A lifeboat was first stationed at Irvine in 1834, by the Irvine Harbour Commissioners. The management of the station transferred to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1860.[2]
Ever since its founding in 1824, the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS), later to become the RNLI in 1854, would award medals for deeds of gallantry at sea, even if no lifeboats were involved.
When the schoonerMargaret Young of Belfast ran aground in Irvine Bay on 25 August 1850, the Earl of Errol was launched, and rescued the Master, Mate, one boy and a passenger. Capt. Thomas Peebles of the Earl of Errol was awarded the RNIPLS Silver Medal.[3]
A lifeboat had been operated at Irvine by the Irvine Harbour Commissioners since 1834. At a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 1 November 1860, after making note of the report of the Inspector of Lifeboats, and also that the Irvine harbour Commissioners had accepted the offer of the Institution – to place a new lifeboat at Irvine, under the agreement that they would assist with the upkeep of the establishment – it was resolved that a lifeboat and carriage would be placed at Irvine.[4][5]
It was reported in the RNLI journal 'The Lifeboat', that a 30-foot self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, with 6-oars, single banked, along with a launch carriage and all equipment, had been sent to Irvine in May 1861. Thanks were offered to the railway companies who had transported all to Irvine free of charge.[6][7]
The cost of the lifeboat had been funded from the donation of £180 from Miss Pringle Kidd of Lasswade Bank, Edinburgh, later at Glenternie House near Peebles, a sister of the late David Kidd of Leyton in Essex, a wholesale stationer in Fleet Street, and the inventor of the modern gummed envelope. The lifeboat was duly named in her honour.[4][6]
In 1874, it was reported that the Irvine Lifeboat Pringle Kidd was unfit for service and was withdrawn. The RNLI then took the opportunity to refurbish the Irvine station. Having previously used the old boathouse used by the Harbour Commissioners, a new boathouse was constructed next to the Irvine beach breakwater, and a new 33-foot self-righting lifeboat was dispatched to the station, along with a new carriage and set of equipment.[8]
On the 17 October 1874, the lifeboat and carriage was drawn through the town in procession by eight horses, after which it was formally named Isabella Frew. The whole expense was borne by the gift of Mr William Sommerville, a Paper Mill owner of Penicuik and Bitton, son-in-law of Mr William Frew of Irvine, and the lifeboat was named in his wife's maiden name, Isabella (Robertson) Frew.[8][9]
There are only two recorded services for the Isabella Frew. On 6 October 1876, 4 were rescued from the Lady Mary on Irvine, the schooner having been driven ashore at the harbour entrance. Another 4 were rescued from the Steam tugIrvine, when she ran grounded on the center of the Irvine Bar on 20 December 1882.[10][11][12]
The third boat to be placed at Irvine was the 34-foot self-righting lifeboat Busbie (ON 168) in 1887. The lifeboat was provided from the legacy of Henry Ritchie Cooper Wallace of Busbie and Cloncaird. The Busbie recorded 33 lives saved in just 4 services between 1887 and 1898. The boat was replaced in 1898 by a 37-foot Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Thames Ironworks of Blackwall, London. The lifeboat was funded from the bequest of the late Mr. George Pike Nicholls, of Southgate, Middlesex, and was named in memory of his late mother, Jane Anne (ON 417).[13][14]
Notable Rescues
In hurricane conditions blowing from the north-west on 29 December 1894, the Irvine lifeboat Busbie was launched to the aid of the Norwegian ship Frey, in distress near Lady Isle, off Troon harbour. In the conditions, it had been impossible to get the Troon lifeboat out of the harbour, but in full-sail, the Irvine lifeboat arrived in 30 minutes. On arrival, 16 crewmen of the Frey jumped into the water, and were hauled into the lifeboat one-by-one. Opting to land at Troon, the lifeboat was near the beach, when it was overwhelmed by large waves, and the Coxswain and 3 or 4 others were swept out of the boat. When the lifeboat self-righted, all regained the boat, except one Norwegian who had been swept away. 70-year-old Coxswain David Sinclair was awarded the RNLI Silver Medal.[15]
Closure
RNLB Jane Anne (ON 417)
With lifeboats still at the flanking stations of Ayr, Troon and Ardrossan, and following the report of the Deputy Chief Inspector of Lifeboats, at a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 2 April 1914, the decision was taken to close Irvine Lifeboat Station.[2][16]
No evidence remains of the RNLI lifeboat house, which had been located on the current site of Irvine Beach car park. The lifeboat on station at the time of closure, Jane Anne (ON 417) was transferred to the relief fleet, later to serve at Falmouth, before being sold out of service in September 1928, at auction to Mr E. F. Cooper for £35. Found rotting in a field in Somerset in the 1980s, the boat was acquired by the Scottish Maritime Museum at Irvine, where she remains on display, as found.[2][17]
Blyth Lifeboat Station is located at the Port and seaside town of Blyth, in the south east corner of the county of Northumberland, approx. 13 miles (21 km) north of Newcastle upon Tyne.
