Lightvessel stations of Great Britain
The history of the many lightvessel stations of Great Britain goes back over 250 years to the placement of the world's first lightship at the Nore in the early 18th century.
A lightvessel station is a named position at which a lightvessel was placed, rather than a particular ship; individual vessels were often transferred between different stations during their existence. Stations themselves were occasionally changed, especially during wartime, when lights were only displayed in response to specific shipping needs.
History
The world's first lightvessel was the result of a business partnership between Robert Hamblin, a former barber and ship manager from King's Lynn, and David Avery, an investor.[1] In 1730 the pair secured a government licence to moor a ship, with a prominent light affixed to it, to serve as a navigation aid at the Nore in the Thames mouth. Hamblin and Avery intended to profit from the vessel by collecting a fee from passing merchant vessels. The licence was opposed by Trinity House, which considered that it possessed a monopoly on construction and maintenance of navigation aids in British waters. After extensive legal dispute the licence was revoked in 1732 and Trinity House assumed direct responsibility for the proposed lightship; Hamblin and Avery were granted nominal lease revenues in exchange.[2] The Nore lightship commenced operations in 1734.[3]
A second lightvessel was placed at the Dudgeon station, off the Norfolk coast, in 1736, with others following at Owers Bank (1788) and the Goodwin Sands (1793).[3] While the Admiralty opposed the 1802 Sunk lightvessel, claiming it would aid enemy ships, it soon afterwards placed three vessels of its own to protect the fleet during the Napoleonic Wars; they were taken over by Trinity House a few years later.[4] Many others were commissioned during the nineteenth century, especially off England's east coast and the approaches to the Thames, where there were many treacherous shoals.
Following their acquisition of the Admiralty ships, all English and Welsh lightvessels were maintained by Trinity House, with the exception of the four vessels in the approaches to the River Mersey, which were maintained by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board until 1973, and those in the Humber Estuary, which were the responsibility of the Humber Conservancy Board.
Communications and safety
Communication with lightvessels proved to be a major problem for Trinity House; lightvessel crews were well-placed to observe ships in distress, but could not always alert lifeboats on shore. After a series of shipwrecks, an experiment was conducted whereby a nine-mile undersea cable was run from the Sunk lightvessel in the Thames Estuary to the post office at Walton-on-the-Naze. This was intended to commence in 1884, but was plagued by delays;[5] the trial was unsuccessful as the cable repeatedly broke.
As a result of a motion brought forward by Sir Edward Birkbeck, a Royal Commission was established to look at the issue of 'electrical communication' and gave its first Report in 1892;[6][7] the East Goodwin lightvessel was used during one of Guglielmo Marconi's early experiments in radio transmission in 1896.[8] The world's first radio distress signal was transmitted by the East Goodwin lightvessel's radio operator on 17 March 1899, after the merchant vessel Elbe ran aground on the Goodwins, while on 30 April that year, the East Goodwin vessel transmitted a distress signal on its own behalf, when the SS R. F. Matthews rammed it in a dense fog. Safety was further improved by the development of more powerful lamps and through the replacement by foghorns of the gongs previously used as fog signals.
