse Science, those 
 projects only are adduced which have been actually 
 brought into practical use. Numerous suggested im- 
 provements have been, from time to time, investigated, 
 such as the Drummond Light, Gas, the Oxy-hydrogen 
 Light, the Electric Light (chemically produced), and 
 others. In debate over these and all possible im- 
 
32 
 
 CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 provements and proposals, the Elder Brethren have 
 always been careful to secure the best scientific 
 advice. In addition to that of Sir David Brewster, 
 and of others incidentally consulted at various times, 
 the Corporation had, for many years, the invaluable 
 advantage (already gratefully acknowledged) of the 
 late Professor Faraday's services, as their permanent 
 scientific adviser. 
 
 Of Pilotage. 
 
 The organization of this service for the Port of 
 London, and the channels leading thereto, was un- 
 doubtedly one of the earliest duties of the Corpora- 
 tion ; and the patent necessity for such a system, 
 concurrently with that of Buoyage and Beaconage, 
 was a primary reason for the Charter. The general 
 terms of the earher recitals do not specifically refer to 
 Pilotage, but some such system was certainly adopted 
 before the reign of Henry VIII. 
 
 The Corporation's authority appears to have been 
 sufficient to enforce such regulations as met the 
 requirements of the time, until towards the close of the 
 seventeenth century. At that period shipping was 
 largely on the increase ; and the preamble to the 
 Charter of James II., in which first the Corporations 
 powers and duties are explicitly defined, avers that 
 much damage to navigation, and great loss of life and 
 property, had occurred through the ignorance of un- 
 qualified persons professing the duties of a pilot. It 
 
CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 33 
 
 provides, accordingly, that no person shall thereafter 
 act in that capacity, into or out of the Thames, without 
 a licence from the Trinity House, confirmed by the 
 Lord High Admiral of England. Provision also was 
 made for the expenses incidental to this jurisdiction, 
 by confirmation of a then customary tribute from the 
 pilots, in the shape of poundage upon their earnings. 
 
 Some discontent arising in respect of this levy, 
 recourse was had, in 1732, to Parliamentary enact- 
 ment ; and an Act of that year (5th Geo. II., c. 26) 
 settled the boundaries of the Corporation's jurisdiction, 
 re-affirming, in effect, the Poundage and Penalty 
 clauses of the Charter. By subsequent Acts (48th 
 Geo. III., c. 104, and 52nd Geo. III., c. 39) the limits 
 of jurisdiction were extended ; and power was given 
 for appointment of Sub-Commissioners, in places 
 where Pilotage was not already regulated by Charter 
 or Act of Parliament. The Corporation was further 
 empowered to license cutters for cruising with pilots 
 off the coast ; and distinctions of class, which had 
 been introduced to secure the best hands for the 
 largest vessels, were recognised and formally ratified. 
 
 In order to check imposition, and to prevent dis- 
 putes, relating to charges for pilotage of foreign 
 vessels to and from London, an Act was passed in 
 1815 (55th Geo. III,c. 87), making such rates pay- 
 able at the Trinity House ; and, in 1825, the sum of 
 these Acts was consolidated, with amendments, in 
 that of 6th Geo. IV., c. 125. 
 C 
 
34 
 
 CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 Besides the pilots appointed by the Trinity House, 
 there were others, hcensed by the Lord Warden of 
 the Cinque Ports, to conduct vessels into the Thames 
 and the Medway ; but in 1853 (16 & 17 Vict. c. 129) 
 these two Pilotage authorities were consolidated, the 
 Corporation taking charge of the whole system. 
 
 As regards remuneration of these most useful and 
 important servants, the rates payable to pilots were, 
 before the year 1 808, based upon the tonnage of the 
 vessel piloted ; but in that year (by the 48th Geo. III., 
 c. 104) a ship's draught of water was substituted for 
 her tonnage, as the rule of reckoning. 
 
