Lightvessel stations of Great Britain

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Light vessel 78 Calshot Spit on station in 1979 Calshot Spit lightvessel.jpg
Light vessel 78 Calshot Spit on station in 1979

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.

Contents

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 After extensive legal dispute the licence was revoked in 1732 and Trinity House assumed direct responsibility for the proposed lightship; Hamblin and Avery were granted nominal lease revenues in exchange.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.

Lightship LV86, stationed at the Nore from 1931 to 1974 Lv-Nore.jpg
Lightship LV86, stationed at the Nore from 1931 to 1974

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.

NameImagePositionCharacteristicVessels employed
Foxtrot 3  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Fl W 10sLight vessel no. 93 (from 2001 until 2003), LV17
East Goodwin  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Lightvessel East Goodwin.jpg Goodwin Sands
Fl W 15s [13] Light vessel no. 93 (from 1947 until 1953), Lightvessel no. 21
Greenwich   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Greenwich Light Vessel Automatic, English Channel (geograph 5684240).jpg Fl W 5s [13] Light vessel no. 5
Sandettie   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Dunkerque Sandettie 2.jpg Sandettie Bank
Fl W 5s [14] Sandettié (from 1978 until 1989)
Sevenstones   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Sevenstones Light Vessel (5954213760).jpg Fl(3) W 30s [13] [15] Sevenstones Lightship (1841) (from 1841 until 1879), Tyne III (from Sep 1879 until 1883), T.S. Orwell (from 1947 until 1958)
Sunk Inner  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg [16] Fl(5) 15sSunk Inner (from 2007)
Varne  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Varne Lightvessel.jpg Varne Bank
[17]
Fl R 5s [13] Varne, Lightvessel no. 21 (from 1980)