Crew
Until the second half of the 20th century, all Trinity House vessels were permanently manned. An 1861 article in the Cornhill Magazine described lightshipmen as being paid 55 shillings a month (in addition to drawing 1 shilling and sixpence a week "in lieu of 3 gallons of small-beer"): the vessels were supplied, and the crews relieved, once a month. It was also noted that "a general tone of decent, orderly and superior conduct" was observed, that the men were "very respectable [...] swearing and profane language are [...] prohibited" and that every man was supplied with a Bible as well as "a library of varied and entertaining literature".[9]
By the start of the 20th century, Trinity House lightvessels had a crew of 11, of whom seven (a master and six ratings) would be on active duty at any one time. It was an extremely demanding and dangerous profession, and it would take 15 to 20 years of service to be promoted to master.[10]
Replacement
The majority of British lightvessels were decommissioned during the 1970s - 1980s and replaced with light floats or LANBY buoys, which were vastly cheaper to maintain: in 1974 at the time of Trinity House's original development project, lightship annual running costs at £30,000 were ten times those of the LANBY.[11]
The remaining UK lightvessels have now been converted to unmanned operation and most now use solar power.[citation needed]
Vessels
Unlike lightships in the United States and other parts of the world, Trinity House lightvessels were usually unpowered and needed to be towed to or from their position. In order to act as effective daymarks they were painted red, with the station name in large white letters on the side of the hull, and a system of balls and cones at the masthead for identification. The first revolving light was fitted to the Swin Middle lightvessel in 1837: others used occulting or flashing lights. White lights were preferred for visibility though red and very occasionally green (as with the Mouse lightvessel) were also used.[12]
It is likely that photographs on various websites showing named lightvessels, may appear to be structurally different to comparable records on other web pages due to the fact that the particular vessel might have been withdrawn from a station after photographing and being towed away for drydocking, overhaul and possible direction to a new station and therefore a different lightvessel would have been substituted at the named station on withdrawal of the previous lightvessel. This has been most evident on those vessels that have been withdrawn and shipped to another port at home or abroad to become a floating museum, floating restaurant, 'clubhouse', etc. Scarweather LV and Helwick LV have for instance changed their rôle in their lifetime and their appearance on various records varies considerably.
England
Active stations
The following are active stations at which Trinity House still maintains unmanned lightships, which also act as weather stations.
| Name | Image | Position | Characteristic | Vessels employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Q109647747  | ||||
| Q50255873 | ||||
| Q5604858 | ||||
| Q7416182 | ||||
| Q7457619 | ||||
| Q109647833 | ||||
| Q109781149 |
Former stations
| Name | Position | Operator | Sea | Vessels employed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q109773031 | |||||
| Q110224827 | Established 1878;[13] later replaced by Roaring Middle LV | ||||
| Q109780007 | |||||
| Q109780100 | Station established 1889[14] | ||||
| Q109780479 | Station established 1930, replacing Gull LV station, due to narrowing of the navigable Gull Stream[15] | ||||
| Q109787036 | |||||
| Q109793367 | |||||
| Q5072415 | |||||
| Q109816770 | |||||
| Q109818365 | |||||
| Q109831133 | |||||
| Q110222419 | |||||
| Q109837843 | |||||
| Q109838084 | The last manned lightship station, replaced by the Dowsing lighthouse in 1991.[16] | ||||
| Q109864495 | |||||
| Q109865773 | Dudgeon was the second lightvessel to be established, with a patent granted to David Avery in 1736.[17] LV63 was on station when bombed by the Luftwaffe on 29 January 1940. Only one crew member, John Sanders, survived. The incident was the subject of a 1940 British Government propaganda film, Men of the Lightship.[18] | ||||
| Q109877153 | Station established 1889 replacing the S.W. Longsand buoy[14] | ||||
| Q109885516 | |||||
| Q109906291 | |||||
| Q110026779 | Part of wartime Folkestone Gate Channel defences; discontinued 1919[19] | ||||
| Q110026840 | Part of wartime Folkestone Gate Channel defences. LV75 attacked on station and sunk by German bombers in July 1940, with the loss of two crew members, Jack Wade and Harry North[20] | ||||
| Q109907477 | |||||
| Q109913077 | Station first established by the Admiralty in 1803 to protect the fleet during the Napoleonic Wars;[4] replaced by buoy 1977[21] | ||||