 Under the Charter of James II., and by long 
 antecedent usage, the pilots paid poundage and other 
 dues to the Corporation, and were relieved, when in 
 poverty or temporary need, out of the Corporate Fund, 
 as were the rest of " the poor of the Corporation." In 
 1808 was instituted (under 48th Geo. III., c. 104) a 
 Fund for the benefit of decayed Pilots out of the 
 Surplus Rates of Pilotage imposed upon foreign 
 vessels. This fund continued to steadily increase for 
 some years, until diminished by the operation of 
 Reciprocity Treaties, which led to a re-construction 
 under the Act of 1826. Thenceforth the annual dues, 
 which had been the property of the Corporation, were 
 devoted to the Fund, and poundage was decreed to be 
 paid as before by each pilot, upon his earnings, the 
 whole forming the " Pilots' Fund," out of which were 
 maintained the Pilots' Almshouses and their inmates, 
 
CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 35 
 
 together with out-pensioners, or decayed pilots, their 
 widows and orphans. At the time of the consohdation 
 of the London and Dover services under the Trinity 
 House, their several funds were likewise amalgamated, 
 and the joint management reorganised. 
 
 The number of Pilotage Stations, or Districts, under 
 the jurisdiction of the Corporation, is forty-eight, at 
 which a total number of 880 pilots act, under licences 
 from the Trinity House, and under government of its 
 rules and orders, in the exercise of their calling, and 
 the conduct of their cutters, boats, &c. The Fund, 
 already referred to, as administered by the Corpora- 
 tion, has an invested capital of ^90,593 12s. lod. 
 
 Of Ballastage. 
 
 The Lastage and Ballastage of the River Thames, 
 with fees and profits therefrom arising, were originally 
 the property of the Lord High Admiral of England. 
 As early as the year 1483 the privilege appears to have 
 produced a considerable revenue, and the sole right to 
 the office was leased by the then Lord High Admiral 
 to a private person for a term of years. In the course 
 of the ensuing century, during which similar leases 
 and sub-leases continued, the evil effects of such a 
 system would naturally develope themselves in reckless 
 dredging for ballast, wherever it was to be got most 
 easily and economically, without regard to effect upon 
 the channels of the river. Ultimately, to secure the 
 supervision of the interest most concerned for due 
 C 2 
 
36 
 
 CORPORA riON OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 maintenance and improvement of the River Naviga- 
 tion, Lord High Admiral Lord Howard, in 1594, 
 generously surrendered his rights to the Crown, with 
 express recommendation that the office should be 
 intrusted to the Trinity House. This was effected by 
 a Grant of Queen Ehzabeth, in the thirty-sixth year of 
 her reign ; and the Corporation thus acquired the 
 exclusive right of ballasting vessels in the River 
 Thames, from London Bridge to the main sea, together 
 with the revenue and profits accruing, without stipula- 
 tion as to their appliance of the proceeds. 
 
 These rights were enjoyed, without interruption, 
 during the succeeding reign, and were re-granted by 
 Charles II., in 1675. Some little trouble then arose 
 out of a grant of similar rights to Colonel Carlos, in 
 1677 — given, however, with an assurance that it should 
 not prejudice the Corporation — until the Colonel sur- 
 rendered his privilege to the King, who granted it 
 anew to the Trinity House, with a proviso that the 
 profits should be applied for the benefit of poor Sea- 
 men, their wives, widows, and orphans, for ever. 
 
 In 1733 an Act enabled the Trinity House to charge 
 higher rates than before for ballast, and enacted 
 regulations for prevention of fraud by the ballastmen. 
 In 1759, in 1805, and again in 1823, the Act of 1733 
 was continued and further amended. In 1853, the 
 Merchant Shipping Act was passed, under which the 
 Ballastage Revenues became part of the Mercantile 
 Marine Fund (although whether so intended by the 
 
CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 37 
 
 Act is open to question) ; and, at the instance of the 
 lamented Prince Albert (afterwards styled Prince 
 Consort), who was at that time Master of the Cor- 
 poration, the work of ballast-heaving was placed 
 under the control of the Corporation, Formerly the 
 ballast, when laid in barge or lighter alongside the 
 ship to be supplied, was heaved on board by men 
 who were hired and paid by various waterside con- 
 tractors, and subjected to great hardships, not only 
 from the greed of their employers, but from a de- 
 moralising system of payment through publicans and 
 local harpies. These evils were altogether removed 
 by the establishment of a Heaver's Office, under 
 control of the Trinity House, where men could attend 
 for employment, and where their wages could be 
 paid with regularity, and free from extortionate 
 deduction. 
 
