IN the Journal of THE ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION it is fitting that there should appear a brief account of the history and functions of the Cor- poration of Trinity House, the General Lighthouse and Pilotage Authority for the United Kingdom, who are allied to the Institution by the common bond of service to the mariner navigating the waters surrounding our coasts.

In proof that this bond is a real one it may be mentioned that, in addition to the means established at various Lighthouses for communicating with Life-boat Stations, a complete system of signalling exists between Trinity House Light Vessels and the shore whereby the Life-boat can be summoned at short notice to a vessel in distress on the shoals lying farthest from the coast.

The history of the Corporation of Trinity House, as such, properly be- gins with the original Charter of King Henry VIII. granted in 1514, but be- yond all doubt it can claim much greater antiquity, for that Charter not only mentions the Almshouses at Dept- ford (which were erected probably a century before) as the headquarters of the Society of Mariners which the Charter incorporated, but it also con- tains much evidence of a practically corporate influence already long exist- ing, and so well established as to have inspired sufficient confidence, and to have acquired sufficient authority, to enable the Society to make regula- tions for the navigation of ships and the good government of seamen. Fol- lowing on the grant of the Charter an Act of Parliament was passed in the reign of Elizabeth giving authority to the Corporation of Trinity House to " Erect and maintain Beacons, Marks and Signs for the Sea, for the better navigation of the Coasts of England." The affairs of the Corporation were first conducted at their House or Hall at Deptford, and then, at succeeding periods, at Ratcliffe, at Stepney, and at a house in.Water Lane, Great Tower Street. Finally, in 1792, an estate was purchased on Tower Hill, where the present Trinity House was built in 1798 from designs by Thomas Wyatt.

The birth of the Corporation, as such, coincided with other manifestations of the zeal and interest of the Tudor Monarchs for the naval and maritime affairs of England. About six years after the grant of the Trinity House Charter there was begun the formation of Admiralty and Navy Boards, the inception of which is primarily ascribed to Henry VII. ; and when, following this, dockyards and arsenals were established, the Deptford Building Yard was placed under the direction of the Corporation of Trinity House, together with the superintendence of all stores and provisions for the Navy. As evi- dence of the close connection of the Services it may be mentioned that the first Master of the Corporation under the Charter was Sir Thomas Spert, Commander of the Henry Grace-a-Dieu (the first English man-of-war) and also for a time Controller of the Navy.

The Corporation thus became, as it were, the civil branch of the English maritime service with a naval element which, to some extent, exists even at the present day. There is abundant proof from contemporary records that the Corporation exercised very con- siderable powers both in manning and out-fitting the Navy and in protecting the interests of the Mercantile Marine.

After the Restoration the Corpora- tion's Charters were renewed and con- firmed by the Sovereign, to whom, shortly before his death, they were sur- | rendered in proof of loyalty. His suc- cessor, King James II., in 1685, formally re-granted the Charter, which remains in force up to the present time. It is worthy of note that the Charter of King James II. named, as Master of the Corporation, the immortal Samuel Pepys, at that time Secretary of the Admiralty—a further proof of the close connection between the Royal Navy and the Trinity House Corporation.

Although the principal duties en- trusted to the Corporation were essen- ; tially of a peaceful character, the Charter stipulated that its members should be liable to serve the Crown at sea if required, and in recognition of this liability the Brethren and their subordinates were exempted from land service of every kind. On two notable occasions at least, the Corporation were called upon to give their services under this liability. During the mutiny at the Nore, in 1797, the Elder Brethren re- moved or destroyed every beacon and buoy which could guide the mutinous fleet to sea ; and in 1803. when a French invasion appeared to be imminent, the Elder Brethren undertook the defence of the entrance to the Thames by manning and themselves officering a cordon of fully-armed ships moored across the river below G-ravesend. Further, it has been from time immemorial, and still is, the prescriptive and highly- j prized duty and privilege of the Elder j Brethren to attend the Sovereign on journeys by sea.

