Brighton Lifeboat Station
Brighton Lifeboat Station
(Now under re-development[1])
Brighton Lifeboat Station is located in East Sussex
Brighton Lifeboat Station
Location of Brighton Lifeboat station
within East Sussex
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
Architectural styleSteelframe Boathouse
with brick and block construction
LocationBrighton Marina, East Sussex, BN2 5UF
CountryEngland
Coordinates50°48′39.6″N 0°06′15.4″W / 50.811000°N 0.104278°W / 50.811000; -0.104278
Opened1825 - 1931
re-established in 1965
Owner Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Technical details
MaterialConcrete, 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 This lifeboat was withdrawn in 1931, and the station now operates as an inshore lifeboat station.[3] As of 2012, the current lifeboat is the Atlantic 85 RNLB Random Harvest (B-852).[3]

Location

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

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when the construction of the Madeira sea-wall and Madeira Drive was completed.[5][6] At that time, the lifeboat was withdrawn from the town, and it was not until 1858 that another station was opened in Brighton.[7]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

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

After 1931, Brighton had no lifeboats of its own until it received an inflatable D-class 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 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

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, (B-852) Random Harvest was placed on service on 8 September 2011.[10] Atlantic 75-class lifeboat (B-737) Thelma Glossop was transferred to Loch Ness where she served for another 2 years. [8]

Fleet

All-Weather Lifeboats

ON[lower-alpha 1] Name In service [8] Class Comments
145 Sunlight No.2 1888–1904
501 Reserve No.6A 1923–1924 Formerly Dash at Blyth
539 William Wallis 1904–1931 All-Weather lifeboat withdrawn, station closed 1931

Inshore Lifeboats

Op. No.[lower-alpha 2] Name In service [8] Class Comments
D-39 Unnamed 1965–67 D-class
D-158 Unnamed 1968 D-class
D-178 Unnamed 1970–1974 D-class Station Closed 1974
A-509 Unnamed 1978 McLachlan-class Station Reopened 1978
B-539 Lions International District 105 SE 1978–1989 Atlantic 21-class
B-577 Graham Hillier and Tony Carter 1989–1997 Atlantic 21-class
B-737 Thelma Glossop[11] 1997–2011 Atlantic 75-class
B-852 Random Harvest[12] 2011– Atlantic 85-class
  1. ↑ ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
  2. ↑ Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

Neighbouring Station Locations

References

  1. 1 2 "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.
  2. ↑ "Brighton Lifeboat Station – RNLI website". Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Brighton Lifeboat – A Brief History". Brighton Lifeboat Station. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  4. ↑ "A Little More About What We Do". Brighton Lifeboat Station. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ "History of Madeira Drive - Brighton". This Brighton. Archived from the original on 18 November 2007. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 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
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2023). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2023. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society.
  9. ↑ "Brighton Lifeboat Station – RNLI website". Reference within the History tab on the home page. RNLI © 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  10. ↑ "Brighton Station History". RNLI. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  11. ↑ "Brighton's Atlantic 75 Named". RNLI. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  12. ↑ "Random Harvest: new RNLI lifeboat launched". My Brighton and Hove. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.