The Monumental Obelisk, Southport, stands on the Promenade in Southport. Merseyside, England. It commemorates a number of events, mainly relating to the work of the Southport lifeboats, and in particular the loss of fourteen lifeboatmen when their boat capsized in 1886. The monument was designed by Thomas Robinson, and is constructed in granite. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
In a severe gale on 9 December 1886, the Mexico , a German barque, was driven on to the Horse Bank, a sandbank off Ainsdale, near Southport. Three lifeboats were launched to come to her rescue, Eliza Fernley from Southport, Laura Janet from St Annes, and Charles Biggs from Lytham. The crew from the Mexico were rescued by the Lytham lifeboat, but the other two lifeboats capsized. All thirteen of the crew of the St Annes lifeboat were lost, and only two of the sixteen members of the Southport lifeboat crew survived. It was the worst disaster in the history of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. [1]
Following the disaster, John Unwin, the mayor of Southport, set up a Disaster Fund, which raised £31,000. Most of this was used to help the dependants of the men lost, but some of the money was used to erect memorials to commemorate the men who lost their lives. In Southport the Lifeboat Memorial was built in the cemetery, and another memorial was built on the Promenade. [2] This memorial is in the form of an obelisk, and in addition to commemorating the loss of the Eliza Fernley, it commemorates the launching of its successor in 1888, the Edith and Anne, the achievements of two earlier lifeboats, and the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887. [3] The obelisk itself was obtained from Garden and Company in Aberdeen at a cost of £160. The memorial was designed by Thomas Robinson, who also acted as sculptor. The complete cost of the memorial was £219, and it was unveiled by Mayor Unwin on 28 June 1888. [4]
The monument is constructed in grey granite. [3] It stands on a base of three square steps, on which is a plinth in the form of a tabernacle. This has columns at the corners, and on each side is a bronze plaque. There are inscriptions on three of the plaques, the south side being blank. On top of the plinth is the obelisk, which has chamfered edges. [3] [5]
The inscription on the plaque on the north side includes the following: [5]
- THE 'ELIZA FERNLEY',
- PRESENTED BY JOHN FERNLEY,
- Esq. OF BIRKDALE
- 1874, SAVED THE CREWS OF NINE VESSELS
- NUMBERING 53 LIVES
- This lifeboat was capsized
- in a gale, Dec. 9-10 1886
- When Fourteen of her Heroic
- Crew were Drowned. She was Replaced by the 'Mary Anna', 1886.
The memorial was designated as a Grade II listed building on 29 July 1999. [3] Grade II is the lowest of the three grades of listing and is applied to "buildings of national importance and special interest". [6]
The Lifeboat Memorial in Southport Cemetery is also listed at Grade II, [7] as are the memorials in Lytham and St Annes. The memorial in Lytham is in the churchyard of St Cuthbert's Church and has the form of a pinnacled tabernacle. [8] The St Annes memorial stands on the Promenade, and consists of a statue of a lifeboatman looking out to sea. [2] [9]
Lytham St Annes is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population of the built-up area at the 2021 census was 42,695. The town is made up of the four areas of Lytham, Ansdell, Fairhaven and St Annes-on-the-Sea.
The Penlee lifeboat disaster occurred on 19 December 1981 off the coast of Cornwall, England. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat Solomon Browne, based at the Penlee Lifeboat Station near Mousehole, went to the aid of the vessel Union Star after its engines failed in heavy seas. After the lifeboat had rescued four people, both vessels were lost with all hands. Sixteen people died, including eight volunteer lifeboatmen.
The Southport and St Anne's lifeboats disaster, commonly known as the Mexico disaster after the ship involved, occurred on the evening of the 9th December 1886. In all, 27 lifeboat men lost their lives trying to save the crew of the ship.
The Wells lifeboat disaster occurred in 1880 when the RNLI lifeboat Eliza Adams, based at Wells-next-the-Sea in the English county of Norfolk, attempted to go to the aid of the stricken brig Ocean Queen in heavy seas and was lost along with 11 of its 13 crew.
RNLB Mona was a Watson-Class lifeboat based at Broughty Ferry in Scotland, that capsized during a rescue attempt, with the loss of her entire crew of eight men. The Mona was built in 1935, and, in her time, saved 118 lives.
Mexico was a barque that was wrecked off Southport on 9 December 1886. She was repaired only to be lost in Scottish waters in 1890.