 The Ballast Act expiring in 1866, and the Conser- 
 vancy of the Thames being at that time newly organized 
 by Legislative enactment — although, be it observed, 
 the rights of the Corporation of London, as Conserva- 
 tors of the River, had always been respected — the 
 privilege of raising ballast ceased (from their own 
 voluntary act) to be the exclusive right of the Trinity 
 House. Still empowered, however, under their various 
 Royal Grants, the Brethren continue to raise and 
 supply it, proposing to discharge the duty for the 
 accommodation of the Port of London. At present, 
 the supply of the river remains practically in their 
 
^S CORPORA TION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 hands — surplus of revenue, over outlay, and after pro- 
 vision for maintenance of plant, being funded for 
 charitable purposes. 
 
 Of Charities and Pensions. 
 
 In every Charter, Grant, or Act of Parliament, 
 affecting the rights, or defining the functions, of the 
 Trinity House, the duty of protecting and reheving 
 poor Mariners has been invariably enjomed upon the 
 Corporation with more or less of precision. The 
 Charter of Henry VIII., although not describing the 
 benevolent objects contemplated, refers to the poor 
 women as well as men, who formed part of the 
 original association, and who were las the Bye-Laws 
 of the same year explain) the bed-folk, or almspeople, 
 inhabiting their House at Deptford. Those of 
 Charles II. and James II. set forth the recognised 
 charitable usage of the Corporation, and recite in 
 definite terms that its profits are to be appHed to, 
 i7iter alia, the relief of poor mariners, their wives, 
 widows, and orphans. 
 
 The Grant of the Ballastage of the River Thames, 
 made to the Corporation in the reign of Queen 
 Elizabeth, was renewed by Charles II., with express 
 stipulation that the profits were to be applied to 
 charitable purposes. A similar proviso for appro- 
 priation of surplus was attached to the patent under 
 which was granted the revenue from the Scilly- 
 light 
 
CORPORA TION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 39 
 
 From the earliest times to the present day, the 
 system upon which the charitable funds have been 
 administered has been uniform. They are, as they 
 have been, dispensed to three classes of recipients — the 
 Almspeople, the Out-pensioners, and the Occasional, 
 or Casual, Poor. 
 
 In the fifteenth century there were, adjoining the 
 Hall, or House, at Deptford, twenty- one apartments 
 for Masters and Pilots. To these were gradually 
 added other houses, until in 1788 — being then in a 
 decayed and ruinous state — they were taken down, 
 and twenty-six new ones (called the Deptford Lower 
 Ground) were built upon the same site. In 1765 
 several new houses had been erected upon ground 
 adjacent to the original estate, which had been given 
 by Sir Richard Brown (Master in 1672) for the 
 purpose. At the same time a new Hall was built 
 there, in which the anniversary meeting was held on 
 Trinity Monday, June 3rd, 1765. Other additions 
 were subsequently made to the annexed estate, partly 
 through a bequest from Captain Maples, an Elder 
 Brother ; and the whole forms what is now called the 
 Deptford Upper Ground. 
 
 Another bequest from Captain Mudd, an Elder 
 Brother, and Deputy Master in 1691, provided a piece 
 of ground at Mile End for erection of more Alms- 
 houses ; and by the end of the year 1696, there were 
 twenty-eight houses completed on that site. To this 
 establishment several additions have been made, from 
 
40 
 
 CORPORA TION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 time to time, and it now consists of eighty-two Alms- 
 houses and a Chapel. 
 
 Each of these Houses is occupied by an old sailor 
 and (if married) his wife, or by a sailor's widow or 
 daughter, some being specially set apart for the latter 
 class ; and the inmates have allowances in money, 
 coals, and clothes, with medical attendance, and other 
 comforts and advantages. 
 
 But far the greater portion of the Corporation's 
 charity was formerly dispensed among Out-pensioners, 
 in small monthly allowances, varying from three to 
 ten shillings. The recipients were aged or afflicted 
 seamen, their wives, widows, or orphans ; and the 
 regulations under which they were placed on the list, 
 and their pensions paid, secured the advantages of 
 the doles to those classes of persons for whom they 
 were designed. In addition to the General, or 
 Ordinary, Pension Lists, special registers were opened 
 at various periods to meet national emergencies, or 
 the disastrous consequences of great naval engage- 
 ments. The headings of these exceptional lists — as 
 " Algiers," " Trafalgar," " Block-Ships," " Prisoners of 
 War," &c. — sufficiently indicate their particular ap- 
 plication. 
 
