Great Yarmouth and Gorleston Lifeboat Station | |
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![]() Great Yarmouth and Gorleston lifeboat station | |
General information | |
Type | RNLI Lifeboat Station |
Address | Riverside Road, Gorleston, Norfolk, NR31 6PU |
Town or city | Gorleston, Norfolk, NR31 6PU |
Country | England |
Coordinates | 52°34′31.51″N1°43′55.34″E / 52.5754194°N 1.7320389°E |
Opened | 1825 / RNLI 1857 |
Owner | ![]() |
Website | |
Gt. Yarmouth and Gorleston RNLI Lifeboat Station |
Great Yarmouth and Gorleston Lifeboat Station, (not to be confused with Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight), is located at Riverside Road in Gorleston, at the mouth of the River Yare, on the east coast of Norfolk.
Management of Great Yarmouth Lifeboat Station, established in 1825, was transferred to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1857. Gorleston Lifeboat Station was established by the RNLI in 1866, although a number of other lifeboats had been in operation at Gorleston since 1802, and continued until 1939. The two RNLI branches merged in 1926, to form Great Yarmouth and Gorleston Lifeboat Station. [1]
The station currently operates the Trent-class All-weather lifeboat 14-10 Samarbeta (ON 1208), on station since 1996, and a B-class (Atlantic 85) Inshore lifeboat, John Rowntree (B-925), on station since 2021. [2]
Great Yarmouth received its first lifeboat in 1802. No records of a call have been found. In 1825, the Norfolk Association for Saving the Lives of Shipwrecked Mariners (NASLSM) stationed its first lifeboat at Great Yarmouth. In 1833, the NASLSM established a No. 2 station, placing a second boat at Great Yarmouth. [3]
The station was taken over by the RNLI in 1857, and the following year, two new lifeboats were sent to Great Yarmouth. The No. 1 lifeboat was a 38-foot Self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat named Harriett, one with sails and (12) oars, originally built in 1852 by Beeching of Great Yarmouth, and later modified with an iron keel and wooden ballast, to Mr Peake's design. The boat was placed on station on a trial basis, the boatmen there used to a different design lifeboat, and the 1833 lifeboat was retained for comparison. Records show that the Harriett lifeboat was only on station for one year, with the station reverting to their much preferred 1833 boat. [4] [5]
The second lifeboat to arrive in 1858, for the No. 2 station, was the smaller 30-foot 6-oared rowing lifeboat, named Admiral Mitchell, designed for close shore work. No details have been found of its shortcomings, but it was swiftly replaced, following the report of the RNLI district inspector. It's replacement was approved at a meeting of the RNLI committee of Management of 5 May 1859, and an unnamed 28-foot Surf lifeboat was sent to the station later that year. [4] [6] [7]
A new lifeboat house at Great Yarmouth was constructed and completed in 1859, to the design of the Institute's honorary architech, Mr C. H. Cooke, at a cost of £375, (equivalent to £47,400in 2023). Although with modification to the front, the Great Yarmouth lifeboat house mostly still exists, located on the southern corner of Standard Road and Marine Parade. [8]
In 1866, the Institution received the anonymous gift of £620 from "X.Y.Z." of Chatham, Kent, which was appropriated to the Great Yarmouth station. In accordance with the donor's wishes, the 28-foot previously unnamed Great Yarmouth No.2 lifeboat was named Duff, after the first missionary ship that left England for the South Seas. In 1875, the lifeboat was renamed Abraham Thomas. [9] [10]
A private lifeboat had existed at Gorleston since 1802, operating under various banners, Gorleston Rangers, Gorleston Storm Company and Gorleston Volunteer Lifeboat Association. In October 1855, the boatmen of Gorleston Rangers, through local subscription, the assistance of friends, and with a donation of £50 from the RNLI, were able to order a 40-foot lifeboat, built by Beeching of Great Yarmouth, at a cost of £200. [3] [11]
Following the capsize of the private lifeboat Rescuer on 13 January 1866, [Note 1] resulting in the loss of 13 crew, the Gorleston boatmen appealed to the RNLI, to be supplied with a self-righting life-boat, as such a boat may not have cost so many lives. A new RNLI station was established at Gorleston in July 1866, when a new 33-foot self-righting lifeboat Leicester was dispatched to the station. The lifeboat was first exhibited in Leicester, where funds raised there had helped defray the costs. The lifeboat and carriage had been transported free of charge by the Great Northern and Great Eastern railway companies. [12]
From the 1860s, Mr Kains-Jackson collected funds each Christmas, at the London Corn Exchange, for the Mark Lane Life-Boat Fund, to be appropriated to the Gorleston station. Three successive lifeboats at Gorleston took the name Mark Lane, not after a person, but after the London address of the Exchange. [13]
In 1881 a new boathouse was built at Gorleston, at a cost of £329 (equivalent to £41,900in 2023) and a second boathouse (Gorleston No.2) was built alongside in 1883.