Over the years, a number of ships have foundered off Southport. For the purposes of this article, the Southport area shall be considered as Southwards from Lytham St Annes to Freshfield.
The Memorial to Heroes of the Marine Engine Room is a granite monument located on St. Nicholas Place, at the Pier Head, in Liverpool, England.
St Cuthbert's is an Anglican church in Lytham, Lancashire, England. It was built 1834–1835, replacing a previous church on the same site. It is an active parish church in the Diocese of Blackburn. Since 1971 it has been designated a Grade II* listed building.
St Anne's Church is an Anglican church in St Anne's-on-the-Sea, a town on the Fylde coastal plain in Lancashire, England. It is an active Church of England parish church in the Diocese of Blackburn and the archdeaconry of Lancaster. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
St Anne's Pier is a Victorian era pleasure pier in the English seaside resort of St Anne's-on-the-Sea, Lancashire. It lies on the estuary of the River Ribble. The pier, designed by Alfred Dowson, was completed in 1885 and was one of the earliest public buildings in St Anne's, a 19th-century planned town. The pier was originally intended to be a sedate promenading venue for the resort's visitors, but attractions were later added. Changes made to the estuary channels to improve access to Preston Dock left the pier on dry land and ended its steamer services to Blackpool and Liverpool.
The Lifeboat Memorial, Southport, occupies a central position in Southport Cemetery, Cemetery Road, Southport, Merseyside, England. It commemorates the death of 27 lifeboatmen from Southport and St Annes who were lost in the attempt to rescue the crew of the German barque Mexico that had been driven into a sandbank in a gale in 1886. The memorial is in the form of a tomb chest on a tall plinth with carving and inscribed panels. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
The Lifeboat Monument, St Annes, stands on South Promenade, St Annes, Fylde, Lancashire, England. It commemorates the death of 13 lifeboatmen from St Annes who were lost in the attempt to rescue the crew of the German barque Mexico that had been driven into a sandbank in a gale in December 1886. The lifeboat from Southport also lost 14 of its 16 man crew in the disaster. The monument depicts a lifeboatman looking out to sea and standing on a rock-like plinth. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
The Lifeboat Memorial, Lytham, is in the churchyard of St Cuthbert's Church, Lytham St Annes, Fylde, Lancashire, England. It commemorates the death of 27 lifeboatmen from Southport and St Annes who were lost in the attempt to rescue the crew of the German barque Mexico that had been driven into a sandbank in a gale in 1886. The memorial is in the form of a Gothic-style tabernacle with a crocketed pinnacle. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
Southport War Memorial is in London Square, Lord Street, Southport, Merseyside, England. It consists of an obelisk flanked by two colonnades in the form of Greek temples. Outside the colonnades are memorial gardens, each containing a Pool of Remembrance and fountains. The memorial was designed by the local architects Grayson and Barnish, and the carving was executed by Herbert Tyson Smith. It was unveiled in 1923 by the Earl of Derby. Following the Second World War and subsequent conflicts further inscriptions and names have been added. The memorial is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.
Southport is a seaside town in Sefton, Merseyside, England. It contains 175 buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings. Of these, three are listed at Grade II*, the middle of the three grades, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. There are no buildings listed at Grade I.
Lytham is a conurbation in the Borough of Fylde, Lancashire, England that includes the town of Lytham and the districts of Ansdell and Fairhaven. It contains 91 buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings. Of these, one is listed at Grade I, the highest of the three grades, four are at Grade II*, the middle grade, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade.
Saint Anne's on the Sea is a town in the Borough of Fylde, Lancashire, England. It contains 23 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, one is listed at Grade II*, the middle of the three grades, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. Until the 1870s the only buildings in the area now occupied by the town were scattered cottages. In 1873 the architects Maxwell and Tuke were appointed to draw up a plan for the development of the town. This has since grown to become a seaside resort and commuter town. The listed buildings include churches and associated structures, public buildings, a hotel and its boundary wall, memorials, a bank, and a former school. The structures relating to the town's function as a resort are a pier, a pavilion and shelters, fountains, and a bandstand.
Southport Offshore Rescue Trust (SORT) is the registered charity that runs the Southport Independent Lifeboat, a marine and land based search and rescue organisation on the Sefton coastline.
The Eliza Adams Lifeboat Memorial is a grade II listed memorial in Wells-next-the-Sea in Norfolk. It commemorates the death of 11 members of an RNLI lifeboat crew, who died in 1880 when a wave capsized their boat.
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