ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the multiple meanings associated with the light beam itself and the uses to which it has been put, whether for observation, drama, war, intimidation or festivity. Fokko Jan Dijksterhuis highlights two aspects of lighthouse beams. First, they are territorial markers that delineate the – sometimes shifting – division between land and sea. Second, he explores how the lighthouse's optical signature supplanted the confusion caused by indistinguishable sources of light and thwarted the aims of the wreckers who might lure ships towards shore by using 'false lights'. Trinity House is a multi-functional organisation acting as the General Lighthouse Authority (GLA) and Deep Sea Pilotage Authority (DPSA) for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar, as well as continuing to provide charitable welfare and other forms of support for mariners. The politics of lighting were largely focused on the costs of building and maintaining lighthouses.