During 1897 the station received its first steam lifeboat City of Glasgow (ON 362) and during 1921, its first motor-powered lifeboat. [8]
By 1919, both Great Yarmouth stations had been closed, and in 1924, the Gorlestone station, which at times had as many as four lifeboats, was now operating just one lifeboat, the 46-foot 6in motor-powered John and Mary Meiklam of Gladswood (ON 670). Great Yarmouth and Gorleston branches of the RNLI merged in 1926, and the station was renamed Great Yarmouth and Gorleston Lifeboat Station.
In 1963, a D-class (RFD PB16) Inshore lifeboat was placed at the station, joined in 1975 with the larger B-class (Atlantic 21) Inshore lifeboat Foresters (B-531). The D-class was subsequently withdrawn in 1977. [8]
During 1993 crew facilities were upgraded, a gift-shop built and a display area created for the former Gorleston lifeboat John and Mary Meiklam of Gladswood (ON 663). The boathouse was further extended in 2002. [8]
In 1996 Princess Alexandra officially named the station's new Trent-class lifeboat 14-10 Samarbeta (ON 1208), Swedish for ‘working together’. [8]
A new Shannon-class lifeboat 13-44 George and Frances Phelon (ON 1351) had been assigned to Gt. Yarmouth and Gorleston to replace Samarbeta, and was expected to be on service in 2022. She is a "Legacy Lifeboat", and carries the names of RNLI benefactors within the numbers on her hull. However, ongoing problems with the mooring at the station prevented the new lifeboat from going on service, with the boat remaining in storage. In October 2024, it was announced that George and Frances Phelon would begin operations with the relief fleet, and as of February 2025, is currently operating at Falmouth. [14] [15]
On 27 April 2025, it was announced that an agreement had been reached, between the Great Yarmouth Port Authority and the RNLI, and that the Gt Yarmouth and Gorleston lifeboat station will relocate upriver, to the former Pilot station. Once works are completed, it is hoped that this will provide a better mooring site for the Shannon-class lifeboat, which was due to replace the existing Trent-class lifeboat Samarbeta. [16]
In October 1922 the Gorleston pulling and sailing lifeboat and the Lowestoft motor lifeboat, after a struggle lasting 32 hours, brought to safety the whole crew of 24 and a black kitten from the steamship Hopelyn wrecked on Scroby Sands. [8]
In 1927, lifeboats from Great Yarmouth & Gorleston, Cromer, Southwold and Lowestoft took part in the rescue of the Dutch oil tanker Georgia. This service is considered to be one of the greatest in the history of the RNLI. [8]
The lifeboat Louise Stephens (ON 820) was one of 19 lifeboats involved in the Dunkirk evacuation of 1940. [8]
The following are awards made at Gt Yarmouth and Gorleston. [8] [17]
Date | Lifeboat station | Lifeboat crew lost | Memorial | Brief details and references |
---|---|---|---|---|
1824 | Great Yarmouth | 5 | On 23 November 1824 a boat was launched by eight Great Yarmouth beachmen in an attempt to rescue the crew of the stricken vessel Jessie. Whilst attempting to board the Jessie a heavy sea fell on board their boat which immediately sunk her and resulted in the loss of five of the crew. [22] | |
1845 | Great Yarmouth | 7 | The yawl Phoenix was wrecked whilst going to the assistance of the collier brig Ann with the loss of seven of the fifteen people on board. Survivors were rescued by the Caister Lifeboat. [23] | |
