the ancient corporation of trinity house of deptford strond.
as landmarks—because of their affording variety, among other reasons—are pleasant objects of contemplation to the weary traveller on a long and dusty road, so landmarks in a tale are useful as resting-places. we purpose, therefore, to relieve the reader, for a very brief period, from the strain of mingled fact and fiction in which we have hitherto indulged—turn into a siding, as it were—and, before getting on the main line again, devote a short chapter to pure and unmitigated fact.
so much has been said in previous chapters, and so much has yet to be said, about the lights, and buoys, and beacons which guard the shores of old england, that it would be unpardonable as well as ungracious were we to omit making special reference to the ancient corporation of trinity house of deptford strond, under the able management of which the whole of the important work has been devised and carried into operation, and is now most efficiently maintained.
it cannot be too urgently pressed upon un-nautical—especially young—readers, that the work which this corporation does, and the duties which it performs, constitute what we may term vital service.
it would be too much, perhaps, to say that the life of the nation depends on the faithful and wise conduct of that service, but assuredly our national prosperity is intimately bound up with it. the annual list of ships wrecked and lives lost on the shores of the kingdom is appalling enough already, as every observant reader of the newspapers must know, but if the work of the trinity house—the labours of the elder brethren—were suspended for a single year—if the lights, fixed and floating, were extinguished, and the buoys and beacons removed, the writer could not express, nor could the reader conceive, the awful crash of ruin, and the terrific cry of anguish that would sweep over the land from end to end, like the besom of destruction.
we leave to hard-headed politicians to say what, or whether, improvements of any kind might be made in connection with the trinity corporation. we do not pretend to be competent to judge whether or not that work might be better done. all that we pretend to is a certain amount of competency to judge, and right to assert, that it is well done, and one of the easiest ways to assure one’s-self of that fact is, to go visit the lighthouses and light-vessels on the coast, and note their perfect management; the splendid adaptation of scientific discoveries to the ends they are designed to serve; the thoroughness, the cleanliness, the beauty of everything connected with the matériel employed; the massive solidity and apparent indestructibility of the various structures erected and afloat; the method everywhere observable; the perfect organisation and the steady respectability of the light-keepers—observe and note all these things, we say, and it will be impossible to return from the investigation without a feeling that the management of this department of our coast service is in pre-eminently able hands.
nor is this to be wondered at, when we reflect that the corporation of trinity house is composed chiefly (the acting part of it entirely) of nautical men—men who have spent their youth and manhood on the sea, and have had constantly to watch and guard against those very rocks and shoals, and traverse those channels which it is now their duty to light and buoy. (see note 1.)
it has been sagely remarked by some philosopher, we believe—at least it might have been if it has not—that everything must have a beginning. we agree with the proposition, and therefore conclude that the corporation of trinity house must have had a beginning, but that beginning would appear to be involved in those celebrated “mists of antiquity” which unhappily obscure so much that men would give their ears to know now-a-days.
fire—which has probably been the cause of more destruction and confusion than all of the other elements put together—was the cause of the difficulty that now exists in tracing this ancient corporation to its origin, as will be seen from the following quotation from a little “memoir, drawn up the present deputy-master, and printed for private distribution,” which was kindly lent to us by the present secretary of the house, and from which most of our information has been derived.
“the printed information hitherto extant (in regard to the corporation of trinity house) is limited to the charter of confirmation granted by james the second (with the minor concession, by charles the second, 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 deputy-master. but the data of these latter are necessarily imperfect, as the destruction by fire, in 1714, of the house in water lane had already involved a disastrous loss of documentary evidence, leaving much to be inferentially traced from collateral records of admiralty and navy boards. these, however, sufficiently attest administrative powers and protective influence scarcely inferior to the scope of those departments.”
