Trinity House is the General Lighthouse Authority for the waters around England and Wales, the Scillies, the Channel Islands and
Gibraltar. It was incorporated by Royal Charter by King Henry VIII in 1514.
Trinity House began a programme of automation of its Lights in the late 1960s and began helicopter operations around 1971, with some of the more remote Lights having helicopter platforms built atop the towers. It has small fleet of Lighthouse Tenders which support helicopter operations from their decks.
In Oct 2014, a 7 year shared services agreement was concluded between Trinity House, the
Northern Lighthouse Board and the
Commissioners of Irish Lights (contracting as the General Lighthouse Authorities of the United Kingdom and Ireland) and PDG Helicopters, to commence in Dec 2015.