1866 | Gorleston | 13 | The private lifeboat, Rescuer, capsized in a storm with the loss of 12 of her crew on 13 January 1866. [24] A 13th fatality occurred when rescued crew member Robert Warner succumbed just days later as a direct result of the disaster. [25] | |
1867 | Gorleston | 6 | ![]() | While returning to harbour after a rescue a fishing lugger collided with the private lifeboat, Rescuer. She capsized and 6 of her crew and 19 other people drowned. [24] |
1881 | Great Yarmouth | 6 | The lifeboat Abraham Thomas capsized on 18 January whilst attempting to rescue the mate of the schooner Guiding Star. The Abraham Thomas was struck by a heavy sea and lost six out of a crew of ten. The mate from the Guiding Star was also lost out of the lifeboat. [26] | |
1888 | Gorleston | 4 | ![]() | The Refuge was a private lifeboat belonging to the Gorleston boatmen. After going to the assistance of the steamer Akaba the Refuge was being towed back to port when the tow-rope parted and she was driven onshore where she capsized with the loss of four of her seven crew. [27] Henry Smith, chief boatman of the coastguard, was on the beach and, without thought for his own life, managed to save two crew members, Bonney and Woods, whilst a boatman of the coastguard named Henry Norton saved George Jacobs, who was found clinging to the stern post. The Yarmouth Independent newspaper report of the death of Jacob Philip Jacobs, dated 18 January 1913, states that he was one of the lifeboat crew who were saved. It is likely that Jacob Philip Jacobs and George Jacobs were the same person as the description of the rescue by the boatman are very similar. |
ON [a] | Name | Built | On Station [28] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-160 | Unnamed | 1833 | 1833–1861 | 39-foot 6in Surf | [Note 2] |
Pre-246 | Harriet | 1852 | 1858–1859 | 38-foot Self-righting (P&S) | [Note 3] |
20 | Brave Robert Sheddon | 1861 | 1861–1883 | 42-foot Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) | [Note 4] Moved to Gorleston No.1 in 1883, renamed Mark Lane. |
ON [a] | Name | Built | On Station [28] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-162 | Unnamed | 1833 | 1833–1858 | 25-foot Lifeboat | |
Pre-332 | Admiral Mitchell | 1858 | 1858–1859 | 30-foot Peake Self-righting (P&S) | [Note 5] |
19 | Unnamed, Duff, Abraham Thomas | 1859 | 1859–1866 1866–1875 1875–1892 | 28-foot 9in Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) | [Note 6] |
329 | John Burch | 1892 | 1892–1912 | 32-foot 5in Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) | [Note 7] |
629 | Hugh Taylor | 1912 | 1912–1919 | 34-foot Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) | [Note 8] |
Name | Built | On Station | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Rescuer | 1855 | 1855–1866 | 40-foot non-self-righting | [Note 9] |
The Friend of All Nations | – | 1865 | ||
Refuge | – | 1861–1888 | [29] | |
Elizabeth Simpson | 1889 | 1889–1939 | 47-foot Norfolk and Suffolk | [Note 10] Presented to Gorleston by Miss Elizabeth Simpson Stone of Norwich and manned by a company of boatmen known as the Gorleston Rangers. She was administered by a local committee, was launched on service 119 times, and rescued 441 lives. [8] [30] |
Gorleston Lifeboat Station established by the RNLI in 1866 [8]
ON [a] | Name | Built | On Station [31] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-453 | Leicester | 1866 | 1866–1870 | 33-foot Self-righting (P&S) | [Note 11] |
