Humber Lifeboat Station

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Humber Lifeboat Station
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RNLB Pride of the Humber - geograph.org.uk - 5408430.jpg
Humber Lifeboat
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Humber Lifeboat Station
General information
Type RNLI lifeboat station
Location Port of Grimsby
AddressWharncliffe Road N,
Town or city Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, DN31 3QF
CountryEngland
Coordinates 53°34′57.6″N0°03′59.2″W / 53.582667°N 0.066444°W / 53.582667; -0.066444
Opened1810 / RNLI 1911
Owner Flag of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.svg Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Website
Humber RNLI Lifeboat Station

Humber Lifeboat Station is located at Wharncliffe Rd North, within the Port of Grimsby, on the south shore of the Humber estuary, in North East Lincolnshire.

Contents

The station was opened in 1810, operated by Hull Trinity House, and was located on Spurn Point, now a tidal island, on the north side of the Humber estuary, attached to the south-east point of the East Riding of Yorkshire, by a three-mile (4.8 km) long narrow gradually moving Isthmus. Management of the station was transferred to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1911. [1]

The station currently operates a Severn-class All-weather lifeboat, 17-05 Pride of the Humber (ON 1216), which has been on station since 1997. [2]

History

A lifeboat station was established in 1810 at Spurn Point with a crew supplied by Hull Trinity House. [3] A decommissioned gun battery emplacement, last used in 1809, was requisitioned as the main lifeboat building and was also partly converted into the Life Boat House Hotel. The crew of the lifeboat were billeted in Kilnsea, 3 miles (5 km) up the coast, [4] until 1819 when cottages were built adjacent to the life boat house. [5] The Life Boat House Hotel was owned and operated by the master of the crew. Apart from selling drink and provisions, the master made a side income from loading gravel and sand onto passing ships. [6] The land and money to fund the operation had been supplied by the local lord of the manor. He petitioned Trinity House to take up the offer of the land and supply a lifeboat to use at Spurn. This they did, engaging Henry Greathead of South Shields in building a ship with ten oars. [7]

In the early days of the rescue boat, the mood of the crew at Spurn was sullen as they were not paid too well and were at the mercy of the master who ran the inn to provide what food and drink they needed. Locals from up the coast would come to load ships with gravel and sand, which they did brandishing revolvers, threatening the crew members, who viewed the enterprise as taking away their self-sufficiency. In 1811, the master wrote to Trinity House to complain about this "Law of the Dunes" as he labelled it, to which they had no legal recourse, with the nearest officials miles away. [8]

In December 1823, a fierce storm worked the ropes loose on the lifeboat and it capsized. It was ruined and needed replacing. [9] Something similar occurred 60 years later in 1883, again after a particularly stormy night, the crew discovered that their lifeboat had been loosed of its moorings during the storm. This time it was safe and was later found drifting off the island of Texel, off the coast of the Netherlands. [10]

Between 1908 and 1911, the station came under the aegis of the Humber Conservancy Board, [11] who argued that the lifeboat station and crew should be handed over to the RNLI. For their part, the RNLI were reluctant to take on the crew as they were paid, which went against its policy of having volunteers. [12] Eventually, these issues were sorted out and the RNLI assumed control in 1911. [13] In 1919, the first motorised boat, the Samuel Oakes was launched and in 1924, the station name was changed from Spurn Lifeboat to Humber Lifeboat Station. [14]

Spurn Lifeboat Station, before the lifeboats were moored afloat at the end of a jetty Spurn Lifeboat Station - geograph.org.uk - 805700.jpg
Spurn Lifeboat Station, before the lifeboats were moored afloat at the end of a jetty

The lifeboatmen were known to have taken advantage of the military railway between Spurn Point and Kilnsea as a means of quick transport up the coast to the village. They adapted a boat powered by wind to run along the line. When they met a military supply train travelling in the opposite direction, they were required to remove their sail wagon from the rails to allow the train to pass, [15] not an easy task as the sail wagon had no working brake. [16]

Due to the remoteness of the station, its restricted access (by road from the north) and the dangerous waters around this part of the east coast, the crew were on-site full time and were the only full-time paid RNLI All-weather lifeboat crew in the United Kingdom. [17]

The station was one of nine RNLI lifeboat stations situated along the Yorkshire Coast and the most southerly of them all. [18] Up until 2012, the families of the crew lived in cottages on Spurn Head adjacent to the lifeboat station, but a decision was taken to have two crews revolving through a roster and so the families moved to new accommodation in Kilnsea. [19] As the spit of land is prone to breaches, this was also viewed as in the best interests of the families of the crew members. [20] Latterly, the families had been housed in cottages built in 1975 to replace the row of houses first built in 1819. These were demolished when the seven new houses were built at a cost of £100,000. [21] The retaining wall built to hold the sea back from the domestic area still survives fulfilling its intended purpose. [22] From August 2012 to 2023, the two crews rotated through a shift of six days on and six days off. [23]

Humber Lifeboat at Spurn Jetty The jetty at Spurn Point, Holderness - geograph.org.uk - 3848041.jpg
Humber Lifeboat at Spurn Jetty

The lifeboat was moored at the end of a pier that sets out into the Humber Estuary (westwards from Spurn Head) rather than a traditional launch down a ramp into the sea (which is on the eastern side of Spurn Head). This location has been described as being in the lee of bad weather, thereby providing a safer place to set off from. [24] The crew have pushbikes to cycle down to the end of the pier and then use a boarding boat to get to the lifeboat. [25] Despite some buildings being erected to launch the lifeboat, even from the early days, it was recognised of the difficulties in launching the boat from land, so it has been traditionally moored away from the coastline. [26] A traditional lifeboat house with slipway was built in 1923 and used up until 1977, but it fell into disuse with bigger lifeboats arriving, that were better moored afloat. The slipway and lifeboat house were demolished in 1995. [9]

