History of Trinity
Trinity charms visitors on at least two accounts. Many newcomers are struck
by the natural beauty of the area, a magnificent harbour and the splendid
maritime setting. Others are touched by a powerful sense of history (Old
Worldliness) and the pride of place instilled by the cultural landscape.
Trinity is a community whose personality has been largely shaped by the sea.
The harbour has been proclaimed as one of the best in Newfoundland, even one
of the finest in the world. The harbour not only provided abundant shelter
and good holding ground, but was also spacious. It was once claimed to hold
the entire British Navy.
Trinity Harbour has provided access to and refuge from the North Atlantic
since the early 16th century when it was first used by European fishermen.
West Countrymen from England began using it as a summer station in the
migratory fishery in the 1570s, and in 1615 Richard Whitbourne (later Sir
Richard) held a Court of the Admiralty, the first of its kind in the New
World. Since then Trinity has been the scene of many other significant
historical events.
- excerpt from Gordon Handcock's "The Story of Trinity", a publication of the
Trinity Historical Society