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42-592: Grace Horsley Darling (24 November 1815 – 20 October 1842) was an English lighthouse keeper 's daughter. Her participation in the rescue of survivors from the shipwrecked Forfarshire in 1838 brought her national fame. The paddlesteamer ran aground on the Farne Islands off the coast of Northumberland in northeast England; nine members of the crew were saved. Grace Darling was born on 24 November 1815 at her grandfather's house in Northumberland. She

84-797: A Passage in the Life of Grace Darling , premiered at the Theatre Royal, Leicester and immediately transferred to the vast Standard Theatre in London's Shoreditch . The play by Leonard Rae and Hugh Marston included a realistic representation of the sea rescue. A lifeboat with her name was presented to Holy Island . One of a series of Victorian paintings by William Bell Scott at Wallington Hall in Northumberland depicts her rescue efforts. The McManus Galleries in Dundee includes three paintings by Thomas Musgrave Joy that celebrate Grace Darling's deeds with

126-464: A dozen portrait painters sailed to her island home to capture her likeness, and hundreds of gifts, letters, and even marriage proposals were delivered to her. Her unexpected wealth and fame were such that the Duke of Northumberland took on a role as her self-appointed guardian and founder of a trust, established to look after the donations offered to her. His personal gifts to her family were a timepiece and

168-530: A family, passing from parents to child, all of whom lived in or near the lighthouse itself. "Stag light" was an unofficial term given to some isolated lighthouses in the United States Lighthouse Service . It meant stations that were operated solely by men, rather than accommodating keepers and their families. Electrification and other technological advancements such as remote monitoring and automatic bulb changing began to appear in

210-581: A large financial reward in addition to the plaudits of the nation. A number of fictionalised depictions propagated the Grace Darling legend, such as Grace Darling, or the Maid of the Isles by Jerrold Vernon (1839), which gave birth to the legend of "the girl with windswept hair". Her deed was committed to verse by William Wordsworth in his poem "Grace Darling" (1843). In 1882 a four-act drama, Humanity, or

252-411: A long route that kept to the lee side of the islands, a distance of nearly a mile (about 1.5 km). Darling kept the coble steady in the water, while her father helped four men and the lone surviving woman, Sarah Dawson, into the boat. Although she survived the sinking, Mrs. Dawson had lost her two young children (James, 7, and Matilda, 5) during the night. William and three of the rescued men then rowed

294-410: A nearby low, rocky island. The Forfarshire had foundered on the rocks and broken in half; one of the halves had sunk during the night. Darling and her father, William, determined that the weather was too rough for the lifeboat to put out from Seahouses (then North Sunderland ), so they took a rowing boat (a 21 ft (6.4 m), four-man Northumberland coble ) across to the survivors, taking

336-522: A silver teapot. In 1842, Darling fell ill with Tuberculosis while visiting the mainland. First she convalesced with her cousins, the MacFarlanes, in their house in Narrowgate, Alnwick . When Duchess of Northumberland heard of her situation, she arranged for Darling to be moved to better accommodation close to Alnwick Castle . The Duchess tended to her in person, as well as providing her with

378-682: The Canadian Coast Guard , is kept occupied for sovereignty purposes due to the disputed status of the island with the US. The Coast Guard further clarified in 2022 that there are 90 people employed as lighthouse keepers across the country, all of whom are considered to be employees of the federal government, and 54 of whom operate out of British Columbia. The last civilian keeper in the United States , Frank Schubert , died in 2003. The last officially manned lighthouse, Boston Light ,

420-481: The Forfarshire . At Bamburgh, a museum is dedicated to her achievements and the seafaring life of the area. From 1990 to 2020 an RNLI Mersey -class lifeboat at Seahouses bore the name Grace Darling . Singer/songwriter Dave Cousins of Strawbs wrote " Grace Darling " (on the album Ghosts ) in tribute and as a love song. The children's singing group The Limeliters sang a different "Grace Darling" (featuring

