Brighton Lifeboat Station
Brighton Lifeboat Station | |
---|---|
General information | |
Type | RNLI Lifeboat Station |
Architectural style | Steelframe Boathouse with brick and block construction |
Location | Brighton Marina, East Sussex, BN2 5UF |
Country | England |
Coordinates | 50°48′39.6″N 0°06′15.4″W / 50.811000°N 0.104278°W |
Opened | 1825 - 1931 re-established in 1965 |
Owner | Royal National Lifeboat Institution |
Technical details | |
Material | Concrete, brick, block and Steel |
Brighton Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station located in Brighton in the English county of East Sussex in the United Kingdom.[2] It was originally established in 1825 as an all-weather lifeboat station. This lifeboat was withdrawn in 1931, and the station now operates as an inshore lifeboat station.[3] As of 2012[update], the current lifeboat is the B-class (Atlantic 85) Random Harvest (B-852).[3]
Location[edit]
The station is located in the marina area of Brighton and is co-ordinated from HM Coastguards at Lee-on-Solent. Being an inshore station, the majority of the station's services are within two miles of the station. The station is called to an average of sixty rescues a year.[4]
History[edit]
The National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, the forerunner of the RNLI, first opened a lifeboat station in Brighton in 1824. The lifeboat for this station was kept in a cave, close to the Chain Pier. The service operated from this cave until 1837, when the construction of the Madeira sea-wall and Madeira Drive was completed.[5][6] At that time, the lifeboat was withdrawn from the town, and it was not until 1858 that another station was opened in Brighton.[7]
1858–1931[edit]
In 1858, the town council provided an area on the beach for a new boathouse opposite the Bedford Hotel close to the West Pier.[7] The station was relocated twice in the next decades, once in 1868 and again in 1886 following improvements to the Brighton seafront.[7] After 1886, the station was located on the Western Esplanade between the two piers. The site was used until 1931 when the RNLI withdrew the all-weather boat from the town after nearby Shoreham Station was equipped with a motor lifeboat.[7]
1965 - Inshore lifeboats[edit]
After 1931, Brighton had no lifeboats of its own until it received an inflatable D-class (IB1) inshore lifeboat in 1965, funded from public donations. D-class lifeboats served until the winter of 1974 and the station was closed in 1975.
In 1978 the station re-opened at the new Brighton Marina where a pontoon was provided for the RNLI at the cost of £10,000.[7] A McLachlan-class lifeboat (A-509) was placed on service until the Atlantic 21 Lions International (B-539) became fully operational in 1979.[8]
In 1981 a permanent boathouse was constructed and a temporary shelter was installed on the nearby quayside to house the crew facilities. This new permanent station was the RNLI's first floating lifeboat station.[7]
In 1997 the station was provided with a larger B-class (Atlantic 75) lifeboat called Thelma Glossop (B-737).[8] The new lifeboat arrived on the station on 1 July of that year.
1999 and 2014 improvements[edit]
In 1999 work began on the construction of new shore facilities for the station on the quayside within the marina. The work was completed in 2000 at a cost of £299.775.[9]
In January 2014, the station's facilities were closed and the station moved to temporary accommodation nearby. The 2000 building was demolished as part of the £235 million[1] re-development and expansion of the Brighton Marina.