 Occasional bounty to Casual Poor was applicable to 
 the same class of recipients — poor mariners, their 
 wives, widows, or orphans — and was distributed in 
 varying amounts, according to the necessities of the 
 petitioners. 
 
CORPORA TION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 41 
 
 As the principal revenue, out of which these pensions 
 were afforded, accrued from the Light Dues paid by- 
 ship-owners — or, rather, from the surplus thereof — the 
 question was raised before a Select Committee of the 
 House of Commons, in 1822, whether charitable out- 
 lay was a just application of funds so raised. Sus- 
 tained by the opinions of eminent counsel, and fortified 
 by judicial decisions in various suits at law, the 
 Corporation maintained that their duty to their poor 
 was enjoined in their Charter, as formally and strictly 
 as their rights in Lights, Buoyage, etc., were guar- 
 anteed. So also, in 1834 and 1845, when similar ParHa- 
 mentary enquiries were made, the cause of the poor 
 mariner was similarly, and as successfully, pleaded. 
 
 In August, 1853, however, a change — taking effect in 
 the ensuing October — was decreed in the mode of 
 administering the Lighthouse service by an Act, under 
 which it was provided that all grants of charitable 
 pensions should cease, so far as they were chargeable 
 on Light Dues. The whole of the pensions then 
 running were guaranteed to the holders during their 
 lives ; but no new pensions could be thereafter 
 granted. 
 
 The Charities of the Corporation thus became limited 
 to the extent of their private resources, consisting of a 
 considerable funded capital, and of several estates 
 bequeathed to them, or acquired by purchase. From 
 this separate and independent income the Almshouses 
 and their inmates are still maintained, and occasional 
 
42 
 
 CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 relief to poor mariners, or their connexions, continues 
 to be dispensed as formerly. One alteration — owing 
 to decay of the Almshouses on Deptford Lower Ground 
 — may be noted. The former inmates enjoy pensions 
 in lieu of occupation, and are at liberty to live where 
 they please. 
 
 Of the charities in trust for special purposes little 
 need be said, as the terms of each Bequest or Gift, 
 with the several modes of their appropriation, will be 
 found in the Appendix. 
 
 Enough, it is hoped, has been now adduced to 
 substantiate and ratify the prescription of usage and 
 antiquity. To a conscientious and efficient discharge 
 of the duties thus cursorily summarised, the Elder 
 Brethren of the Trinity House presume to attribute, in 
 fair measure, their grateful privilege of pointing to an 
 ample muster-roll of Masters and Honorary Members, 
 variously distinguished in the service and annals of 
 the State, w^ho, for generations, have held it an honour 
 to be so associated, and whose names may be an 
 acceptable pendant to this otherwise unpretending 
 sketch. 
 
 In happy time before closing it, a gracious intima- 
 tion has reached the writer of the desire of the Heir 
 apparent, H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, to honour the 
 Corporation by being enrolled among its members. 
 
coupon A TION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 43 
 
 The distinction, thus conferred upon them, is the more 
 gratifying to the Elder Brethren, from the fact that 
 when, on the death of Lord Pahnerston, His Royal 
 Highness was solicited to become our Master, he 
 declined in order that the office might be conferred 
 upon his Sailor Brother, our present Illustrious 
 Master. Honour to them both. May they ever cherish 
 the same noble and brotherly feelings, and long con- 
 tinue to adorn with the lustre of their great names, 
 and high merits, the Roll of the Elder Brethren of 
 the Trinity House. 
 
44 
 
 CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 List of the Masters and Deputy- Masters of the 
 Corporation of Tritiity House, 
 
 FROM 1800 TO li 
 
 1800 Right Honourable William Pitt. 
 
 1806 Earl Spexcer. 
 
 1807 Duke of Portland. 
 1809 Marquis Camden. 
 1816 Earl of Liverpool. 
 
 1828 Marquis Camden. 
 
 1829 H.R.H. The Duke of Clarence 'afterivards King 
 
 William IV). 
 
 1831 Marquis Camden. 
 
 1837 Duke of Wellington. 
 
 1852 H.R.H. Prince Albert [aftenuards styled Prince 
 
 Consort). 
 
 r862 Viscount Palmerston. 
 