The Humber Lifeboat has an operational area that covers the Humber estuary to Immingham Dock, south along the coastline to Skegness, northwards to Bridlington and up to a 100 miles (160 km) out to sea. This overlapped with the Cleethorpes Lifeboat to the south and the Withernsea Lifeboat to the north and to other rescue agencies along the river. [27] The Bridlington and Skegness lifeboats were the next nearest all-weather lifeboats along the east coast. [28] [29]

In February 2023, issues were found following a routine inspection of the infrastructure of the station. On the grounds of the cost and health & safety reasons, and with consideration of the continuing coastal erosion and difficulties with access, the decision was taken to permanently relocate the boat and crew from Spurn Point to Grimsby, on the south side of the Humber estuary, where there was a second base for the lifeboat at Grimsby Docks, previously used temporarily in certain weather conditions. Operations were transferred in June 2023. [30] [31]

On 31 May 2025, the RNLI finally closed the chapter of their presence at Spurn Point, handing over the remaining station buildings to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. [32]

Now with no access difficulties, and in line with all other All-weather lifeboat stations, Humber Lifeboat Station will gradually revert to a primarily volunteer crew. [33]

Notable rescues

A map showing the locations of both RNLI and independent lifeboat stations in Yorkshire Lifeboat Stations Yorkshire.svg
A map showing the locations of both RNLI and independent lifeboat stations in Yorkshire

During the stations 200 year plus history, 33 RNLI gallantry medals have been awarded to the crews for their gallantry, [34] including three gold, 13 silver and 17 bronze. Of these, Robert Cross, Coxswain for 31 years until 1943, won two gold, three silver and two bronze, as well as the George Medal. [17] [35]

In just 7 weeks between December 1978 and February 1979, the Humber Lifeboat launched to three medal rescues. Coxswain Brian William Bevan MBE , is the only crew member in the history of the RNLI to be presented with Bronze, Silver and Gold Medals for Gallantry at the same awards ceremony. [36]

Exact records of the first 100 years of rescues are patchy, but between 1810 and 1854, over 800 people had been rescued from the seas around Spurn Head. [14] Between 1911 (when the Humber Lifeboat came under RNLI control) and December 2009, the lifeboat was launched 2,268 times saving over 790 lives in the process. [37] At least three crew of the lifeboat were lost at sea during rescues in the 19th century. [38]

Station honours

The following are awards made at Spurn / Humber. [17] [35]

Roll of Honour

In memory of those lost whilst serving Spurn Point lifeboat. [47] [17]

J.Branton
Capt. Michael Hansley Welburn, Coxswain
J. Combes
H. Holmes

Humber lifeboats

Pulling and Sailing (P&S) lifeboats

ON [a] NameBuiltOn Station [49] ClassComments
206Manchester Unity18901901–190338-foot 2in Self-righting (P&S) [note 1]
On loan to Spurn from Grimsby when the Spurn boat was away on repair. [50]
631Unnamed19031903–1913 34-foot 6in Norfolk & Suffolk (P&S)
516Charles Deere James19031913–1919 38-foot Liverpool (P&S) [note 2]
Previously at St Agnes.

Motor lifeboats

ON [a] Op. No. [b] NameBuiltOn Station [51] ClassComments
651Samuel Oakes19181919–1923 40-foot Watson
680City of Bradford,
City of Bradford I
19231923–1929
1928–1929
45-foot Watson Paid for by a fundraising effort in the City of Bradford. [note 3] [52] [53]
709City of Bradford II19291929–1954 45-foot 6in Watson She was named at Bridlington to allow people to witness the event and reach the ceremony easily; it was decided that Spurn Point was too remote. [54] [55]
680City of Bradford I
Humber No.2
19231930–1932 45-foot Watson
911City of Bradford III19541954–1977 46-foot 9in Watson [56] Transferred to Lytham St Annes Lifeboat station in 1977 [54]
828 The Princess Royal
(Civil Service No.7)

Humber No.2
19391968–1969 46-foot Watson
105254-07City of Bradford IV19761977–1987 Arun Funded by the Lord Mayor of Bradford's Charity Appeal 19741975. [57]
112352-37Kenneth Thelwall19871987–1997 Arun Named after its benefactor, Kenneth Thelwall from the East Riding of Yorkshire. Transferred to Holyhead Lifeboat Station. [58] [59]
121617-05Pride of the Humber19961997– Severn

Inshore lifeboats

Op. No. [b] NameOn Station [60] ClassComments
D-56Unnamed1964 D-class (RFD PB16) ILB trialled in 1964, but relocated to Humber Mouth Lifeboat Station at Humberston in 1965.
  1. 1 2 ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
  2. 1 2 Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

See also

Notes

  1. 38-foot x 9-foot (12-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat.
  2. 38-foot x 10-foot (10-oared) Liverpool-class (P&S) lifeboat.
  3. The City of Bradford has paid for several lifeboats (stationed at Teesmouth and Ramsgate as well as at Spurn Head) after a ship carrying wool was wrecked off the Welsh coast in the 19th century with the loss of many lives. Bradford was a prime woollen and worsted town (later city).

References

  1. Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2025). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2025. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. p. 116.
  2. Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 68–69.
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  9. 1 2 Leach 2018, p. 141.
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Sources