Brighton Lifeboat Station

Brighton Lifeboat Station is located in the seaside town of Brighton in the county of East Sussex.^[2]

Brighton Lifeboat Station
Brighton Lifeboat Station (Now under re-development[1])
Location of Brighton Lifeboat station within East Sussex
General information
Type	RNLI Lifeboat Station
Architectural style	Steel-frame Boathouse with brick and block construction
Address	The Boardwalk. Brighton Marina
Town or city	Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 5ZB
Country	England
Coordinates	50°48′39.6″N 0°06′15.4″W
Opened	1825 / 1858 / 1965
Closed	1831 / 1931
Owner	Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Website
Brighton RNLI Lifeboat Station

The station is located in the marina area of Brighton and is co-ordinated from H.M. Coastguard 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.^[3]

A lifeboat was first placed at Brighton in 1809. A lifeboat station was first established by the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS) in 1825, operating until 1837. Then followed a succession of privately operated lifeboats, some continuing in service until 1932. A new lifeboat station was opened by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1858, which was in operation until 1931.^[4]

Brighton Lifeboat Station was re-opened in 1965 as an Inshore lifeboat station. It currently operates a B-class (Atlantic 85) Inshore lifeboat, Random Harvest (B-852), on station since 2011.^[5]

History

The first lifeboat to be placed at Brighton was a 22-foot long lifeboat, one of 31 built by Henry Greathead of South Shields, from his design of 1789 known as the Original. It had been placed at Newhaven in 1803, but this type of lifeboat was designed to work in the shallow waters off the east coast of England, and was not well liked at Newhaven.^[6]

Previously funded by Mr. John Godlee, with a £50 donation from Lloyd's of London, and with both parties in agreement, the boat was transferred to Brighton, arriving in 1909. No service records have been found, other than in 1816, the boat was reported to have 'rotted away'.^[4]

The Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS), the forerunner of the RNLI, first opened a lifeboat station in Brighton in 1825. 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.^[7][8] At that time, the RNIPLS lifeboat was withdrawn.^[9]

However, 1837 saw the introduction of a series of private lifeboats, operated by Brighton Humane Society, Brighton Town Council, and Mr. John Wright, the latter using a boat formerly operated by the Humane Society.^[4]

1857–1932

In 1854, the RNIPLS became the RNLI. Following a public meeting in Brighton in 1857, the RNLI agreed to establish a new lifeboat station at Brighton. A 30-foot Self-righting 'pulling and sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with oars and sails, was ordered from Forrestt of Limehouse. After trials on the Regent's Canal on 17 June 1858, the boat, and its new carriage, were transported to Brighton free of charge by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, arriving in July 1858. An Arch under the east promenade was provided as a boathouse by Brighton Town Council for a peppercorn rent of one-shilling per annum. The lifeboat, which was never named, made only 3 launches on service.^[4]

The RNLI provided a new boat for Brighton in 1867. Funded from money raised by Sunday School children, the lifeboat was named Robert Raikes after the philanthropist and Anglican layman. 24,000 children were present when the boat was formally handed to the RNLI at the Agricultural Hall, in Islington. A new boathouse, with a flat roof, was constructed on the beach, opposite the Bedford Hotel, close to the West Pier. Under the terms of the lease, the flat roof "had to be made available for local Band Concerts".^[4][9]

Lifeboat Arches, Brighton

The 1867 boathouse would be in use for just 20 years. In 1885, much of the beach was washed away, and new groynes were installed to recapture the sand. This created much difficulty when trying to launch the lifeboat, so two arches, No. 109 and No. 110, in the newly created western promenade, were leased to the RNLI. One was used for storage, and the other to house the new 34-foot lifeboat which arrived in 1888. Sunlight No.2 (ON 145) was one of two lifeboats funded from a 'Sunlight Soap Competition' by Lever Brothers, Sunlight No.1 (ON 124) being placed at Llandudno. Arch No. 111 was used to house the Brighton Town Council lifeboat John Whittingham.^[2][4][10]

In 1929, heavy silting at the entrance to Shoreham harbour disappeared, and the RNLI re-opened the Shoreham Harbour Lifeboat Station, with a motor-powered lifeboat. The Brighton RNLI lifeboat William Wallis (ON 539) was withdrawn on 7 July 1931, and the RNLI station closed. The Brighton Town Council boat John Whittingham was withdrawn in 1932.^[4][9][11]

1965 - Inshore lifeboats

In 1965, the RNLI re-opened the lifeboat station at Brighton, placing a fast Inshore D-class lifeboat (D-39) on service, in response to the huge increase in all forms of water activity. The Inshore boat could be launched quickly with two or three people, and didn't need a crew of seven or eight men, and multiple shore crew to help launch the boat. The boat, which cost £650, had been funded by the customers of 'The Rising Sun' public-house in London, and was kept in one of the promenade arches. It was replaced in 1970 by D-178. The Inshore station closed temporarily in 1974 due to the construction of Brighton Marina.^[4]

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.^[9] A McLachlan-class lifeboat (A-509) was placed on service until the Atlantic 21 Lions International (B-539) became fully operational in 1979.^[12]

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.^[9]

In 1997 the station was provided with a larger B-class (Atlantic 75) lifeboat called Thelma Glossop (B-737), arriving on the station on 1 July 1997.^[13]

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.^[2]

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.

