Description

For 500 years Trinity House has tirelessly served the mariner, dedicated to the safety of seafarers. To honour the 500th anniversary of this respected organisation, The Royal Mint has struck a stunning £2 coin.

The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond is a private corporation governed under a Royal Charter. It has three core functions: it is the official General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar, responsible for the provision and maintenance of navigational aids, such as lighthouses, lightvessels, buoys, and maritime radio/satellite communication systems. Trinity House is also an official deep sea pilotage authority, providing expert navigators for ships trading in Northern European waters. It is also a maritime charity, dispersing funds for the welfare of retired seamen, the training of young cadets and the promotion of safety at sea.

The Corporation came into being in 1514 by Royal Charter granted by Henry VIII under the name "The Master, Wardens, and Assistants of the Guild, Fraternity, or Brotherhood of the most glorious and undivided Trinity, and of St. Clement in the Parish of Deptford-Strond in the County of Kent." The charter came as a result of a petition put forward on 19 March 1513 by a guild of Deptford-based mariners. They were troubled by the poor conduct of unregulated pilots on the Thames and asked the king for licence to regulate pilotage. The first Master was Thomas Spert (later Sir), sailing master of Henry’s flagship Mary Rose and the Henry Grace à Dieu. The name of the guild derives from the Holy Trinity and St. Clement, the patron saint of mariners. The Master of the Corporation (now an honorary title) is the Princess Royal.