 1866 H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh. 
 
 gtputg-^asltrfl. 
 
 1800 Captain Robert Preston {afte>-wards Sir Robert 
 
 Preston, Bart.) 
 1803 Captain Joseph Cotton. 
 1825 Captain John Woolmore [afterivaids Sir John 
 
 WOOLMORE, K.C.H.) 
 1834 Captain John Henrv Pelly fcreated a Baronet in 
 
 1840;. 
 1852 Captain John Shepherd. 
 
 1859 Rear Admiral Robert Gordon (?icnu an Admiral). 
 1861 Captain William Pigott. 
 1865 Captain Frederick Arrow. 
 
CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 45 
 
 Honorary Brethren of the Corpoj'ation, 
 FROM 1800 TO 1868. 
 
 1800 Earl of Roslyn. 
 
 ,, Right Honourable William Pitt {Master). 
 
 ,, Duke of Portland (Master). 
 
 ,, Viscount Melville. 
 
 ,, Lord Barham. 
 
 ,, Viscount Hood. 
 
 „ Earl Spencer {Master). 
 
 ,, Duke of Marlborough. • 
 
 ,, Marquis of Londonderry. 
 
 ,, Earl of Chatham. 
 
 ,, Lord Grenville. 
 
 „ Sir Andrew S. Hamond, Baronet. 
 
 1805 Earl Camden (afterwards Marquis Camden, so7}ie 
 
 time Master). 
 
 1806 Earl St. Vincent. 
 1809 Earl of Mulgrave. 
 
 1811 Right Honourable George Rose. 
 
 1813 Viscount Melville. 
 
 1816 Earl of Liverpool (Master). 
 
 1817 Viscount Castlereagh. 
 
 1818 Viscount Sidmouth. 
 1823 Earl Bathurst, 
 
 ,, Viscount Exmouth. 
 
 1828 H.R.H. The Duke of Clarence (Master). 
 
 1829 Duke of Wellington. 
 1831 Earl Grey. 
 
 1833 Admiral Sir Thomas Byam Martin. 
 
 1834 Lord de Saumarez. 
 
 ,, Sir James R. G. Graham, Baronet. 
 
 1835 Sir Robert Peel, Baronet. 
 
 1836 Viscount Melbourne. 
 
 1837 Sir T. M. Hardy, G.C.B. 
 ,, Earl of Minto. 
 
 1839 Sir Charles Adam, K.C.B. 
 
 1841 H.R.H. Prince Albert (Master). 
 
 1844 Earl of Haddington. 
 
 1846 Earl of Dalhousie, 
 
46 CORPORA TION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 1849 Loud John Russell {no7v Earl Russell.) 
 
 1850 Right Honourable Henry Labouchere [now Lord 
 
 Taunton). 
 
 1851 Sikh Francis Thornhill Baring {afterwards Lord 
 
 Northbrook). 
 
 1852 Earl of Derby. 
 
 1853 Earl of Aberdeen. 
 
 1854 Earl of Dundonald. 
 
 1855 Sir John Somerset Pakington, Baronet. 
 ,, Viscount Palmerston (Master). 
 
 1861 Duke of Somerset. 
 
 ,, Admiral Sir William Parker. 
 
 ,, Right Honourable Thomas Milner Gibson. 
 
 ,, Right Honourable William Ewart Gladstone. 
 1062 Duke of Argyll. 
 
 1866 H.R H. Prince Alfred (now Duke of Edinburgh 
 Master). 
 
 „ Sir Stafford Henry Northcote, Bakonet. 
 
 „ Right Honourable Benjamin Disraeli. 
 
CORPORA TION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 47 
 
 Lighthouses and Lighivesseis belonging to the Corpo- 
 ratiofi of Trinity House of Deptford Strond. 
 
 Iiigljtl^ouscs. 
 
