The people

The cooperative elects its officers every leap year at the anniversary supper. Between elections, the day-to-day running of the workshop is shared by the officers below and a rota of member-owners.

Our chief lampwright is Tamsin Quarrendell. She joined as an apprentice glass-cutter in 2003, designed the Gullwatch in 2011, and now signs off every lantern before it goes to the test jetty. Her initials are scratched inside the base of each lantern she approves.

The treasurer is Idris Pellowmane, who keeps the cooperative's books in the same ledger format the founders used and reads every invoice aloud at the monthly meeting. The tide engineer is Wenna Solcombe, who maintains the test jetty and the float lines, and who keeps the tide tables pinned beside the green door.

Odalys Ferncastle, the founder, retired from the workshop floor in 2014. She still comes to the anniversary supper and still tells the story of the Stubborn Candle, a little differently every four years.