Speaker:- Captain Keith Hart, Trinity House

Many people have heard of Trinity House but few have a clear idea about what the organisation actually does.  Last week club President Dr David Rogers invited Capt. Keith Hart, a senior member of Trinity House, to tell members about its work The organisation was founded in 1514 during the reign of Henry V111 and recently celebrated 500 years of service to the country.  Initially it was to provide lights and later light-houses around the coast of England and Wales to warn sailors of the dangers of being wrecked.  At first these were in the form of beacons situated on cliff tops the first of which was near Lowestoft on the east coast. Ship owners were required to pay ‘light dues’ to help finance the lights.  The famous Eddystone Lighthouse was built in wood in 1698 but later replaced in stone in 1836.

Eventually in 1836 the management of all lights and buoys was brought under one roof which remains the case today.  Currently Trinity House is responsible for sixty-seven light-houses and four hundred and forty-seven buoys mainly around the coast of England and Wales but also Gibraltar.  Except for war-time, when the lights were switched off, the lights of Trinity house continue to offer protection to sailors on a daily basis.  One major change in recent years is that the light-houses are now all automatic and no longer require resident keepers.  Capt. Hart said that most people are not aware of the organisations charitable wing which spends around three million pounds each year on mariner welfare and training.  

Club member Delfryn Williams thanked Capt. Hart for a fascinating talk which he, as a keen yachtsman, appreciated all the more.