 Fern (Three Lighthouses) 
 
 Coquet 
 
 Tinmouth 
 
 Whitby ,Two Lighthouses) 
 
 Flambro', Lighthouse and Fog 
 
 Gun 
 Spurn (Two Lighthouses) 
 Hunstanton 
 Cromer 
 
 Haisbro' (Two Lighthouses) 
 Winlerton 
 
 Corton (Two Lighthouses) 
 Lowestoft (Two Lighthouses) 
 Pakefield (Kessinglandi 
 Orford (Two Lighthouses) 
 Dovercourt (Two Lighthouses) 
 Landguard 
 Gunfleet 
 Maplin 
 Chapman 
 Mucking 
 Northfleet 
 North Foreland 
 
 South do. (Two Lighthouses) 
 Dungeness, Lighthouse and Fog 
 
 Horn 
 Beachy Head 
 St. Catherine's, Lighthouse and 
 
 Fog Horn 
 Needles Rock 
 Hurst (Two Lighthouses) 
 Portland (Two Lighthouses) I 
 
 Being in all seventy-six Lighthouses, sixty-one of which are on Shore, 
 eleven are on outlying Rocks, and four are on Sands. Those on Shore 
 are built of Brick, Stone, or Timber, those on Rocks are of Granite, and 
 those on Sands are erected upon Iron Piles. 
 
 In addition to those on the English Coasts, the Trinity House have 
 charge of two Lighthouses in the British possessions abroad ; one at 
 Heligoland, an Island near the Entrance of the Elbe ; and one at 
 Gibraltar. Both were built by the Government and handed over to this 
 Corporation. 
 
 Caskets Rock (Three Lighthouses) 
 
 Hanois Rock 
 
 Start 
 
 Plymouth Breakwater 
 
 Edystone Rock 
 
 Falmouth Harbour 
 
 Lizard (Two Lighthouses) 
 
 Longships Rock 
 
 Wolf Rock (building) 
 
 Scilly 
 
 Bishop Rock 
 
 Godrevy 
 
 Trevose Head 
 
 Lundy Lighthouse and Fog Gun 
 
 Bideford 
 
 Burnham 
 
 Avon 
 
 Usk 
 
 Flatholm 
 
 Nash (Two Lighthouses) 
 
 Caldy 
 
 Milford (Two Lighthouses) 
 
 Smalls Rock 
 
 South Bishop Rock 
 
 Bardsey 
 
 South Stack Lighthouse and North 
 
 Stack Fog Gun 
 Skerries 
 JMenai 
 Air 
 St. Bees 
 
48 
 
 CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 fig^tkssels. 
 
 Spurn ] Princes Channel 
 
 Outer Dowsing j Tongue 
 
 Dudgeon i Goodwin 
 
 Lynn Well Gull 
 
 Leman and Ower South Sand Head 
 
 Haisbro' Varne 
 
 Cockle Owers 
 
 Nevvarp Nab 
 
 St. Nicholas Gatt Warner 
 
 Corton Calshot 
 
 Shipwash Shambles 
 
 Cork Seven Stones 
 
 Sunk English and Welch Grounds 
 
 Galloper Break Sea 
 
 Kentish Knock Skerweather 
 
 Swin Middle Helwicks 
 
 Mouse Cardigan Bay 
 
 Nore Bahama Bank 
 
 Girdler Morecambe Bay 
 
 Thirty-eight Lightvessels in position, and five in reserve, for casual- 
 ties, or to take the place of those under repair ; in all fort^'-three. 
 
 ^uogs aitb ^cawtts. 
 
 There are 452 Buoys, of all sizes and descriptions, in position, and 
 about half as many more in reserve. Beacons of various shapes and 
 characters are disposed at stations round the coast to the number of sixty. 
 In attendance upon these various Lighthouses, Lightvessels, and 
 Buoys, there are six steam vessels and seven mailing tenders for effecting 
 the periodical reliefs of crews, keepers, &c., and for conveying stores and 
 supplies ; towing Lightships to their stations, shifting Buoys, and other 
 general duties of survey and superintendence. There are also twenty- 
 one store-houses in which supplies are stored, and whence they are 
 distributed as required. The working staff employed in all these services 
 is as follows : — 
 
 District Superintendents 7 
 
 Local Agents 11 
 
 Buoy Keepers 8 
 
 Storekeepers and Watchmen, &c 21 
 
 Lighthouse Keepers 177 
 
 Crews of Lightvessels 427 
 
 Do. of Steam and Sailing Vessels 143 
 
 Fog Gun Attendants 6 
 
 Total 800 
 
CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 49 
 
 A LIST OF CHARITABLE BEQUESTS AND GIFTS, 
 
 Left in Trust to the CoyJ>oration for disposal, in accordajtce with the 
 special directions of the Donors. 
 
