Henry Trengrouse
Encyclopedia
Helston
Helston is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately 12 miles east of Penzance and nine miles southwest of Falmouth. Helston is the most southerly town in the UK and is around further south than...
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, United Kingdom, on 18 March 1772.
He was the son of Nicholas Trengrouse (1739–1814) by his wife, Mary Williams (d. 1784). The family had long been the principal freeholders in Helston. Henry was educated at Helston grammar school, and resided there all his life. Samuel Drew
Samuel Drew
Samuel Drew was an Cornish Methodist theologian. A native of Cornwall, he was nicknamed the "Cornish metaphysician" for his works on the human soul, the nature of God, and the deity of Christ. He also wrote on historical and biographical themes.-Early life and education:Drew was born in the...
was his intimate friend. On 24 December 1807 he witnessed the wreck of the Anson
HMS Anson (1781)
HMS Anson was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Plymouth on 4 September 1781 by Georgina, Duchess of Devonshire.-History:...
frigate in Mount's Bay
Mount's Bay
Mount's Bay is a large, sweeping bay on the English Channel coast of Cornwall in the United Kingdom, stretching from the Lizard Point to Gwennap Head on the eastern side of the Land's End peninsula. Towards the middle of the bay is St Michael's Mount...
, when over a hundred lives were lost, and this disaster led him to devote his life and patrimony to the discovery of some means for saving lives at shipwrecks. He spent much labour in attempting to devise a lifeboat, but produced no satisfactory results, and turned his attention to the ‘Rocket’ life-saving apparatus.
Background
As early as 1791 John Bell (1747–1798) had devised an apparatus for throwing a line to ships from the shore; and, concurrently with Trengrouse, Captain George William ManbyGeorge William Manby
Captain George William Manby FRS , was an English author and inventor. He designed an apparatus for saving life from shipwrecks and also the first modern form of fire extinguisher.-Life:Manby went to school at Downham Market...
was engaged in perfecting an apparatus very similar to Bell's. The idea occurred to Manby in February 1807, and in August he exhibited some experiments to the members of the Suffolk House Humane Society. He sought to establish communication between the shore and the shipwreck by means of a line fastened to a barbed shot which was fired from a mortar on the shore. By means of this line a hawser was drawn out from the shore to the ship, and along it was run a cradle in which the shipwrecked persons were landed. This invention had been recommended by various committees, and adopted to some extent before 1814. Trengrouse's apparatus, which was designed in 1808, was similar to Manby's in the use of the line and hawser, but instead of a mortar he suggested a rocket, and a chair was used instead of a cradle. The distinctive features of the apparatus consisted of ‘a section of a cylinder, which is fitted to the barrel of a musket by a bayonet socket; a rocket with a line attached to its stick is so placed in it that its priming receives fire immediately from the barrel’. The advantages were that the rocket was much lighter and more portable than the mortar; that the cost was much smaller; that there was little risk of the line breaking, because the velocity of a rocket increases gradually, whereas that of a shot fired from a mortar was so great and sudden that the line was frequently broken; the whole of Trengrouse's apparatus could, moreover, be packed in a chest four feet three inches by one foot six inches, and carried by vessels of every size, while Manby contemplated the use of the mortar only on shore, and the safety of the vessel depended therefore on the presence of an apparatus in the vicinity of the wreck.
Recognition
It was not, however, until 28 February 1818, after many journeys to London, that Trengrouse exhibited his apparatus before Admiral Sir Charles RowleySir Charles Rowley, 1st Baronet
Admiral Sir Charles Rowley GCB GCH was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.-Naval career:...
. A committee was appointed, and on 5 March it reported ‘that Mr. Trengrouse's mode appears to be the best that has been suggested for the purpose of saving lives from shipwreck by gaining a communication with the shore; and, so far as the experiments went, it most perfectly answered what was proposed;’ it was also suggested that a specimen apparatus should be placed in every dockyard that naval officers might become familiar with its working. In the same year a committee of the Elder Brethren of Trinity House also reported in its favour, and recommended that ‘no vessel should be without it.’ The government ordered twenty sets, but afterwards preferred to have them constructed by the ordnance department, and paid Trengrouse £50 compensation. In 1821 the Society of Arts awarded him their large silver medal and thirty guineas for the invention. Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
also wrote Trengrouse an autograph letter, presented him with a diamond ring in recognition of the usefulness of his apparatus, and invited him to Russia; but apart from the prize awarded by the Society of Arts and the compensation paid by the government, Trengrouse reaped no pecuniary reward from his invention. An improved rocket was invented by John Dennett in 1826; the one now in use was devised by Colonel Boxer in 1855. The rocket has completely superseded the mortar, and is now, next to the lifeboat, the most important means of saving lives from shipwrecks. Since 1881 nearly five thousand lives have been saved in this way.
Death and memorials
Trengrouse died at Helston on 14 February 1854; by his wife Mary, daughter of Samuel Jenken, he left issue three sons and five daughters. His widow (b. 9 September 1772) died at Helston on 27 March 1863.An example of his life-saving apparatus is on display at Helston Folk Museum
Helston Folk Museum
Helston Museum is a folk museum situated in the former market town of Helston, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.The museum was founded in 1949...
http://www.helstonmuseum.org.uk/home/.
He is buried in the churchyard of St Michael's Church, Helston
Helston
Helston is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately 12 miles east of Penzance and nine miles southwest of Falmouth. Helston is the most southerly town in the UK and is around further south than...
, and is commemorated in the naming of Trengrouse Way, a main thoroughfare in the town.