Atlantic 75-class lifeboat Thelma Glossop (B-737) was transferred to Loch Ness in 2011, where she served for another 2 years. A new Atlantic 85-class lifeboat, Random Harvest (B-852) was placed on service on 8 September 2011.^[2][14]

Station honours

The following are awards made at Brighton^[2][15]

• RNIPLS Gold Medal

Cpt. Digby Marsh, RN, H.M. Coastguard, Brighton – 1840

• RNIPLS Silver Medal

Charles Watts - 1824

Lt. Edward Franklin, RN, H.M. Coastguard, Hove – 1838

Lt. George Franklyn, RN, H.M. Coastguard, Newhaven – 1839

Lt. Nathaniel Newnham, RN, H.M. Coastguard, Brighton – 1840

Lt. Thomas Henry Prior, RN, H.M. Coastguard, Brighton – 1840

Lt. James Pratt, RN, H.M. Coastguard, Brighton – 1840

• RNLI Silver Medal

Richard Pearce, Helm – 1996

• RNLI Bronze Medal

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, Helm – 1996

• The Walter and Elizabeth Groombridge Award 1995
  (for the outstanding inshore lifeboat rescue of the year)

Richard Pearce, Helm – 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, Helm – 1998

Mark Hayes, crew member – 1998

• The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum

Thomas Atherall, Coxswain – 1875

Alan John Young, Helm – 1986

Roger George Cohen, crew member – 1986

Stanley Todd, crew member – 1986

Mark Smith, Helm – 1997

Mark Hayes, crew member – 1997

Mark Smith, Helm – 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

Peter Apps, Auxiliary Coastguard – 1996

Nick Gilbert, Auxiliary Coastguard – 1996

Berenice McCall, crew member – 1997

Anthony Parsons, crew member – 1997

Marcus Morris, crew member – 2011

• Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE)

Roger George Cohen – 2022NYH^[16][17]

Roll of honour

In memory of those lost whilst serving Brighton lifeboat.^[4]

• On call to the brig Atlantique on 2 June 1860

John Laker (43), Shore helper, killed after falling under the lifeboat carriage wheel.

Brighton lifeboats

All-weather lifeboats

Private lifeboats

Name	On Service[4]	Class	Comments
Unnamed	1809–1816	Greathead	[Note 1]
Unnamed	1837–1854 1854–????	28-foot Palmer	[Note 2] Operated by the Brighton Humane Society. Sold to John Wright for continued service as a lifeboat.
Unnamed	1840–1879	22-foot non-self-righting	[Note 3] Operated by Brighton Town Council.
Unnamed	1854–????	Unknown	[Note 4] Operated by the Brighton Humane Society.
John Whittingham	1879–1932	28-foot non-self-righting	[Note 5] Operated by Brighton Town Council.

RNIPLS / RNLI lifeboats

ON[a]	Name	On Service[18]	Class	Comments
Pre-098	Unnamed	1825–1837	20-foot Norfolk & Suffolk	[Note 6]
Station Closed 1837–1858
Pre-324	Unnamed	1858–1867	30-foot Self-righting (P&S)	[Note 7]
Pre-457	Robert Raikes	1867–1874	33-foot Self-righting (P&S)	[Note 8]
Pre-586	Robert Raikes	1874–1888	32-foot Self-righting (P&S)	[Note 9]
145	Sunlight No.2	1888–1904	34-foot Self-righting (P&S)	[Note 10]
539	William Wallis	1904–1923	35-foot Self-righting (P&S)	[Note 11]
501	Dash	1923–1924	35-foot Self-righting (P&S)	[Note 12]
539	William Wallis	1924–1931	35-foot Self-righting (P&S)

All-Weather lifeboat withdrawn, station closed in 1931

Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.

Inshore lifeboats

Op. No.[b]	Name	On Service[19]	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 1974–1978
A-509	Unnamed	1978	A-class (McLachlan)
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)	[20]
B-852	Random Harvest	2011–	B-class (Atlantic 85)	[21]

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

• List of RNLI stations
• List of former RNLI stations
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats

Notes

1. 22-foot Greathead lifeboat, built by Henry Greathead of South Shields, costing £120 when new.
2. 28-foot (10-oared) non-self-righting Palmer-type lifeboat, built by Taylor of Blackwall, London, costing £70.
3. 22-foot (6-oared) non-self-righting lifeboat, built by J. Johnston of Hove, costing £60.
4. Unknown specifications.
5. 28-foot (8-oared) non-self-righting lifeboat, built by White of Cowes.
6. 20-foot non-self-righting lifeboat, built by William Plenty of Newbury, Berkshire, costing £100.
7. 30-foot (10-oared) Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, costing £161-1s-0d.
8. 33-foot (10-oared) Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, costing £280.
9. 32-foot (10-oared) Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Woolfe of Shadwell, costing £282.
10. 34-foot (10-oared) Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Hansen of Cowes, costing £347-9s-11d.
11. 35-foot (10-oared) Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Thames Ironworks of Blackwall, London, costing £347-9s-11d.
12. 35-foot (10-oared) Self-righting (P&S), built by Thames Ironworks of Blackwall, London.