20/10/2026
On this day in 1842, Grace Horsley Darling sadly passed away aged 26 years old. In the early hours of 7 September 1838, the S.S. Forfarshire carrying 60 people foundered on the rocks of Big Harcar, part of the Farne Islands. William Darling, the Longstone Lighthouse keeper and his daughter Grace mounted an extraordinary attempt to rescue the survivors using a coble, as at the time the weather was too rough for the lifeboat from North Sunderland. Grace and her father managed to save eight men and one woman. A further group of eight sailors and one passenger in one of the ships lifeboats were later picked up by a passing schooner. In total, 42 people lost their lives including the two children of Mrs. Dawson the only female to have survived the shipwreck.
2026 marks 200 years since the iconic Longstone lighthouse was built.
Northumberland Archives hold the Darling family of Bamburgh records
[NRO 03126] and letters & drawings in our Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle Upon Tyne collection [SANT]
Grace Darling & Her Father image - SANT/BEQ/14/1/11
You can also discover more about this courageous lady on our Shipwrecks & Rescues LEARN module.
northumberlandarchives.com/learn/shipwrecksrescues/