Former stations

NamePositionOperatorSeaVessels employedNotes
Mersey Bar  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg [18] Mersey Docks and Harbour Company River Mersey Alarm [19] (from 1913 until 1960), Planet [20] (from 1960 until 1972)
Bar Flat  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Wisbech Bar The Wash Established 1878; [21] later replaced by Roaring Middle LV
Barrow Deep  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Barrow Deep Thames Estuary
Black Deep  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Black Deep Thames Estuary Station established 1889 [22]
Brake  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Brake Bank English Channel Gull Stream [23] (from 1930 until 1940)Station established 1930, replacing Gull LV station, due to narrowing of the navigable Gull Stream [24]
Bull  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Bull SandHumber Conservancy Board Humber Spurn [25] (from 1959)
Calshot Spit  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Calshot Spit Southampton Water Lightvessel no. 78 [26] (from 1914), Tyne III (from 1943 until 1951), Light vessel no. 16 [27]
Channel   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg English Channel Planet, Light vessel no. 3 [28]
Cockle  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Great Yarmouth North Sea T.S. Lord Nelson [29] (from 1936)
Cork  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Cork Ledge
North Sea LV86, T.S. Lord Nelson [30]
Corton  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Lowestoft North Sea
Cromer Knoll  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg North Sea
Crosby  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Crosby Channel Mersey Docks and Harbour Company Liverpool Bay
Inner Dowsing  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Inner Dowsing North Sea Light vessel no. 16 [27] , Light vessel no. 95 [31] , Light vessel no. 93 [32] (1998)The last manned lightship station, replaced by the Dowsing lighthouse in 1991. [33]
Outer Dowsing  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Outer Dowsing North Sea Outer Dowsing [34]
Dudgeon  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Dudgeon Shoals
[35]
North Sea Dudgeon was the second lightvessel to be established, with a patent granted to David Avery in 1736. [36] 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 . [37]
Edinburgh Channel  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Edinburgh Channels Thames Estuary LV86 [30] Station established 1889 replacing the S.W. Longsand buoy [22]
English and Welsh Grounds  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Bristol Channel Light Vessel 72, John Sebastian
Falls  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg [35] Strait of Dover
North Folkestone Gate  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Strait of Dover Part of wartime Folkestone Gate Channel defences; discontinued 1919 [38]
South Folkestone Gate  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Strait of Dover Light vessel no. 75Part 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 [39]
Formby  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Formby Beach Mersey Docks and Harbour Company Liverpool Bay
Galloper  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg The Galloper North Sea Tyne III (1929), Light vessel no. 93 (from 1954 until 1974)Station first established by the Admiralty in 1803 to protect the fleet during the Napoleonic Wars; [4] replaced by buoy 1977 [40]
Girdler  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Girdler Shoal Thames Estuary In 1884 the Girdler lightship was rammed and sunk by the screw steamer Indus; there were no deaths. [41]
Gull  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Goodwin Sands Admiralty, Trinity House North Sea Gull Stream (from 1929 until 1930)Marked the Gull Stream: station first established by the Admiralty in 1809 and taken over by Trinity House in 1826. [42] Narrowing of the channel led to Gull being replaced by Brake LV in 1930 [24]
Gunfleet  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Gunfleet Sands Trinity House Thames Estuary Replaced by Gunfleet Lighthouse in 1850.
Haisborough  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Haisborough Sands North Sea Light vessel no. 3 [43] , Lightvessel no. 68 [44]
Humber  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Humber Conservancy Board Humber Helwick [45] (from 1937 until 1942)Maintained by Humber Conservancy Board.
Kentish Knock  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Kentish Knock North Sea Light vessel no. 3 [28] , Lightship 2000, Jenni Baynton [46] (from 1949 until 1953)
Smiths Knoll  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Smiths Knoll
[35]
Trinity House North Sea
Leman and Ower  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Trinity House North Sea
Longsand  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg [47] Trinity House Thames Estuary
Lune Deep  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Trinity House Morecambe Bay Unattended gas lit "lightboat", established 1909
Mid Barrow  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Barrow Deep Trinity House Thames Estuary In the middle of fairway of Barrow Deep, 9m SW of Barrow Deep LV [48]
Morecambe Bay  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Trinity House Morecambe Bay Breeveertien, LV94 [49] , Light vessel no. 70 [50] (1903)
Mouse  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Mouse Sand Trinity House Thames Estuary Gull Stream
Nab  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Nab Rock Trinity House The Solent Replaced by the Nab Tower in 1920.
Newarp  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Newarp Banks Trinity House North Sea Light vessel no. 44, Lightvessel no. 21 [51] (1972), LV83 [52] (1967)
Nore  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Nore Trinity House Thames Estuary LV86 [53] (from 1941 until 1942)The world's first manned lightship, 1731.
North Goodwin  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Goodwin Sands Trinity House North Sea
North West  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Mersey Docks and Harbour Company River Mersey Good Intent [54] (from 1813)
Outer Gabbard  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Outer Gabbard
[35]
Trinity House North Sea Light vessel no. 3 [28] , Jenni Baynton [46] (from 1962 until 1965), Tyne III [55] (1911)
Owers  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg The Owers, off Selsey Bill Trinity House English Channel Light vessel no. 3Replaced with a beacon. LV Owers now a wreck in Tel Aviv harbour.[ citation needed ]
Roaring Middle  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg The Wash Replaced Bar Flat LV; replaced with buoy 1919 [56]
Royal Sovereign  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Royal Sovereign Shoals Trinity House English Channel Lightship 2000 [57] Replaced with Royal Sovereign lighthouse 1971.
Selker  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Selker Rocks
[58]
Trinity House Irish Sea
Shambles  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg The Shambles
Trinity House English Channel Tyne III [59] (from 1891 until 1909), Trinity, Light vessel no. 67
Shipwash  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Shipwash Shoal
[35]
North Sea Light Vessel 72 [60] , Mary Mouse 2 [61] (from 1968 until 1969), LV94
South Goodwin  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Goodwin Sands Trinity House North Sea Light vessel no. 69 [62] (until 1940), Light vessel no. 90 (until 1954), LV17Replaced South Foreland Low lighthouse. LV69 was sunk on station, probably by a mine, in October 1940. [63] 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. [64] [65] [66]
Spurn  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Spurn Point Humber Conservancy Board Humber Spurn [67] (from 1927), Sula [68] (from 1959)
Sunk  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Sunk Sands
Thames Estuary Established 1802; replaced 2007 by Sunk Centre as part of a new Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS).
Sunk Centre  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg [69] Thames Estuary Established as part of TSS in 2007. Decommissioned 2021.
Swarte Bank  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg North Sea Established 6 December 1912 [70]
Swin Middle  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Swin Trinity House Thames Estuary The first revolving light was fitted to the Swin Middle lightvessel in 1837.[ citation needed ]
Tongue  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Tongue Sands
[35]
North Sea Jenni Baynton, Light vessel no. 5 (1973)
Lynn Well  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Trinity House The Wash Gull Stream [71] , Light Vessel no. 89 [72] Replaced with a Lanby in September 1973.
Would  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Haisborough Sands North Sea

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.

