Lundy Honours Trinity House

Strong winds, fog or pitch-black nights often constitute serious problems for shipping. To help mariners find the right course in stormy waters, lighthouses were built as early as in the 4th century before Christ.

Faros is a small island off Alexandria in Egypt. Around 280 before Christ, a 100-metre high lighthouse was built here. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the World. When two earthquakes hit Egypt in the early 1300s, the famous lighthouse was completely destroyed.

In many languages, the word for lighthouse is based on the name of the Egyptian island (phare in French, faro in Spanish, etc.).

In English history, King Henry VIII is mainly remembered for his many marriages. However, he also found the time to grant a Royal Chapter to Trinity House in May 1514. At first, it mainly regulated and ensured pilot services on the River Thames for seafarers.

The Seamarks Act of 1566 further increased the responsibilities of Trinity House. It was granted power to “set up as many beacons, marks as signs for the sea as wanted to avoid danger for the ships.” The first lighthouses were built in the 17th century.

Trinity House is still very active today. It provides lighthouse services and other aids to navigation as well as deep sea pilotage. Trinity House also runs a charity devoted to the safety and welfare of mariners.

Lundy is a small island in the Bristol Channel located between England and Wales. The waters around the island have always been dangerous for mariners. In fact, there are some 200 documented shipwrecks in the area.

The Old Light, Lundy’s first lighthouse, was built in 1819 at the top of the island. It still exists today and I had the pleasure of climbing to the top of it during a visit to Lundy in March this year. From the top of the tower you have a wonderful view of the entire island.

However, its location on the top of Lundy was far from ideal as its warning light could not be seen by ships coming too close to the island.

On 29 May 2014, the Lundy Island Postal Service released a set of eight stamps marking the 500th anniversary of Trinity House. The two 60-puffin values are devoted to The Old Light. On one of the stamps, the garden chairs on the platform at the top of the lighthouse are shown. The idea of enjoying the view relaxing in one of the chairs seemed rather risky to me.

The 5- and 15- puffin stamps depict The Battery. In view of the problems with the Old Light, it was decided to add the Fog Battery in the 1860s. Cannons were used to warn mariners in foggy weather. The Battery was home to a few families and the remains of their houses can still be seen. Today The Battery is popular with visitors to Lundy but getting down there is quite difficult.

The remaining four values in the set depict the two lighthouses that were built at each end of the island in 1897. Today they are fully automated and are only irregularly visited by maintenance staff from Trinity House. One of the 47- puffin values shows the Trinity House stone at the Landing Beach. The Trinity House coat of arms at the North Light is depicted on one of the 95- puffin stamps.

Interestingly enough, the artwork for the stamps is by Jan-Erik Wallerfors and Lars Liewendahl, two Swedish collectors with a background in commercial design and architecture. The designs are based on photographs by Lars Liwendahl, Nigel Dalby and Derek Green. The latter is Lundy’s General Manager but he sometimes finds the time for walks on the island equipped with his camera.

The new Trinity House set was printed by Cartor in France. A. total of 9,600 sets were produced. Also released on the first day were three new postcards repeating the designs of three of the stamps.

In March 2014, the Lundy Collectors ‘ Club had a meeting on the island. During the meeting, Lars Liwendahl presented the new Trinity House stamp designs. I am pretty sure that this new issue of Lundy stamps will be appreciated by worldwide collectors. And, by the way, the Lundy Postal Service has been operating continuously since 1929.