.In connection with the Corporation's liability for service under their Charter it may perhaps be of interest here to mention that during the Great Euro- pean War the Corporation of Trinity House rendered continuous service in connection with the maritime defence of the kingdom, which has been fully acknowledged by the Admiralty, and • that a very large number of the officers and men of all branches of the Trinity House Service gave personal service in [ His Majesty's Forces both on land and by sea.

The governing body of the Corpora- tion are the ten Acting Elder Brethren, all of whom are practical seamen, one of them being always the Masters Deputy, whilst there are also a number of Honorary Elder Brethren, including His Majesty the King, His Royal High- ness the Prince of Wales, and other members of the Royal Family. The Master of the Corporation at the pre- sent time is His Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, E.G.

In the present day the Corporation of Trinity House exists in a three-fold capacity—as a General Lighthouse Authority, as a Pilotage Authority, and as a private Corporation.

As the General Lighthouse Authority for England and WTaIes, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar (under the Mer- chant Shipping Act 1894 ) the Corpora- tion are responsible for the establish- ment and maintenance of lighthouses, light - vessels, buoys, beacons and seamarks for the guidance of general navigation; and also exercise, by statute, a supervisory control over the lights and seamarks established and maintained by Local Lighthouse Authorities in or near the ports, har- bours, and estuaries, etc., round the coast of England, whilst, subject to the over-riding authority of the Board of Trade, the approval of the Corporation is necessary prior to the establishment of new Seamarks or the alteration of existing ones on the coasts of Scotland and Ireland.

For the purpose of lighthouse ad- ministration the coast of England is divided into seven Trinity House Dis- tricts, each of which is in charge of a District Superintendent who has under him the requisite staff of officers and men, together with (except in one case) a specially built and equipped steamer to carry out the work of maintaining the lights and seamarks in his district.

As evidence of the extent of the Trinity House Service it may be men- tioned that for the guidance of shipping, and in order to guard rocks, shoals, and other dangers to navigation round the coasts of England, the Corporation maintain 95 lighthouses, 51 light- vessels, 66 beacons, and some 620 buoys, of which 125 are lighted.

Another branch of the work of the Corporation, which perhaps specially affects THE ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE- BOAT INSTITUTION, is that relating to wrecks. Under the provisions of the Removal of Wrecks Act, 1877, since embodied in the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, the Corporation of Trinity House is empowered to deal with, re- move, or destroy, any vessel or wreck- age which sinks or strands on or near the coast of England and Wales in a position where it constitutes a danger to navigation or to Life-boats on Life- boat service. This duty it performs, except where there is a Harbour or Conservancy Authority having juris- diction over the locality in which the wreck lies. In this case the onus of ; dealing with the wreck devolves on the Local Authority.

The wrecks so dealt with each year are very numerous at all times, and, owing to the great number of wrecks | resulting from enemy action in the late ; war, the work of Trinity House in this connexion has enormously increased.

It is estimated that it will take four or j five years to deal with all the wrecks : caused during the war.

As the principal Pilotage Authority of the United Kingdom, the Corporation examine and licence pilots and control the Pilotage Service for the River Thames and its Estuary and approaches from Orfordness to Dungeness, and also for certain outport districts, such as the Isle of Wight District (which includes Spithead and the Solent, Southamp- ton and Portsmouth), Plymouth, Pal- mouth, Penzance, Beaumaris and Menai Straits, Barrow, Fleetwood and Solway Firth, etc.

As a private Corporation the Trinity House administers certain charitable funds specially dedicated to the relief of aged and distressed master mariners and their widows, and the Corporation also possess certain private funds which are devoted to other Corporate pur- poses.

Space does not permit of more than the foregoing brief outline of the his- tory, constitution and functions of the Corporation of Trinity House, but it is hoped that enough has been said to give a general idea of the Corporation's activities in the service of the seafaring community..