The story of Grace Darling – a simple tale with a complex heroine

Grace Horsley Darling (1815 – 1842) was born to William and Thomasin Darling in Bamburgh, Northumberland as the seventh of nine children. She spent the majority of her life on the Farne Islands, off the Northumberland coast. Her father, William Darling, was a lighthouse keeper. The lighthouse on Brownsman Island was not in a good position for guiding ships, which eventually led to a more suitable lighthouse being built on Longstone Island. Grace and her family moved there in 1826. 

As a child, Grace loved the outdoors, and she helped her mother with housework and her father with his lighthouse keeping duties. This job mainly involved joining her father in the boat and assisting with rescuing and salvaging shipwrecks, taking turns to watch from the top of the lighthouse, and cleaning and lighting lamps.

She also spent her time studying, after being taught how to read and write by her parents. She had similar interests to her father such as music, history, geography, and Christianity. She was considered to be a shy person by nature, but she was very dutiful and eager to learn. Through assisting her father with the lighthouse, Grace grew up to be a capable woman who could manage a boat. 

The event 

On 5 of September 1838, the SS Forfarshire departed from Hull to begin a routine journey to Dundee. This was a paddle steamer that would hold passengers in luxury accommodation, as well as cargo. During its previous journey, there had been some issues with the boiler – which were fixed by engineers in Hull before setting off. However, the boiler issues continued as the starboard boiler started to leak – causing the ship to lose power and speed.  

Despite these issues and continuous repair attempts, the captain decided to press on instead of going to the nearest harbour. Eventually, the captain was forced to turn off the engines because the boiler couldn’t be repaired. While the weather became progressively worse, the sails had to be set on the two masts – which were only reserved for emergencies. 

The captain then tried to turn the ship to the south, possibly to find safety behind the Farne Islands. The dark night, the tempestuous sea, and the onslaught of rain made for extremely frightening and difficult conditions to navigate.  

Eventually, the captain saw a light – and he directed the ship towards this (possibly thinking this was the Inner Farne lighthouse, which was closest to the mainland). However, this was Longstone Lighthouse – surrounded by dangerous rocks. It was far too late when this was realised, because the ship was then immediately lurched into the air by the fierce sea and she crashed onto Big Harcar Rock, splitting into two – with the front half wedged deeply into the rock. Many passengers and crew were swept away with the back half of the ship. It was estimated to be more than 48 people. Only twelve people were able to cling to the front half of the ship – sadly three of them perished waiting for daylight. 

The rescue 

Grace had been awake in the early hours, watching the storm. Shortly after 5am, to her horror, she spotted the wreck and she alerted her father immediately. They kept constant watch, and it was only once dawn broke that they spotted the survivors on the rocks. They sprang into immediate action, without any hesitation – because they knew that when the help from the nearby Seahouses Lifeboat Station would arrive, it would be too late, and they felt it was their duty to attempt the rescue. 

They took one oar each on their wooden rowing boat, a small but reliable coble. The tide and wind were so ferocious that they had to row for nearly a mile to avoid the jagged rocks and reach the survivors safely.  

William leapt out of the boat and onto the rocks, which left Grace to handle the boat alone. To keep it in one place, she had to take both oars and row backwards and forwards, trying to keep it from being smashed on the reef. On the rocks, William found eight men, including one who was badly injured, and a woman called Sarah Dawson who had sadly lost her two children, James and Matilda, in the disaster.  

The Darlings realised that they would not manage to get everyone into the small coble at once, they would have to make two trips. Sarah, the injured man and three crew members were chosen for this trip, and they arrived safely at the lighthouse. Once at Longstone, Grace remained to help treat the survivors with her mother, whilst her father and two crew members bravely set off in the coble again to retrieve the remainder of the people sheltering on the rocks. By 9am, the rescue was complete, and nine survivors had been rescued from the ship. 

It was discovered later that nine other people from the ship survived that night too, by jumping into one of the ship’s lifeboats before the stern of the ship sank. They were swept away by the current and rescued by a sloop that same night. 

The aftermath 

When people in the mainland heard of the daring rescue, Grace became a celebrity almost overnight. She and her father were awarded several medals, including the RNLI’s Silver Medal for Gallantry, and Gold Medals from the Royal Humane Society.  

Thanks to the Victorian press, she was in almost every newspaper in Britain and was even sometimes portrayed as the lone person who went on the rescue, despite her father’s involvement. She was thrust into the limelight as an unlikely hero – a woman who demonstrated strength and bravery.  

Her bravery led to huge numbers of visitors coming to the Longstone Lighthouse hoping to see her. Admirers sent letters, money and fine gifts to her, and Queen Victoria sent her £50, which would be around £3,000 in today’s money. Songs, plays, poems, books and memorabilia were also made of her – including a famous poem written by William Wordsworth himself.  

Grace was shy in nature, and she did not enjoy the attention. However, she sat for many portraits, wrote thank you letters, and donated locks of her hair (which was common in this period). She even had a number of proposals, but she never married – instead remaining at the Lighthouse to assist her parents. 

Tragically, Grace died 4 years later, aged just 26 in 1842, from tuberculosis. Her early death essentially immortalised her and her bravery. She is still remembered for her courageous actions, and the bravery she demonstrated that night continues to be a representation of the values the RNLI holds today. 

In 1938, 100 years after the rescue, the RNLI Grace Darling Museum was set up in Bamburgh, Northumberland to preserve her life story. You can visit the museum to learn more in detail about Grace’s story and see the coble and other artefacts on display. The museum is open Tuesday to Friday, from 10am to 4pm.