more than a hundred years before the date of its original charter (1514) the corporation existed in the form of a voluntary association of the “shipmen and mariners of england,” to which reference is made in the charter as being an influential body of long standing even at that time, which protected maritime interests, and relieved the aged and indigent among the seafaring community, for which latter purpose they had erected an almshouse at deptford, in kent, where also were their headquarters. this society had inspired confidence and acquired authority to establish regulations for the navigation of ships and the government of seamen, which, by general consent, had been adopted throughout the service. it was, therefore, of tested and approved capacity, which at length resulted in the granting to it of a charter by henry viii in 1514.
from this date the history proper of the corporation of trinity house of deptford strond begins. in the charter referred to it is first so named, and is described as “the guild or fraternity of the most glorious and undividable trinity of saint clement.” the subsequent charter of james i, and all later charters, are granted to “the master, wardens, and assistants of the guild, fraternity, or brotherhood of the most glorious and undivided trinity, and of saint clement, in the parish of deptford, in the county of kent.” the grant of arms to the corporation is dated 1573, and includes the motto, trinitas in unitate.
no reason can now be assigned for the application of its distinctive title. the mere fact that the constitution of the guild included provision for the maintenance of a chaplain, and for the conduct of divine service in the parish church, is not, we think, sufficient to account for it.
in the house or hall at deptford, adjoining the almshouses, the business of the corporation was first conducted. afterwards, for the sake of convenient intercourse with shipowners and others, in a house in ratcliffe; next at stepney, and then in water lane, tower street. the tenement there falling into decay—after having been twice burnt and restored—was forsaken, and an estate was purchased on tower hill, on which the present trinity house was built, from designs by wyatt, in 1798.
a good idea of the relative antiquity of the corporation may be gathered from the fact that about the year 1520—six years after the date of the first charter—the formation of the admiralty and navy boards was begun, and “on the consequent establishment of dockyards and arsenals, the deptford building-yard was confided to the direction of the trinity house, together with the 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 ‘henry grace-à-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.”
government records show that the trinity brethren exercised considerable powers, at an early period, in manning and outfitting the navy; that they reported on ships to be purchased, regulated the dimensions of those to be built, and determined the proper complement of sailors for each, as well as the armament and stores. besides performing its peaceful duties, the corporation was bound to render service at sea if required, but, in consideration of such liability, the brethren and their subordinates were exempted from land service of every kind. they have been frequently called upon to render 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 again in 1803, when a french invasion was imminent, they undertook and carried out the defences of the entrance to the thames by manning and personally officering a cordon of fully-armed ships, moored across the river below gravesend, with an adequate force of trustworthy seamen, for destruction, if necessary, of all channel marks that might guide an approaching enemy.”
we cannot afford space to enter fully into the history of the trinity corporation. suffice it to say that it has naturally been the object of a good deal of jealousy, and has undergone many searching investigations, from all of which it has emerged triumphantly. its usefulness having steadily advanced with all its opportunities for extension, it received 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 all surplus of revenue over expenditure was applied to the relief of indigent and aged mariners, their wives, widows, and orphans.” about 1853, the allowance to out-pensioners alone amounted to upwards of 30,000 pounds per annum, and nearly half as much more of income, derived from property held in trust for charitable purposes, was applied to the maintenance of the almshouses at deptford and mile-end, and to other charitable uses for the benefit of the maritime community.
the court or governing body of the corporation is now composed of thirty-one members, namely, the master, four wardens, eight assistants, and eighteen elder brethren. the latter are elected out of those of the class of younger brethren who volunteer, and are approved as candidates for the office. eleven members of this court of thirty-one are men of distinction—members of the royal family, ministers of state, naval officers of high rank, and the like. the remainder—called acting brethren—are chiefly officers of the mercantile marine, with a very few—usually three—officers of her majesty’s navy. the younger brethren—whose number is unlimited—are admissible at the pleasure of the court. they have no share in the management, but are entitled to vote in the election of master and wardens.