NamePositionOperatorSeaVessels employedNotes
Abertay  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Gaa Sand
Trustees of the Harbour of Dundee Firth of Tay Established 1877. First lightship in Europe to be fully automated, 1971; discontinued 1984. [73]
Bahama Bank   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Bahama Bank
Northern Lighthouse Board Ramsey Bay Bahama Bank (from 1848), Bahama Bank (from Sep 1879)Replaced by Maughold Head Lighthouse in 1914.
Cath Sgeir  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Isle of Gigha Northern Lighthouse Board Sound of Jura Uncrewed "lightboat". Established 2 June 1905 [74]
Clyde  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Kilbrannan Sound
Northern Lighthouse Board Firth of Clyde North Carr Wartime station; established c. 1944 [75]
Garmoyle  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Port Glasgow Clyde Lighthouse Trustees River Clyde Established 1868. Replaced by buoy in 1905 [76]
Garvel  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Clyde Lighthouse Trustees River Clyde GarvelOriginal crewed lightship replaced 1882 by unattended, gas lit vessel built by Blackwood & Gordon. [77] Removed 1915
North Carr  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg North Carr Northern Lighthouse Board Firth of Forth North Carr (from 1887 until 1889), North Carr (from 1889 until 1933), North Carr (from 1933 until 1975)
Skeirinoe  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg The Minch Northern Lighthouse Board Sea of the Hebrides Uncrewed "lightboat" stationed near Scalpay; [78] established 1906.
Otter Rock  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Otter Rock
North Channel Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine has a small scale coloured General Arrangement (1923) from Builder (Clyde Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. Ltd. hull #249, 60 ft [183 m]).

Wales

Breaksea Light Vessel following a refit at Swansea in 1978. Former Breaksea lightvessel.jpg
Breaksea Light Vessel following a refit at Swansea in 1978.
Scarweather Bateau feu Scarweather.jpg
Scarweather

Former Welsh lightships were maintained by Trinity House. Remaining substitute navigational aids still are.

NamePositionOperatorSeaVessels employedNotes
Breaksea  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg Trinity House Bristol Channel TrinityReplaced by a LANBY, then a lightfloat and currently a lighted buoy with RACON radar facility


See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lightship</span> Ship that functions as a lighthouse

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goodwin Sands</span> Sandbank off the east coast of England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thames Estuary</span> Estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nore</span> Sandbank at the mouth of the Thames Estuary

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United States lightship <i>Huron</i> (LV-103) 1920 lightvessel, now a museum ship in Port Huron, Michigan, United States

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Sevenstones Lightship

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United States lightship <i>Frying Pan</i> (LV-115) American lightvessel and dockside venue

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lansing Shoals Light Station</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

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The Kentish Knock is a long shoal in the North Sea east of Essex, England. It is the most easterly of those of the Thames Estuary and its core, which is shallower than 18 feet (5.5 m), extends 6 miles (9.7 km). Thus it is a major hazard to deep-draught navigation. It is exactly 28 miles (45 km) due east of Foulness Point, Essex and is centred about 15 miles (24 km) NNE of North Foreland, Kent – both are extreme points of those counties.

The Sandettie Bank is an elongated sandbank in the southern North Sea, more specifically about in the middle of the northeastern entrance to the Strait of Dover. North-west of it are the hazardous Goodwin Sands, south of it the sandbank Ruytingen.

Bahama Bank Lightship

The Bahama Bank Lightship was a Lightvessel stationed on the Bahama Bank east of Ramsey Bay, Isle of Man.

The Inner and Outer Dowsing sand banks are shallow-water shoals off the Lincolnshire coast of the UK sector of southern North Sea. They have been used for navigation, as a commercial fishery, for aggregate dredging, and more recently as the location for major offshore wind farms.

<i>Light Vessel 95</i> 1939 ship in London

Light Vessel 95 is a former lightship that has been used as a recording studio since the early 2000s. She was built by Philip and Son at Dartmouth, Devon, in 1939 for Trinity House, the body responsible for provision of maritime navigation aids in England and Wales. Light Vessel 95 served at Goodwin Sands, The Wash, Varne Bank and at the Sevenstones Station. She was among the last ten light vessels in Trinity House service and was converted to automatic operation in the 1990s. Light Vessel 95 was sold in 2003 and converted into a recording studio. Since 2008 she has been moored at Trinity Buoy Wharf in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Light Vessel 93</span>

Light Vessel 93 was a light vessel of Trinity House, currently used as a photography studio. She was built in Dartmouth, Devon, in 1938 and served on stations including Galloper sand bank, the River Thames, Goodwin Sands, Inner Dowsing, Sunk Sands and Foxtrot 3. She was sold to Michele Turriani in 2004 and converted into a studio operating at Royal Victoria Dock in London. Turriani attempted to sell the vessel from 2020. In 2024 Light Vessel 93 was moved to King George V Dock.

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