Trinity house

Today the Corporation of Trinity House has three functions:

n	The General Lighthouse authority for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar providing aids to general navigation such as lighthouses, light vessels, buoys and radio navigation systems.

n	A Deep Sea pilotage authority

n	A charitable organisation for the safety, welfare and training of mariners and relief of those financial distressed.

The Corporation consists of two categories, the �Elder brethren and Younger Brethren�. The Younger Brethren who number about three hundred are Master Mariners or Senior naval officers of high professional distinction. From this pool of nautical expertise the Elder Brethren are selected and they form the Corporation. The Master is HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT, and the Chairman of the Board is the Deputy Master.

THE LIGHTHOUSES

The coast of Portland was, and is very dangerous and 1702 a petition was sent to King William III for permission to build a lighthouse. However it was not until May 1716 that a Patent was granted to Trinity House. From this point the work must have progressed rapidly because on 29 September the upper and lower lighthouses were alight, providing a leading line clear of the Shambles bank. The local management was the subject of many complaints and in 1752 Trinity House terminated the lease and took over running of the Portland lights. In 1788 Trinity House replaced the lower lighthouse on a better site, and also installed much more powerful lights, visible for eighteen miles.

In 1844 Trinity House erected a day mark at the Bill to improve navigation particularly in poor visibility. In the 1850s both lighthouses were rebuilt and 1859 a light vessel was placed on the Shambles.

Finally in 1905 Trinity Trinity House decided to replace the two lighthouses with a new light at the end of the bill. Agreement over compensation for Commoners rights was finally agreed and 11 January 1906 Keepers Taylor and Comben lit the the new lamp for the first time. The Comben family have provided keepers for successive lights since 1721. The day mark at the Bill was redundant from 1906 and today is becoming unsafe. Debate over its future has yet to be resolved.