the duties of the corporation, as described in their charters generally, were to “treat and conclude upon all and singular articles anywise concerning the science or art of mariners.” a pretty wide and somewhat indefinite range! at the present time these duties are, as follows:—
to maintain in perfect working order all the lighthouses, floating lights, and fog-signal stations on the coasts of england; and to lay down, maintain, renew, and modify all the buoys, beacons, and sea-signals; to regulate the supply of stores, the appointment of keepers, and constantly to inspect the stations—a service which entails unremitting attention upon the members, some of whom are always on duty, either afloat in the steam-vessels or on land journeys.
to examine and license pilots for a large portion of our coasts; and to investigate generally into all matters relative to pilotage.
to act as nautical advisers with the judge of the high court of admiralty, a duty which frequently engages some of the brethren for considerable periods of time on intricate causes of the greatest importance.
to survey and inspect the channels of the thames and the shoals of the north sea, and other points of the coast at which shifting, scouring, growth or waste of sand may affect the navigation, and require to be watched and notified.
to supply shipping in the thames with ballast.
the elder brethren have also to perform the duty of attending the sovereign on sea-voyages.
in addition to all this, it has to superintend the distribution of its extensive charities, founded on various munificent gifts and legacies, nearly all given or left for the benefit of “poor jack” and his relatives; and to manage the almshouses; also the affairs of the house on tower hill, and the engineering department, with its superintendence of new works, plans, drawings, lanterns, optical apparatus, etcetera—the whole involving, as will be obvious to men who are acquainted with “business,” a mass of detail which must be almost as varied as it is enormous.
the good influence of the operations of the trinity louse might be shown by many interesting instances. here is one specimen; it has reference to ballast-heaving:—
“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 contractors, and subjected to great hardships, not only from the greed of their employers, but from a demoralising system of payment through publicans and local harpies. these evils were altogether removed by the establishment of a heavers’ 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.”
many more examples might be given, but were we to indulge in this strain our chapter would far exceed its proper limits.
the light-vessels belonging to the corporation are 43 in number: 38 in position and 5 in reserve to meet casualties. (see note 2.) of lighthouses there are 76; sixty-one of which, built of brick, stone, or timber, are on shore; eleven, of granite, are on outlying rocks; and four, on iron piles, are on sandbanks. there are 452 buoys of all shapes and sizes on the coast, and half as many more in reserve, besides about 60 beacons of various kinds, and 21 storehouses in connection with them. also 6 steam-vessels and 7 sailing tenders maintained for effecting the periodical relief of crews and keepers, shifting and laying buoys, etcetera.
the working staff which keeps the whole complex machinery in order, consists of 7 district superintendents, 11 local agents, 8 buoy-keepers, 21 storekeepers, watchmen, etcetera; 177 lighthouse-keepers, 427 crews of floating lights, 143 crews of steam and sailing vessels, and 6 fog-signal attendants—a total of 800 men.
among the great and royal personages who have filled the office of master of the corporation of trinity house, we find, besides a goodly list of dukes and earls—the names of (in 1837) the duke of wellington, (1852) h.r.h. prince albert, (1862) viscount palmerston, and (1866) h.r.h. the duke of edinburgh. the last still holds office, and h.r.h. the prince of wales heads the list of a long roll of titled and celebrated honorary brethren of the corporation.
we make no apology for the interpolation of this chapter, because if the reader has skipped it no apology is due, and if he has not skipped it, we are confident that no apology will be required.
note 1. the service which the corporation of trinity house renders to the coasts of england, is rendered to those of scotland by the commissioners of northern lights, and to those of ireland by the commissioners of irish lights—both, to some extent, under the supervision of the trinity house.
the floating lights of england are illuminated by means of lamps with metallic reflectors, on what is styled the catoptric system. the dioptric system, in which the rays of light are transmitted through glass, has been introduced into the floating lights of india by the messrs stevenson, c.e., of edinburgh. the first floating light on this system in india was shown on the hoogly in 1865. since then, several more dioptric lights have been sent to the same region, and also to japan in 1869, and all reports agree in describing these lights as being eminently successful.