462-710: The South Foreland lighthouse near Dover , England, in 1730. According to Fisheries and Oceans Canada , there are 51 staffed lighthouses left in Canada , as of October 2017: one in New Brunswick , 23 in Newfoundland and Labrador , and 27 in British Columbia . All of these lighthouses are staffed for operational reasons, except for the light on Machias Seal Island . This lighthouse, manned by

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504-755: The United Kingdom , was the North Foreland Lighthouse in Kent . The last six keepers Dave Appleby, Colin Bale, Dermot Cronin, Tony Homewood, Barry Simmons and Tristan Sturley completed their service in a ceremony attended by the Prince Philip , on 26 November 1998. In an interview with the BBC, Dermot Cronin remarked, "I had no idea I would be closing the door of the last manned lighthouse in

546-439: The 1960s and over the course of the late 20th century made paid resident keepers at the lights unnecessary in certain areas, while simply altering their responsibilities elsewhere. Those who continue to work as lighthouse keepers today perform building maintenance, repair work to broken and blind buoys, geographic realignment of wayward navigational aids off the coast, and technical maintenance on automated systems. In most countries,

588-740: The British Isles." Under pressure from British minister Sir Harry Parkes to fulfil its obligations under the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce to make the waters and harbors of Japan safe for shipping, the Tokugawa shogunate hired the Edinburgh -based firm of D. and T. Stevenson to chart coastal waters and to build lighthouses where appropriate. Richard Henry Brunton was sent from Edinburgh in August 1868 to head

630-627: The automation of Hook Head Lighthouse, Baily Lighthouse became the last Irish lighthouse to have a resident keeper, but it too was automated in 1997, and the lighthouse keeper was no longer needed. A couple of months later, on March 31, 1998, the keepers left the Fair Isle South Lighthouse in Shetland , and with that the final Scottish lighthouse to be staffed became automated. The last manned lighthouse in England , and

672-624: The benefit of training personnel in the work of maritime signal maintenance and safety. As of 2011, there were also 62 staffed lighthouses in Italy and two staffed lights in the Netherlands – one at Schiermonnikoog and the other on the island of Terschelling . The last lighthouse keeper in Iceland was terminated in 2010. Automation of lighthouses in the Britain and Ireland began in

714-428: The boat back to the lighthouse. Darling then remained at the lighthouse while William and three of the rescued crew members rowed back and recovered four more survivors. Meanwhile, the lifeboat had set out from Seahouses, but arrived at Big Harcar rock after Darling and her father had completed their rescue operation; all they found were the bodies of Mrs Dawson's children and of a clergyman. Returning to North Sunderland

756-410: The bow section of the vessel, which had been held by the rocks for some time before sinking. All that remained at daybreak was the portside paddlebox casing. Nine other passengers and crew had managed to float off a lifeboat from the stern section before it, too, sank, and were picked up in the night by a passing Montrose sloop , and brought into South Shields that same night. As news of her role in

798-539: The end of 2015. Raffles Lighthouse , on Singapore's southernmost island , and Pulau Pisang Lighthouse , which is technically located within the neighbouring country of Malaysia , are both crewed by a rotating staff of eight lighthouse keepers who work 10-day shifts in pairs. The last staffed lighthouse in Australia was the Sugarloaf Point Light , otherwise known as Seal Rocks Lighthouse. Although

840-535: The first female lighthouse keeper in the United States when she became keeper of Plymouth (Gurnet) Lighthouse in Massachusetts following the death of her husband, John Thomas. Both Hannah and her husband received $ 200 per year for their service. A famous example of a named individual in a formal capacity as a lighthouse keeper was William, a member of the now famous Knott family , who was appointed to

882-409: The ground floor of the lighthouse, which consisted of a large room, heated by a wooden stove. The room was their living room, dining room, and kitchen in one, and had a spiral staircase leading to three bedrooms above and the light at the top of the tower. In the early hours of 7 September 1838, Darling, looking from an upstairs window, spotted the wreck and survivors of the Forfarshire on Big Harcar,

