Newhaven Lifeboat Station
Newhaven Lifeboat Station
Newhaven Lifeboat Station is located in East Sussex
Newhaven Lifeboat Station
Location of Newhaven Lifeboat Station
within East Sussex
General information
TypeRNLI lifeboat station
Architectural styleSteel-frame boathouse
built on stanchions with
brick and block construction
LocationWest Quay, Newhaven, East Sussex, BN9 9BT
CountryEngland
Coordinates50°47′19″N 0°03′13″E / 50.78856°N 0.05374°E / 50.78856; 0.05374
Opened1803–1809
re-established in 1825–1829 and 1852
Owner Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Technical details
MaterialConcrete, brick, block and steel

Newhaven Lifeboat Station is an RNLI[1] station located in the town of Newhaven in the English county of East Sussex in the United Kingdom.[2] The station operates as an all-weather lifeboat station. The original station was established in 1803 and taken over by the RNLI in 1854.[3] The current lifeboat (2014) is the Severn class David and Elizabeth Acland (ON 1243).

Location

Newhaven lifeboat station is situated on the west bank of the River Ouse within the Port of Newhaven, which is one of only two navigable harbours between the Isle of Wight to the west and Dover to the east. The Port of Newhaven[4] is a busy commercial port with a ferry terminal.[5] The harbour opens out onto the English Channel, one of the busiest stretches of waterway in the world.[6]

History

Newhaven’s first lifeboat was established in 1803[4] when a lifeboat which had been built to a design by Henry Greathead,[4] the pioneering rescue lifeboat builder from South Shields, was placed on station in the town. The lifeboat was funded partly by a donation from Lloyd's of London, and the rest from locally raised donations.[7] The lifeboat was one of 31 of this type of lifeboat built by Greathead from his design of 1789 known as the Original. This type of lifeboat was designed to work in the shallow waters off the east coast of England,[8] but in small and open harbours like Newhaven, the Greathead-class boats were not popular because of their weight and the large number of crew needed to man them.[8] Evidently this was the case at Newhaven, and the lifeboat was not liked or trusted by the local volunteer lifeboat crew, and it was never launched to a service.[4] In 1809 the boat was taken from the station and sent to Brighton.[3]

In 1825 the forerunner of the RNLI, the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, supplied a lifeboat to the town. There was still no boathouse in the town, and so this lifeboat when not in use was stored out in the open under a tarpaulin. This boat was in service at the town until 1829.

In 1852 Newhaven was provided with a lifeboat by the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners Royal Benevolent Society.[9]

A boathouse was constructed in 1867 to house the RNLI's first lifeboat, RNLB Thomas Chapman, which had replaced RNLB The Friend in Need in 1863. In 1909 a new lifeboat house and slipway were constructed on the east bank of the River Ouse.

Fleet

ON[lower-alpha 1] Op. No.[lower-alpha 2] Name In Service [10] Class Comments
211 Michael Henry 1881–1897
407 Michael Henry 1897–1905 37ft Self-righter
343 Reserve No.2A 1904 Previously J. McConnel Hussey
265 Reserve No.3A 1905–1908 Previously Quiver No.1
407 Michael Henry 1907–1912 37ft Self-righter
628 Sir Fitzroy Clayton 1912–1918 38ft Self-righter
628 Sir Fitzroy Clayton 1919–1930 38ft Self-righter
730 Cecil and Lilian Philpott 1930–1959 45ft 6in Watson-class
950 Kathleen Mary 1959–1977 47ft Watson-class Last slipway launched boat
1045 44-019 Louis Marchesi of Round Table 1977–1985 Waveney-class
1106 52-32 Keith Anderson 1985–1999 Arun-class
1243 17-21 David and Elizabeth Acland 1999– Severn-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

See also

Royal National Lifeboat Institution List of RNLI stations

References

  1. ↑ "Newhaven Lifeboat Station – RNLI website". Home page of the Newhaven station. RNLI © 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  2. ↑ OS Explorer map 122: Brighton and Hove. Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. ISBN 978 0319240816
  3. 1 2 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 71, Newhaven Lifeboat Station. ISBN 1 85794 129 2
  4. 1 2 3 4 Heroes All! – The story of the RNLI. Author: Beilby, Alec. Publisher: Patrick Stephens Ltd, First edition, 1992. Work; Chapter 17, Page 170, description of the Station. ISBN 9 781852604196
  5. ↑ Ports of the World – 1979. Editor: Reithmuller, John. Publisher: Derek H. Deere. Thirty Second Edition. Work: Page 109, The Port of Newhaven. ISBN 0510491553
  6. ↑ "The Dover Strait". Reference to the amount of shipping in the channel. Maritime and Coastguard Agency. 2007. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  7. ↑ "Historic Newhaven". Reference to the funding of the Greathead lifeboat. Newhaven Town Council. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  8. 1 2 Riders of the Storm – The story of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Author: Cameron, Ian. Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. First Edition, 2002. Work: Chapter 1, Beyond all human aid. Page 19. reference to the Greathead lifeboat and its utilization. ISBN 9780297607908
  9. ↑ "History of the Shipwrecked Mariners Society". History Details about the SFMRBS. Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners’ Royal Benevolent Society. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  10. ↑ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2023). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2023. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society.
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