A new Atlantic 85-class lifeboat, Random Harvest (B-852) was placed on service on 8 September 2011.[10] Atlantic 75-class lifeboat Thelma Glossop (B-737) was transferred to Loch Ness where she served for another 2 years.[8]
Station Honours[edit]
The following are awards made at Brighton[10][11]
- Captain Digby Marsh, RN, coastguard, - 1840
- Charles Watts - 1824
- Lt. Edward Franklin, RN, coastguard - 1838
- Lt. George Franklyn, RN, coastguard- 1839
- Lt. Nathaniel Newnham, RN, coastguard - 1840
- Lt. Thomas Henry Prior, RN, coastguard - 1840
- Lt. James Pratt, RN, coastguard - 1840
- Richard Pearce, Helmsman - 1996
- Martin Ebdell, crew member - 1996
- Edward Purches, crew member - 1996
- The Maud Smith Award 1995
(for the bravest act of lifesaving during the year by a member of a lifeboat crew)
- Richard Pearce, Helmsman - 1996
- The Walter and Elizabeth Groombridge Award 1995
(for the outstanding inshore lifeboat rescue of the year)
- Richard Pearce, Helmsman - 1996
- Edward Purches, crew member - 1996
- Martin Ebdell, crew member - 1996
- The Walter and Elizabeth Groombridge Award 1997
(for the outstanding inshore lifeboat rescue of the year)
- Mark Smith, Helmsman - 1998
- Mark Hayes, crew member - 1998
- The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
- Alan John Young, Helmsman - 1986
- Roger George Cohen, crew member - 1986
- Stanley Todd, crew member - 1986
- Mark Smith, Helmsman - 1997
- Mark Hayes, crew member - 1997
- Mark Smith, Helmsman - 2011
- A framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution
- G Wheeler - 1967
- P Avey - 1967
- E C Newman - 1967
- Brighton Lifeboat Station - 1996
- Mr Peter Apps, Auxiliary Coastguard - 1996
- Mr Nick Gilbert, Auxiliary Coastguard - 1996
- Berenice McCall, crew member - 1997
- Anthony Parsons, crew member - 1997
- Marcus Morris, crew member - 2011
Brighton Lifeboats[edit]
All-weather lifeboats[edit]
ON[a] | Name | In service [8] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
– | Unnamed | 1825–1837 | 20-foot Norfolk & Suffolk-class (P&S) | [14] Station Closed, 1837 |
– | Unnamed | 1858–1867 | 30-foot Self-righting (P&S) | Station Opened, 1858 [14] |
– | Robert Raikes | 1867–1874 | 33-foot Self-righting (P&S) | [14] |
– | Robert Raikes | 1874–1888 | 32-foot Self-righting (P&S) | [14] |
145 | Sunlight No.2 | 1888–1904 | 34-foot Self-righting (P&S) | |
539 | William Wallis | 1904–1923 | 35-foot Self-righting (P&S) | |
501 | Reserve No.6A | 1923–1924 | 35-foot Self-righting (P&S) | Formerly Dash at Blyth |
539 | William Wallis | 1924–1931 | 35-foot Self-righting (P&S) | All-Weather lifeboat withdrawn, station closed 1931 |
Inshore Lifeboats[edit]
Op. No.[b] | Name | In service [8] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
D-39 | Unnamed | 1965–1967 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-158 | Unnamed | 1968 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-178 | Unnamed | 1970–1974 | D-class (RFD PB16) | Station Closed 1974 |
A-509 | Unnamed | 1978 | McLachlan-class | Station Reopened 1978 |
B-539 | Lions International District 105 SE | 1978–1989 | B-class (Atlantic 21) | |
B-577 | Graham Hillier and Tony Carter | 1989–1997 | B-class (Atlantic 21) | |
B-737 | Thelma Glossop | 1997–2011 | B-class (Atlantic 75) | [15] |
B-852 | Random Harvest | 2011– | B-class (Atlantic 85) | [16] |
Neighbouring Station Locations[edit]
See also[edit]
- List of RNLI stations
- Royal National Lifeboat Institution
- Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Brighton RNLI relocates while bigger, better base is built". News about the re-location of the lifeboat station. The Argus © 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- ^ "Brighton Lifeboat Station – RNLI website". Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
- ^ a b "Brighton Lifeboat – A Brief History". Brighton Lifeboat Station. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
- ^ "A Little More About What We Do". Brighton Lifeboat Station. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
- ^ Royal Institute of British Architects (1988). A Guide to the Buildings of Brighton. Macclesfield, Cheshire: McMillan Martin. p. 58. ISBN 1-869865-03-0. OCLC 44523940.
- ^ "History of Madeira Drive - Brighton". This Brighton. Archived from the original on 18 November 2007. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f For Those In Peril – The Lifeboat Service of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, Station by Station. Author: Leach, Nicholas. Publisher: Silver Link Publishing Ltd, First Issue 1999. Work:Part 2, South Coast of England – Eastbourne to Weston-super-Mare, Page 72, Brighton Lifeboat Station. ISBN 1 85794 129 2
- ^ a b c d e Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society. pp. 4–132.
- ^ "Brighton Lifeboat Station – RNLI website". Reference within the History tab on the home page. RNLI © 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
- ^ a b "Brighton Station History". RNLI. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. ISBN 0 907605 89 3.
- ^ "Ordinary Members of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order of the British Empire". The Gazette. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
- ^ Mellor, Hatti (9 November 2022). "Brighton RNLI volunteer awarded MBE after 40 years service". RNLI. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2021). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2021 (2021 ed.). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 2–18.
- ^ "Brighton's Atlantic 75 Named". RNLI. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ "Random Harvest: new RNLI lifeboat launched". My Brighton and Hove. Retrieved 24 April 2012.