| Lightships |
| There were
originally four lightships on the approach to the
River Mersey: Crosby, Formby, Bar
and North West. The Bar lightship was
off the tip of Taylors Bank, out from Formby
Point. Lighthouses of the World by
Alexander G. Findlay (1861) tells us that Crosby
Lightship was 'off the north east elbow of Burbo
Bank', that Formby Lightship was 'at the elbow of
Crosby and Queen's Channels' and that the North
West Lightship was 'off the Horse and Helbre
Channels'. |
| An article
from the Liverpool Mercury in 1907, Life
on the Mersey Lightships, provides a vivid
description of life on board: |
| |
Theirs is a
cheerless task, their lonely vigil being rarely
broken with the sounds beyond the howling of the
wind, the surging and dashing of the waves or the
shriek of the sea bids. [...] Silently and
unobstructively the lightships fulfil their
mission of guiding vessels along the right
channels when entering or leaving port. Plainly
rigged and, carrying only sufficient sail to use
in an emergency, the lightships proclaim their
use by the prominence of the 'cage', or apparatus
for holding the light. They are the lamps of the
channel and their beacons are regularly and
properly trimmed all through the night by the men
on watch. The crew of each ship consists of 8 men
and the Captain, two or three are on duty at one
time during the 24hrs of the day. One man at
least is always on deck, to do lookout, to attend
to the signals and foghorns and to see the
lights. The ships are kept scrupulously clean, on
deck and below. The seamen are a handy body, they
have to do their own cleaning, cooking, mending,
washing and sewing, a good deal of this is
necessary as they are on duty for 2 mths at a
time, they then have the joy of a month on shore.
About once a week the ships are visited by the
Dock Board vessel which conveys to the men fresh
supplies of food and other necessities, and one
can understand how welcome such visits are, so
far from and yet so near to shore. |
|
 |
| Traditional
lightship c.1800 |
|