 1625 — Vassall's Gift. 
 
 ;^i5o. Seventy shillings to be annually distributed amongst poor 
 seamen, their widows, wives, and children, in the hamlet of Rat- 
 clifFe, in sums of is. each. 
 
 1631 — Geere's Gift. 
 
 Lease of the Dagger House, at Limehouse, for 500 years. ;^5 of 
 the annual rent to be distributed amongst such of the poorest 
 decayed seamen and seamen's widows inhabiting the hamlet of 
 Limehouse ; the residue of such yearly rent to be laid out in up- 
 holding, maintaining, and repairing the said premises. 
 
 1631 — Colebert's Gift. 
 
 The interest of ;^ 50, left by Mrs. Elizabeth Colebert, to be distribu- 
 ted amongst the poor of the hamlet of Limehou.se in wheaten loaves. 
 
 1696 — Mortimer's and (1793) Stevens' Legacies. 
 
 ^1,229 8s. id. 3 per Cent. Consols. Investment of Legacy, pro- 
 ceeds whereof to be applied towards the putting and placing out 
 of two poor boys annually to sea-apprenticeships. 
 
 1714— Fisher's Charity. 
 
 Freehold Estate at Hutton, in the County of Essex, bequeathed 
 for maintenance of Four Almshouses at Mile End, and for support 
 of Widows occupying the same. ^Included in the Almhouses at 
 Mile End). 
 
 1725 — Hunter's Legacy. 
 
 ;^262 7s. 6d. 3 per Cent. Consols. Interest thereof to be dis- 
 tributed annually to Five poor Superannuated Pilots, or their 
 Widows, not being pensioners. 
 
 1779— Wilton's Legacy. 
 
 ;^4,o2g IDS. 6d. 3 per Cent. Consols. The interest to be applied 
 towards the support of decayed Pilots and their Widows. 
 
 D 
 
so 
 
 CORPORA TION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 
 
 1792— Grigg's Charity. 
 
 ;^ 17,736 8s. 3d. 3 per Cent. Consols, being reversions left by Mrs. 
 Mary Grigg for the establishment and maintenance of Almshouses 
 and the support of Almswomen, half of the number of such women 
 being Widows and half maidens, being not less than 60 years of 
 age ; those whose husbands and fathers have been at sea to be 
 preferred. (Included in the Almhouses at Mile End). 
 
 1795 — Mangles' Legacy. 
 
 ;^257 los. 3d. 3 per Cent. Consols. Annual produce thereof to 
 be distributed in bread to the poor of the Parish of Stepney, in the 
 month of March in every year. 
 
 1812 and 1848 — Elder's Legacy. 
 
 £^\ OS. lod. 35 per Cent. Annuities. Produce thereof to be 
 annually distributed amongst the Corporation's Almshouses at 
 Deptford and Mile End, share and share alike. 
 
 1847 — Locke's Legacy. 
 
 ;^407 7s. id. 3 per Cent. Consols. Bequeathed for the relief and 
 benefit of the poor Master Mariners from time to time occupying 
 the Almshouses belonging to the Corporation. 
 
 1849 — Lucas' Gift. 
 
 ;^3i3 14s. 6d. 3 per Cent. Consols. Annual produce thereof to 
 be distributed between two Widows of Thames or Downs Pilots, 
 or of Mates of Merchantmen sailing from and belonging to the 
 Port of London. 
 
 1857 ^nd 1863 — Almshouse Re-building Fund. 
 
 Captain Frederick Madan, E.B., gave ;^ 4,000 towards the pur- 
 chase of a new site and re-building of the Almshouses belonging 
 to the Corporation. 
 
 SMITH & Ei'.ns, PBiNTtas, PosTiiP.x now, Tow;;u niLi.. 
 
JRN 
 
 CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 
 
 198 Main Stacks 
 
 N PERIOD 1 
 OME USE 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 30KS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS. 
 
 vis and Recharges may be made 4 days prior to the due date. 
 
 > may be Renewed by calling 642-3405. 
 
 DUE AS STAMPED BELOW 
 
 n;^3 b!,,i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I NO. DD6 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY 
 BERKELEY CA 94720-6000