21 | Leicester | 1870 | 1870–1883 | 30-foot Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) | [Note 12] Transferred to Gorleston No.2 station in 1883 |
20 | Mark Lane | 1861 | 1883–1889 | 42-foot Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) | [Note 13] Formerly Brave Robert Sheddon at Gt. Yarmouth No.1 |
233 | Mark Lane | 1889 | 1889–1892 | 44-foot Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) | [Note 14] |
288 | Mark Lane | 1890 | 1892–1921 | 46-foot Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) | [Note 15] Previously Stock Exchange at Lowestoft |
663 | John and Mary Meiklam of Gladswood | 1921 | 1921 | 46-foot 6in Norfolk and Suffolk (Motor) | [Note 16] |
543 | Kentwell | 1905 | 1922–1924 | 46-foot Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) | [Note 17] Previously Kentwell at Lowestoft |
670 | John and Mary Meiklam of Gladswood | 1923 | 1924–1926 | 46-foot 6in Norfolk and Suffolk (Motor) | [Note 18] Previously H.F. Bailey at Cromer |
Gorleston No.2 Boathouse built and opened in 1883. [8]
ON [a] | Name | Built | On Station [32] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
21 | Leicester | 1870 | 1883–1894 | 30-foot Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) | [Note 19] Previously at Gorleston No.1 |
371 | Leicester | 1894 | 1894–1923 | 31-foot Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) | [Note 20] |
541 | James Finlayson | 1905 | 1923–1924 | 35-foot Watson (P&S) | [Note 21] Previously at Lossiemouth |
Gorleston No.3 Boathouse constructed in 1891. [8]
ON [a] | Name | Built | On Station [33] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
326 | Thora Zelma | 1891 | 1892–1904 | 31-foot Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) | [Note 22] |
ON [a] | Name | Built | On Station [34] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
362 | City of Glasgow | 1894 | 1897–1898 | Steam | |
Station Closed 1898–1903 | |||||
420 | James Stevens No.3 | 1898 | 1903–1908 | Steam | |
ON [a] | Op. No. [b] | Name | Built | On Station [35] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
670 | – | John and Mary Meiklam of Gladswood | 1923 | 1926–1939 | 46-foot 6in Norfolk and Suffolk (Motor) | Previously H.F. Bailey [36] |
820 | – | Louise Stephens | 1939 | 1939–1967 | 46-foot Watson | |
1002 | 44-003 | Khami | 1967 | 1967–1980 | Waveney | |
1065 | 44-021 | Barham | 1980 | 1980–1996 | Waveney | |
1208 | 14-10 | Samarbeta | 1995 | 1996– | Trent | |
Op. No. [b] | Name | On Station [37] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
D-9 | Unnamed | 1963–1964 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-32 | Unnamed | 1964 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-1 | Unnamed | 1965 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-73 | Unnamed | 1965–1967 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-26 | Unnamed | 1967–1968 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-113 | Unnamed | 1968–1969 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-179 | Unnamed | 1970–1977 | D-class (RFD PB16) | later named Blue Peter IV at St Agnes |
Op. No. [b] | Name | On Station [38] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
A-48 | Margaret and Bruce | 2011–2012 | Arancia | |
A-77 | Kingfisher | 2012–2020 | Arancia | |
Op. No. [b] | Name | On Station [39] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
B-531 | Foresters | 1975–1988 | Atlantic 21 | |
B-574 | Joseph B Press | 1988–2002 | Atlantic 21 | |
B-786 | Seahorse IV | 2002–2021 | Atlantic 75 | |
B-925 | John Rowntree | 2021– | Atlantic 85 |