A Red and White Striped Lighthouse
In the far-off summer of 2005, before I started writing this blog, I went on holiday to Seahouses, in Northumberland.
From there regular boat trips run to the nearby Farne Islands - there are grey seals, puffins and huge colonies of other seabirds. We enjoyed the first trip so much that we did a slightly different trip again a few days later, this time landing on the island of Inner Farne.
There are many small islands making up the Farne Islands, and the area is very dangerous for shipping. Here's a photo I took as our boat made its way between two of the islands:
There are several lighthouses in the area. And I love lighthouses. There's always something very comforting about a light in the darkness: and then add to that the romance of the sea, the waves crashing around the base of the lighthouse -- wonderful. - - Yes, yes, phallic symbolism too, I know, I know, you can stop giggling right now.
The most famous lighthouse nearby is the Longstone Lighthouse, and here's the photo I took of it on a calm summer day:
That lighthouse is, of course, mostly famous for one woman: Grace Darling.
Grace Darling lived at the Longstone Lighthouse in the 1830s with her father William, who was the lighthouse-keeper. (The BBC article I've linked to, above, has an illustration of the lighthouse on Inner Farne. There is indeed a lighthouse on Inner Farne, but it's a different one. The Longstone Lighthouse is this stripy one, which is further out to sea.)
On 6 September 1838, there was a huge storm and the ship SS Forfarshire went down on some rocks, three-quarters of a mile from the Longstone Lighthouse. Nine survivors were stranded there. Grace Darling and her father set off in a rowing boat to rescue them.
The boat that we were on travelled past the rock where the ship went down and then went on to the Longstone Lighthouse, to show us the journey that Grace and her father made.
And, even on a calm summer's day, it seemed nearly impossible. There are so many rocks, and currents amongst the rocks, and three-quarters of a mile is quite a way to row in any kind of a current.
Grace and her father did the journey in a terrible storm, there and back. Twice. They collected some of the shipwrecked sailors, took them to the lighthouse, then went back for the rest: there were nine in all. They all had to stay on the lighthouse for two days until the storm abated.
When word got round, there was a media frenzy of the kind that we don't really think used to happen in Victorian times.
Her name probably helped: Grace Darling is a much better heroine-name than, say, Bertha Higginbottom. And she was young, and female, and attractive. Portrait-painters queued up and her image - using the new technology of the time - was plastered on everything from pottery to tea-caddies. Over-written accounts abounded, suggesting that she had heard the cries of the stranded seamen (from inside a lighthouse, in a storm) and set off to rescue them.
She died of tuberculosis four years later, thus ensuring her status as Glamorous Dead Heroine.
But none of it should take away from what Grace and her father achieved that night. It was amazing. In spite of all the hype, she's my heroine.
From there regular boat trips run to the nearby Farne Islands - there are grey seals, puffins and huge colonies of other seabirds. We enjoyed the first trip so much that we did a slightly different trip again a few days later, this time landing on the island of Inner Farne.
There are many small islands making up the Farne Islands, and the area is very dangerous for shipping. Here's a photo I took as our boat made its way between two of the islands:
There are several lighthouses in the area. And I love lighthouses. There's always something very comforting about a light in the darkness: and then add to that the romance of the sea, the waves crashing around the base of the lighthouse -- wonderful. - - Yes, yes, phallic symbolism too, I know, I know, you can stop giggling right now.The most famous lighthouse nearby is the Longstone Lighthouse, and here's the photo I took of it on a calm summer day:
That lighthouse is, of course, mostly famous for one woman: Grace Darling. Grace Darling lived at the Longstone Lighthouse in the 1830s with her father William, who was the lighthouse-keeper. (The BBC article I've linked to, above, has an illustration of the lighthouse on Inner Farne. There is indeed a lighthouse on Inner Farne, but it's a different one. The Longstone Lighthouse is this stripy one, which is further out to sea.)
On 6 September 1838, there was a huge storm and the ship SS Forfarshire went down on some rocks, three-quarters of a mile from the Longstone Lighthouse. Nine survivors were stranded there. Grace Darling and her father set off in a rowing boat to rescue them.
The boat that we were on travelled past the rock where the ship went down and then went on to the Longstone Lighthouse, to show us the journey that Grace and her father made.
And, even on a calm summer's day, it seemed nearly impossible. There are so many rocks, and currents amongst the rocks, and three-quarters of a mile is quite a way to row in any kind of a current.
Grace and her father did the journey in a terrible storm, there and back. Twice. They collected some of the shipwrecked sailors, took them to the lighthouse, then went back for the rest: there were nine in all. They all had to stay on the lighthouse for two days until the storm abated.
When word got round, there was a media frenzy of the kind that we don't really think used to happen in Victorian times.
Her name probably helped: Grace Darling is a much better heroine-name than, say, Bertha Higginbottom. And she was young, and female, and attractive. Portrait-painters queued up and her image - using the new technology of the time - was plastered on everything from pottery to tea-caddies. Over-written accounts abounded, suggesting that she had heard the cries of the stranded seamen (from inside a lighthouse, in a storm) and set off to rescue them.
She died of tuberculosis four years later, thus ensuring her status as Glamorous Dead Heroine.
But none of it should take away from what Grace and her father achieved that night. It was amazing. In spite of all the hype, she's my heroine.
posted by Daphne at 6:02 pm
6 Comments:
Ohhhh you said phallic.....tee-heee.
I totally agree. It's a disgrace the way Bertha Higginbottom has been overlooked by history. If it wasn't for her, that cat could still be up that tree.
Malc - I expect poor Bertha wasn't photogenic either. Whereas Grace Darling presumably was. Or the Oil Painting equivalent, anyway.
Ian - I have presented you with a sensitively-written, poetic Oeuvre and you have lowered the tone by introducing Smut.
Keep it up.
Funny they never made the film - or did they and I missed it. (I'm talking about Grace, not Bertha of course)
cool heroine, I need to get myself one..I love the photos too especially the top one. I'd enlarge it and frame it, it would be a beautiful one to look at every day.
I'm a photograph editor, so I can help if you want to do that let me know.
And the Strawbs did a nice song about Grace back in the 70s, too!
Hi, Daphne....
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