E.W.Grounds Station
LV55
Trinity House lightvessel no. 55
- active from 1886 until 1954
the English and Welsh Grounds station in Bristol Channel (1939-1942 and 1947-1953).
now named JOHN SEBASTIAN was built in 1885 as a lightvessel (LV 55) as a batch order of three (LV54, LV55 and LV59) by Charles Hill & Sons, Albion Yard, Bristol, for Trinity House. The hull type was wood with iron beams. She was sold out of service in 1954 to Portishead for scrap where her lantern and metal work was removed. She is now owned by Cabot Cruising Club, Bathurst Basin, Bristol. When the Light Vessel was on Bristol Channel duty moored 12 miles out from Avonmouth, there was a tradition for members of the Cruising Club to visit taking newspapers and other gifts for the crew.
The English & Welsh Grounds lightvessel station
Located in the Bristol Channel it marked a turn in the deep-water channel between Breaksea Light vessel off Barry and the Black Nore Point Lighthouse at Portishead on the approaches to Bristol's docks, between the English and Welsh Grounds sandbanks. Senior members of crew were posted to this station, as she was moored in calmer water compared to the other lighvessels off the Welsh coast, but she would regularly be enveloped by fog. During the time they were used a number of different light vessels were permanently stationed there, when they came off station for essential maintenance and repairs they would have a temporary replacement,
When the light vessel was on Bristol Channel duty moored 12 miles out from Avonmouth, there was a tradition for members of the Cabot Cruising Club to visit taking newspapers and other gifts for the crew.
As manned light vessels were withdrawn it was replaced by a light buoy, one of which is still there today.
Lightvessel stations around the Bristol channel, the map below shows locations of five stations those being
BREAKSEA (off Breaksea Spit, Bristol Channel) 1866-2006 no.9(sunk 2/1896).no.13 no.11 no.14 no.6
HELWICK (off Worms Head.) 1846-1988 no.51(sunk 10/ 8/1943) no.56 n0.66 no.71 no.92 no.91 no.10 no.14
SCARWEATHER (Swansea Bay"Skerweather 1862-1988 no.47(sunk 30/1/1942) no.75 no.15 no.14 no.4
ST GOWAN (off Pembrokeshire coast) "St Govan" 1907-1993 no.92 no.75 no.11 no.22
ENGLISH AND WELSH GROUNDS. 1838-1990/5?
The New York Times reported -
LONDON, Dec. 17.1916 -- Numerous shipping accidents are reported owing to Saturday's heavy fog. The crew of the English and Welsh Ground Lightship have been landed at Barry, and report that the lightship was sunk in collision with the steamer Welshman
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The 1954 winter hurricane force storms that ravaged the Coast of Britain, Trinity House crews were amongst those that lost their lives,
The Madera Tribune USA reported
30 November 1954
The Welsh Ground light-ship broke loose from its moorings during the night but managed to hook another anchor. Seven persons died Saturday when the South Goodwin lightship dragged free and capsized. The North Goodwin lightship- was dragged six tenths of a mile.
St GOWANLVno.92 was also found to be off station during the storms
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I am currently researching for information on the vessels that served on the EW Grounds,
LV no,34 sunk 16.12.1916
LV no.55 (14.7.1939-18.1.1942 and 18.3.1947-1.9.1953)
LV no.72
LV no.66 2nd Decemeber 1954
LV no.72
LV no.91
LV no. 85
LV85
date unknown,,,
Served on
E.W. Grounds
Barrow Deep
Sunk station.
LV91
image taken at Swansea in 1966, she served on the Helwick station for 6 years and is now on display at the Maritime Museum .This light vessel was built as No. 91 for the Corporation of Trinity House by Philip and Son Ltd. of Dartmouth in 1937. She was deployed on various stations, her first being the Humber from 1937 to 1942. On 3 April 1942 she was damaged in collision with steamer MAURICE ROSE... and again on 1 September 1942, she was hit by the steamer ARMATHIA. She moved to her final station, the Helwick, off the Worm's Head, for the last six years of her sea-service from 1971 to 1977. Like nearly all lightships she is not self-propelled, being towed to each station by a tug. Her diesel engines were used to generate electricity to power the light and to make compressed air to operate the fog horn. LV 91 had eight 110 volt (375 watt) lamps giving 650,000 candle power. Whilst stationed on Helwick her lamp sequence was 0.5 second flash and 9.5 second eclipse. Her fog horn, powered by compressed air at 35lbs per square inch sounded one blast of three seconds followed by twenty seven seconds of silence. Her full complement of crew was two masters and nine men who rotated on a four week cycle with only seven onboard at any one time. The crew were relieved by boat right up until her retirement as the layout of the deck with two masts meant that there was no space to build a landing platform for helicopters. Swansea Museum acquired LV 91 in 1977 with a 50% grant from the Science Museum and monies raised by The Friends of the Maritime and Industrial Museum.
ALK's LAMP magazine, with their permission, taken from Sept & Dec 1990 issues. are photos of No.1 Light float E.W.Grounds,at the Swansea TH depot Kings dock,, the float shows a gas light, and is fitted with a bell and Racon beacon
On the 2nd Decemeber 1954 No 66 Lightvessel laid at the E.W.Grounds station,
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In addition to naming the light vessels that served on the E.W.Grounds, the following census records were found listing crew names.
1891 - Unknown LV no.
1901 - Unknown LV no.
records from www.uk-fh-sources.com
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