Trinity House - or, more correctly, the Corporation of Trinity House - came into being in 1514 by Royal Charter granted by Henry VIII. The Master of the Corporation is the Duke of Edinburgh

Trinity House has three main functions:

• The care of all lighthouses in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar.
• Providing aids to navigation, e.g. lightvessels, lighthouses, buoys, radio navigation services etc.
• serving as a charitable organisation for mariners; looking after their safety, welfare, training etc.

The Corporation also inspects buoys etc provided by local harbour authorities, and provides a Deep Sea Pilot Service. It no longer provides local pilots for entering ports.

Equivalent bodies in other parts of the British Isles:

• Commissioners of Irish Lights - Republic of Ireland
• Commissioners for Northern Lights - Scotland

External link

• Trinity House (http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk)