History
At a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Town and Harbour of Whitehaven, on 30 September 1803, a decision was made to order for Whitehaven, the largest size of lifeboat available, from pioneering lifeboat builder Henry Greathead of South Shields. According to Greathead's documents, the 1½ ton (unnamed) boat for Whitehaven was a 12-oar 28-foot lifeboat, costing £149. [2]
After a 4-day trip overland from South Shields, the boat arrived in Whitehaven on 10 January 1804 [3]
It would be nearly 10 years until the boat was needed, when the vessel Brothers of Workington was washed ashore on 17 November 1813, at the entrance to the harbour. Even then, the lifeboat was not immediately available, its storage location at the time is unknown, and so the harbour boat with a crew of five, was first dispatched to the vessel. Sadly, one of those five crew, Thomas Farrell, was lost overboard. At a review following this incident by the harbour trustees in March 1814, a plan was made to provide a new lifeboat house on the New Quay. [4]
In July 1865, it would appear that the transfer of the provision of a lifeboat at Whitehaven to the RNLI, was at the instigation of the RNLI. Miss Elizabeth Leicester of London had approached the RNLI with an offer to fund a lifeboat specifically for Whitehaven. [5]
A 33-foot 10-oar self-righting boat, Robert Whitworth, costing £255 and built in 1864 by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, had served at Tynemouth for one year, and had then been transferred to Bridlington. However, she was found too heavy for Bridlington due to the soft sand, and it was this boat that was then placed at Whitehaven. A new boat house was constructed north of the North Pier, on land that is now Whitehaven Marina Yard, funded by the Harbour Commissioners. The boat arrived on 29 March 1866, and was renamed Elizabeth. [1]
Whitehaven got another boat in 1875, officially placed at Whitehaven No.2 station. This was actually Seascale Lifeboat Station, some 13 miles down the coast, but with all the crew being Whitehaven men. The station was closed in 1895, the lifeboat having launching just four times in 20 years, and having carried out just one successful rescue of 3 men, in its first year. [6]
Two more lifeboats were assigned to Whitehaven, the first in 1884 and then one in 1903. Both were named after Elizabeth Leicester. [1]
The 1865 boathouse was demolished in 1909, with a new one constructed on the same site. In 1924, it was noted that there had been no service calls since February 1918, over six years. At a meeting of the RNLI Committee of Management on 18 Dec 1924, the decision was taken to close the station with immediate effect. Six Whitehaven lifeboats had been called upon 19 times, and saved 33 lives, plus the whole crew of the Thistle in 1819, whose numbers were not recorded [2]