The Mumbles Lifeboat Station is at Mumbles Pier, located at the south-western corner of Swansea Bay, near the village of Mumbles, within the city and county of Swansea, in the historic county of Glamorgan, Wales.
Brighton Lifeboat Station is located in the seaside town of Brighton in the county of East Sussex.
Barmouth Lifeboat Station is located in Barmouth, a town at the mouth of the Afon Mawddach river in Gwynedd, Wales. A lifeboat was first stationed here by the Royal National Institute for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS) in 1828.
Arklow Lifeboat Station is located at South Quay in Arklow, County Wicklow, a harbour town at the mouth of the River Avoca, on the east coast of Ireland.
Douglas Lifeboat Station is located at Battery Pier, Douglas Head, in Douglas, capital of the Isle of Man, a British Crown Dependancy.
Hauxley Lifeboat Station was located in the village of Hauxley, in the county of Northumberland.
Cullercoats Lifeboat Station is located on the north side of Cullercoats Harbour, in the town of Cullercoats, North Tyneside, in the county of Tyne and Wear.
Seahouses Lifeboat Station is located in the village of Seahouses, in the county of Northumberland.
Wicklow Lifeboat Station is located at East Pier in the county town of Wicklow, County Wicklow, a harbour town at the mouth of the River Vartry, on the east coast of Ireland.
St Helier Lifeboat Station is located at St Helier, capital of the Bailiwick of Jersey, and main port of the island of Jersey, a self-governing British Crown Dependency and largest of the Channel Islands.
Courtmacsherry Harbour Lifeboat Station is located on Sea Road, in the village of Courtmacsherry, County Cork, on the southern shore of the Argideen River estuary, approximately 45 kilometres (28 mi) south west of Cork, on the south coast of Ireland.
Peterhead Lifeboat Station is located at West Pier, in the harbour town of Peterhead, in the NE corner of Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Hartlepool Lifeboat Station is located at Middleton, next to the port town of Hartlepool, on the north-east coast of England, in County Durham.
Dún Laoghaire Lifeboat Station is located at Queen's Road, in Dún Laoghaire, a seaside and harbour town in the administrative region of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, historically County Dublin, approximately 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) south east of Dublin, on the east coast of Ireland.
Tramore Lifeboat Station is located on The Cove, near The Pier at Newtown, a suburb of Tramore, a seaside town in County Waterford, approximately 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) south of Waterford, on the south coast of Ireland.
Fenit Lifeboat Station is located at the Harbour in Fenit, a village sitting north of the Dingle Peninsula, and south of the River Shannon estuary, on the south west coast of Ireland.
Portrush Lifeboat Station is situated on Kerr Street, in Portrush, a harbour town and seaside resort in County Antrim, sitting on the Ramore Head peninsula, on the northern coast of Northern Ireland.
Ayr Lifeboat Station was latterly located next to the River Ayr near New Bridge, on South Harbour Street in Ayr, a harbour town and former Royal Burgh, overlooking the Firth of Clyde and the Isle of Arran, in the county of South Ayrshire, historically Ayrshire, on the south-west coast of Scotland.
Ardrossan Lifeboat Station was located on the outer west pier at the harbour at Ardrossan, a town overlooking the Firth of Clyde and the Isle of Arran, in the county of North Ayrshire, historically Ayrshire, on the south-west coast of Scotland.
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