Trinity House, owner of the Cornwall lighthouses

• Founded by royal charter of Henry VIII in 1514
• originally "The guild, fraternity or brotherhood of the most glorious and undivided Trinity and of Saint Clement in the Parish of Deptford Strond"
• the charter gave it general powers over the safety of shipping, and control over pilots in particular
• in 1588 the Master of Trinity House organised a fleet of 30 merchant ships to help engage the Spanish Armada
• in 1632 it organised an expedition to fight the Barbary Coast pirates
• in 1797, when the navy fleet at the Nore mutinied, Trinity House removed all the buoys and marks in the Thames Estuary to stop the fleet sailing
• in 1803, Trinity House men defended the Thames by mooring a fleet of 11 frigates across the river at Tilbury
• When Elizabeth I renewed their charter, it was extended to include the erection of beacons at sea - but it did not give them any powers over the various private lighthouses
• at this point owners of lighthouses paid a rent to the crown, and then exacted a toll on passing ships - paid to collectors at ports around the country
• in 1836 Trinity House was empowered to buy out existing private lighthouses, which it did for a cost of £1.2 million
• by the 1970's they were responsible for 90 lighthouses, 30 lightships, and around 700 buoys
• they maintained depots at 6 ports around Britain, including one at Penzance
• The Penzance, Cornwall, depot is less important now that automation of lighthouses has removed the need for changing crews, but the buoy store is now the National Lighthouse Museum
• Trinity House web site

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