| Q109914087 | In 1884 the Girdler lightship was rammed and sunk by Indus; no lives were lost.[22] | ||||
| Q109921655 | Marked the Gull Stream: station first established by the Admiralty in 1809 and taken over by Trinity House in 1826.[23] Narrowing of the channel led to Gull being replaced by Brake LV in 1930[15] | ||||
| Q109924236 | Replaced by Gunfleet Lighthouse in 1850. | ||||
| Q109936913 | |||||
| Q109937111 | Maintained by Humber Conservancy Board. | ||||
| Q109894534 | |||||
| Q109980435 | |||||
| Q110002881 | |||||
| Q110014611 | |||||
| Q110249343 | Unattended gas lit "lightboat", established 1909 | ||||
| Q110249955 | In the middle of fairway of Barrow Deep, 9m SW of Barrow Deep LV[24] | ||||
| Q110023199 | |||||
| Q109923193 | |||||
| Q110044348 | Replaced by the Nab Tower in 1920. | ||||
| Q109898099 | |||||
| Q109818924 | The world's first manned lightship, 1731. | ||||
| Q110070954 | |||||
| Q110073809 | |||||
| Q109894482 | |||||
| Q110082609 | , off Selsey Bill | Replaced with a beacon. LV Owers now a wreck in Tel Aviv harbour.[citation needed] | |||
| Q109859319 | Replaced Bar Flat LV; replaced with buoy 1919[25] | ||||
| Q110110547 | Replaced with Royal Sovereign lighthouse 1971. | ||||
| Q110110906 | |||||
| Q110138546 | |||||
| Q110024825 | |||||
| Q110072592 | Replaced South Foreland Low lighthouse. LV69 was sunk on station, probably by a mine, in October 1940.[26] The replacement, LV90, sank on 27 November 1954 when cables to her two sea anchors broke in a hurricane-force storm. The ship ran onto the Goodwin Sands close to the Keller Gut and turned on her side. The seven crew members perished, the only survivor being Ronald Murton, an ornithologist from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. The wreck of the ship can still be seen at low tide. The next replacement ship was decommissioned and was towed away on 26 July 2006.[27][28][29] | ||||
| Q110096817 | |||||
| Q110207883 | Established 1802; replaced 2007 by Sunk Centre as part of a new Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS). | ||||
| Q109647775 | Established as part of TSS in 2007. Decommissioned 2021. | ||||
| Q110209798 | Established 6 December 1912[30] | ||||
| Q110219894 | The first revolving light was fitted to the Swin Middle lightvessel in 1837.[citation needed] | ||||
| Q109924265 | |||||
| Q110111125 | Replaced with a Lanbyin September 1973. | ||||
| Q110226388 |
South Goodwin on station in 2006
Drawing of the Nore lightvessel by William Lionel Wyllie circa 1900
Lightvessel on Crosby station during WW2
Scotland, Isle of Man
Lightvessels in Scotland and the Isle of Man were maintained by the Northern Lighthouse Board, with the exception of those maintained by the Clyde Lighthouse Trust and by the Dundee Port Trustees. Of the NLB vessels, only the North Carr was crewed.
| Name | Position | Operator | Sea | Vessels employed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q110244041 | Established 1877. First lightship in Europe to be fully automated, 1971; discontinued 1984.[31] | ||||
| Q22000040 | Replaced by Maughold Head Lighthouse in 1914. | ||||
| Q110245192 | Uncrewed "lightboat". Established 2 June 1905[32] | ||||
| Q110244210 | Wartime station; established c. 1944[33] | ||||
| Q110244243 | Established 1868. Replaced by buoy in 1905[34] | ||||
| Q110244233 | Original crewed lightship replaced 1882 by unattended, gas lit vessel built by Blackwood & Gordon.[35] Removed 1915 | ||||
| Q110243602 | |||||
| Q110245863 | Uncrewed "lightboat" stationed near Scalpay;[36] established 1906. | ||||
| Q110446648 | Scottish Maritime Museum in Irving has a small scale coloured General Arrangement (1923) from Builder (Clyde Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. Ltd. hull #249, 60 ft [183 m]). |
The Bahama Bank Lightship, date unknown
North Carr lightship in 1988
Wales
Former Welsh lightships were maintained by Trinity House. Remaining substitute navigational aids still are.
| Name | Position | Operator | Sea | Vessels employed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q110536438 | Replaced by a LANBY, then a lightfloat and currently a lighted buoy with RACON radar facility |
- Helwick (off Worms Head)
- Milford Haven Lightvessel
- Scarweather (Swansea Bay; replaced with buoy 1989)
- St Gowan (off Pembrokeshire coast). The station once carried the name St Govan, i.e., spelling change
See also
- List of lightvessels of Great Britain
- List of lighthouses in the United Kingdom
- Lightvessels in Ireland
- Trinity House
- Men of the Lightship
- Light float
References
- ^ Naish, J. M. Seamarks: Their History and Development, Stanford Maritime, 1985, ISBN 978-0-540-07309-2, p. 107
- ^ The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1865. Cambridge University Press. 2013. p. 624. ISBN 9781108054911.
- ^ a b Marcus, G.J. (1975). Heart of Oak: A Survey of British Sea Power in the Georgian Era. Oxford University Press. pp. 53–54. ISBN 0192158120.
- ^ a b Renton (2001) Lost Sounds: the story of coast fog signals, Dundurn, p.148
- ^ BOARD OF TRADE — TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION WITH LIGHT VESSELS, Hansard 16-05-1884
- ^ COAST COMMUNICATIONS, Hansard 26-04-1892
- ^ COMMUNICATION WITH LIGHTHOUSES, Hansard 21-03-1893
- ^ Baker, W. J. (1998). History of the Marconi Company. Routledge. pp. 39–40. ISBN 978-0-415-14624-1.
- ^ Light-Vessels, The Cornhill Magazine, III (1861), 39.
- ^ Trinity House, portcities.org, accessed 02-09-08
- ^ Rowlands, D. "Points of Reference", Design 310 (1974)
- ^ Miltoun, F. (ed) Ships and Shipping, Moring Ltd, 1903, Ch. 11
- ^ "Nautical Notices", Nautical Magazine, v. XLVII (New Series), No XI (Nov 1878), 1031
- ^ a b "Notice to Mariners", Board of Trade Journal, v7 (1889), 617-618
- ^ a b The Gull', lightvessel 38, Thurrock Council, accessed 02-12-21
- ^ Trinity House, portcities.org
- ^ Naish, J. (1985) Seamarks: their history and development, Stanford, p.108
- ^ David MacDonald (Director); Alberto Cavalcanti (Producer) (1940). Men of the Lightship (Film (35mm, 24 mins, black & white)). GPO Film Unit.
- ^ US Navy Hydrographic Office (1919) Index to Notices to Mariners, 1-52, p.177
- ^ Carter, G (1974) The Battle of Britain: the Home Front, Mason & Lipscomb, pp.190-1
- ^ Defense Mapping Agency (1977), Notices to Mariners, p.5
- ^ "Girdler Lightship loss".
- ^ Stevenson (2013) The World's Lighthouses: From Ancient Times to 1820, Courier, p.124
- ^ Imray and Kettle (1917) Pilot's Guide for the River Thames: The South-east Coast of England, and the Strait of Dover, Imray, Laurie, Norie & Wilson, p.24
- ^ Admiralty, Notices to Mariners 348, 1919
- ^ The Disappearing Lightship, Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust, accessed 20-12-21
- ^ South Goodwin Light Vessel, portcities.org
- ^ "South Goodwin Lightvessel Trinity House History". trinityhousehistory.wordpress.com. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
- ^ Historic England. "ST MARGARET'S OLD LIGHTHOUSE, St. Margaret's At Cliffe (1070066)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
- ^ The Nautical Magazine, v88 (1912), 360
- ^ Abertay Lightship, Dundee Maritime, accessed 22-12-21
- ^ US Navy Hydrographic Office, (1906) Notices to Mariners, nos 1-52, p.355
- ^ US Navy Hydrographic Office (1944), Supplement to British Islands Pilot: the western coast of Scotland from Mull of Galloway to Rudh' Re and off-lying islands, Volume 4, p.2
- ^ Riddell, J.F.(1979) Clyde Navigation: A History of the Development and Deepening of the Clyde, John Donald, p.98
- ^ "Launches - Scotch". The Marine Engineer, Feb 1, 1882, 254
- ^ Map of Skeirinoe lightvessel (via National Library of Scotland maps API (Map) (Popular Edition (Scotland) ed.). 1:253 440. Ordnance Survey. 1920–1930. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
External links
Media related to Lightships of the United Kingdom at Wikimedia Commons
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