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924-879: The larger lights are therefore still staffed by resident civilian keepers. The first lighthouse in Brazil is recorded to have been lit in 1698 in Santo Antonio, Bahia province, and they maintain a rich lighthouse keeping tradition. Of the 200 active lighthouses still maintained by the Navigational Aid Center, 33 are staffed, as of March 2020. As of 2013, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) listed 650 lighthouses in Chile and approximately 20 of those were inhabited as of 2003. The southernmost lighthouse in

966-547: The late 1960s, but the majority of lighthouses remained staffed by resident keepers until the 1980s and 1990s. On the Isle of Man , the final lighthouses to become automated and therefore lose their keepers were the Calf of Man and Langness lighthouses, which were converted in 1995 and 1996 respectively. The Langness Lighthouse was purchased in 2008 by British television personality Jeremy Clarkson , and his ex-wife currently operates

1008-411: The lighthouse keeper has been popular throughout history for their associated air of adventure, mystery, isolation and their rugged lifestyle. The heroic role that lighthouse keepers can sometimes play when shipwrecks occur also feeds into their popularity. The following books, films, TV shows and songs draw heavily upon the life of the lighthouse keeper: To recognize the role of lighthouse keepers in

1050-615: The lighthouse was electrified in 1966, and automated in 1987, a caretaker and lighthouse keeper remained on site until 2007, when the lighthouse keeper's cottages were renovated into tourist accommodations. The Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse off the southern coast of Tasmania, although fully automated in 1996, still employs volunteer caretakers on six-month assignments; the duties include weather observations and land management as well as building maintenance. All lighthouses in New Zealand have been automated since 1990. The character of

1092-592: The nation's maritime safety , the US Coast Guard named a class of 175-foot (53 m) USCG Coastal Buoy Tenders after famous US Lighthouse Keepers. Fourteen ships in the "Keeper" class were built between 1996 and 2000 and are used to maintain aids to navigation, including lighthouses: Hugh Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include

1134-797: The project after being recommended to the Japanese government by the Stevensons, Over the next seven and a half years he designed and supervised the building of 26 Japanese lighthouses in the Western style, along with two lightvessels . Brunton also established a system of lighthouse keepers, modeled on the Northern Lighthouse Board in Scotland. Initially under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Japanese Navy ,

1176-439: The property as tourist accommodations. The Hook Head Lighthouse , at the eastern entrance to Ireland's Waterford Harbour , is the second oldest operating lighthouse in the world. It was manned continuously from at least 1207 until 1996, when it was finally automated. From the time of its construction in the 13th century, until the mid-17th century, the lighthouse was even home to an early Christian monastery . Following

1218-478: The refrain "Help, help, came a desperate yelp!") in their 1962 album, recorded live in concert, Through Children's Eyes . In 2017, Duke Special set Michael Longley 's poem "Grace Darling" to music and recorded it on the album Hallow . The Grace Darling Hotel, one of the oldest extant hotels in Melbourne , Victoria, opened in 1854. Lighthouse keeper Historically, lighthouse keepers were needed to trim

1260-801: The rescue reached the public, her combination of bravery and simple virtue set her out as exemplary, and led to an uneasy role as the nation's heroine. Grace and her father were awarded the Silver Medal for Bravery by the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, later named the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). Subscriptions and donations totaling over £700 (equivalent to about £79,600 in 2023) were raised for her, including £50 from Queen Victoria; more than

1302-609: The responsibility for maintaining lighthouses came under the Maritime Safety Agency following World War 2. In 2006 Meshima Lighthouse became the last of Japan 's 3,337 lighthouses to become automated. There are five lighthouses along the coasts of the Malay Peninsula , all managed by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore . Of those five, two were still regularly staffed by lighthouse keepers as of

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1344-528: The services of the ducal family physician. However, Darling's condition declined and she was conveyed to the place of her birth in Bamburgh, where she died, aged 26, of consumption in October 1842. She is buried in the churchyard of St Aidan's Church, Bamburgh . The Monument to Grace Darling was completed in 1842. It represents a sleeping effigy of her holding an oar, and lies to the north of her grave at

