Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-12-28
HASKLNiS
LETTER
TRINITY HOUSE CORPORATION
By Frederic j. HaskIn

Commissioner of Lighthouses of the
United States, recalls the important
part which Mr.. Hoods organization
has played in the development of
shoreline b%eacons. Mr.. Hood is in
the United States making an in
spection of American lighthouses.
In addition to his engineering work
at Trinity House, he advises the Brit
lsh colonies on lighthouse problems.
From this country he is proeeeding
! to Bermuda.
Lighthouses date far back In the
history of mankind. The Pharos at
alexandria, on the south coast of the
mediterranean Sea, was built 900
years before Christ and was ac-
counted one of the Seven Wonders
or the World. But coastwise bea-
cons did not continue to be built
after the decline of the Mediterran-
can civilization and the Middle Aees
passed by with practically no lights
OF any kind on the coasts. erb
n reason was that the southern
europeans felt they knew their own
coasts well enough and another that
the northern seamen had not vet
developed a seafaring life intensive
enough to make the need nressiny
Inc northern seamen in the earlier
Jays were chiefly fighting men and
nsnermen who staid close to shore
mere was much less trading from
coast to coast in merchant shine
n IN the south.
IL was not until about 50O veors
ago that a small society of English
men FORMED themselves into q SORT
"a rellglous brotherhood dedicated
TO the welfare of mariners Thoir
organization was rather loose mil
Sehfy VIII, King of England. pave
we Dody a royal charter. The %o11aint
eoeulneht incorporated 1.-THE Broth
olHood OF the Most Glorious and
unalVided Trinity and of ST. CIen,.
en- ~ n the Parish of Dentford-
1tronq n gave it certain conces-
oIS ana dignity. Deptford-Strond
~ a parish in the east end of ION
oom; rms charter was dated 1914
B~rotherood's first activities
seemed to have been along the Inc
Oh establishing almshouses for desti.
Iute sailors, but fairly early If
pranehed out into the field of aids TO
navigation. Queen Elizabeth sup
PSrteu II NJ James the First quar-
relied with it, but 1t continued IN
ILNt0t az ItI9 were hliIf-
called Trinity House and, much en-
larged from designs by the famous
SIR christopher Wren and John
Evelyn, Trinity House stands to this
DAY and continues to be %headquar-
ters Tor the organization which cor
responds to the American Bureau of
Lighthouses and the Bureau of Nayi-
cation.
Claimed Royal MonopIy
James the First, in order to raise
funds for himself, granted charters
to private parties to build light
houses and collect tolls from pass
ing ships. This resulted in two sorts
of ~quarrels. Trinity House Corpora
ton engaged in lawsuits with the
private grantees of King James. as
serting hal the Trinity. House Cor
poration had a royal monopoly. The
mariners from whom the private
lighthouse keepers sought to collect
tolls objected because they said the
lights We're of no use. In thick
weather, it was argued, the lights
were too dim to be seen and in fair
weather no mariner needed q light.
The ~strangest objections to the
building of lighthouses came from
people who dwelt along the coast.
They were accustomed to watch for
ships driven ashore and wrecked in
gales. They then would gather in
the wreckage which often included
very valuable cargo. 1t is even said
that if the surviving sailors objected,
they were murdered. When foreign
ships were wrecked, the survivors
might be held for ransom There is
on record a petition sent to the King
by the beach combers in the neigh
borhood of the dangerous reef called
| The Lizard, on the occasion of a
project to build a lighthouse at that
place. The petition demonstrated
against the plan. 1t said that a bea-
con would take away Gods grace
from them as they will have no
more benefit from shipwreck''
| Nevertheless, the light was built.
Members of the Brotherhood paid
dues and occasionally a bequest
would be left to the institution.
| One famous one was left by a Cap
tain Richard Naples, master oil an
East Indiaman, in 1850. his ne
quest was used to build
and a part of it to erect q statue to
him which still stands at trinity
House.
The brotherhood did not overlook
the social amenities in connection
with their work. There are curious
records of their occasional feasts'
| One old record shows that the caba-
ret idea is not modern, for the ac-
| count books show, in addition 10 n
cost Of the food and drink. an item Oh
6 shillings and s pence for apparel
for ten dancers The purchasing
power of money was higher in those
DAVIS. but even so it would appear
that the ten dancers must have peen
rather scantily clad If they wore only
$1.6S worth of apparel among theil'
Famous Brothers of Trinity
Samuel Pepys, the famous dlarlst,
was attached to the Trinity House
Corporation in his day. 1t then prac-
ticaily constituted the British Navy,
Department. Pepys was warden Oh
the corporation in 1876 and, one may
be sure, made it a point to attend the
feasts. He refers to several OF
them in his diary. On n occa-
sion he says; II eat a little too much
beef which made me SICK Johh
EVELYN was another Janus brother
of Trinity House.
Perhaps one of the most famous
men to be produced by the organl-
cation was Grinling gibbons Elpss
hons was a workman who carVeu
dgureheads and other woodwork
which was much used to decorate
the old wooden ships. John Eve
iyn saw his work and instantly rec
ognized that he was not an ordinary
shipwright. He got him work cary
ing furniture and interior wood
work such as mantels. pediments
and stairways, for the houses OF GER
tain rich men. The name OF GRIN