1386-600: The southern end of Holmöarna , became Sweden's final inhabited lighthouse. Holmögadd lighthouse was decommissioned five years later. The last manned lighthouse in Finland was deserted in 1987, and the last Norwegian lighthouse keeper moved out of Runde Lighthouse in 2002. Most French lighthouses are automated, though approximately a dozen were still staffed as of 2011. The French Department of Lighthouses and Beacons recommends that at least two isolated lighthouses at sea remain staffed regularly, if not constantly, for

1428-453: The training of lighthouse keepers falls within the jurisdiction of the Navy or Coast guard . In the US, periodic maintenance of the lights is now performed by visiting Coast Guard Aids to Navigation teams. George Worthylake served as the first lighthouse keeper in the United States. He served at Boston Harbor Lighthouse from 1716 until his death in 1718. In 1776, Hannah Thomas became

1470-456: The western edge of the churchyard so it would be visible to passing seafarers. The original effigy, which was sculpted by Charles Raymond Smith son of James Smith , was moved into the church in 1895 due to weathering. Within the St Aidan's Church there is also a stained-glass window dedicated to the memory of Grace Darling. Darling's achievement was celebrated in her lifetime; she received

1512-414: The wicks, replenish fuel, wind clockworks and perform maintenance tasks such as cleaning lenses and windows. They were also responsible for the fog signal and the weather station , and played a major role in search and rescue at sea. Because most lighthouses are located in remote, isolated or inaccessible areas on islands and coastlines, it was typical for the work of lighthouse keeper to remain within

1554-560: The world, located on the northeast coast of Isla Gonzalo , in the Diego Ramirez Islands , remains a continuously staffed lighthouse and meteorological station administered by the Chilean Navy . In October 2017, the lighthouse keeper Marcelo Escobar had to be airlifted to Punta Arenas after he suffered a broken arm. Sweden began systematically automating their lighthouses as early as the 1930s. Their transformation

1596-428: Was basic, and the lighthouse was not located in a good place to guide shipping to safety, so in 1826, the family moved to the newly constructed lighthouse on Longstone Island. Longstone Lighthouse had better accommodation, but the island itself was slightly less hospitable, so William would row back to Brownsman to gather vegetables from their former garden and to feed the animals. The family spent most of their time on

1638-617: Was manned by the Coast Guard until 1998. It now has volunteer Coast Guard Auxiliary "keepers" whose primary role is to serve as interpretive tour guides for visitors. The lighthouses of Mexico are managed by the General Directorate for Ports and Merchant Marine , a government agency within the larger Secretariat of Communications and Transportation . Automation is not as common in Mexico as in other countries and many of

1680-506: Was so efficient that of the over 100 inhabited lighthouses operating at the start of the 20th century, only nine remained by the year 1980, and only three remained staffed into the 21st century: Kullen Lighthouse , the oldest lighthouse in Scandinavia , was automated in 2003, having been only inhabited periodically since 1996, and then with the retirement of Lighthouse Master Per-Erik Broström on February 25, 2003, Holmögadd lighthouse on

1722-509: Was the seventh of nine children (four brothers and four sisters) born to William and Thomasin Darling, and when only a few weeks old, she was taken to live on Brownsman Island, one of the Farne Islands , in a small cottage attached to the lighthouse. Her father ran the lighthouse (built in 1795) for Trinity House , and earned a salary of £70 per year (equivalent to £6,500 in 2023) with a bonus of £10 for satisfactory service. The accommodation

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1764-459: Was too dangerous, so they rowed to the lighthouse to take shelter. Darling's brother, William Brooks Darling, was one of the seven fishermen in the lifeboat. The weather deteriorated to the extent that everyone was obliged to remain at the lighthouse for three days before returning to shore. The Forfarshire had been carrying 62 people. The vessel broke in two almost immediately upon hitting the rocks. Those rescued by Darling and her father were from

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