Blakeney Lifeboat Station

Blakeney Lifeboat Station
Former Lifeboat House, Blakeney Point
Blakeney Point, Norfolk
General information
Status	Closed
Type	RNLI Lifeboat Station
Location	Blakeney Point
Town or city	Blakeney, Norfolk
Country	England
Coordinates	52°58′23.5″N 0°58′26.8″E
Opened	6 October 1862
Closed	1935

Blakeney Lifeboat Station was located at the end of the shingle spit at Blakeney Point, north of the village of Blakeney, mid-way between Wells-next-the-Sea and Sheringham, on the north coast of the county of Norfolk.[1]

The Norfolk Association for Saving the Lives of Shipwrecked Mariners (NASLSM) placed a lifeboat at Blakeney in 1824, but no service records are available, and the station was closed in 1843. A lifeboat station was re-established at Blakeney Point by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1862.[2]

Blakeney Lifeboat Station was closed in 1935.[3]

History

At a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 7 November 1861, it was ordered that a that a life-boat station be formed at Blakeney, on the Norfolk coast.[4] At a further meeting on Thursday 6 February 1862, it was noted that, via the Rev. P. J. Saffery of Tottenham, that a Miss Brightwell of Norwich wished to present the cost of the lifeboat (£180) to the Institution, and desired "that the boat might be named The Brightwell after her father." It was also recorded that a boathouse, costing £154, had been ordered for Blakeney.[5][6]

The official opening of the station was held on 6 October 1862, a local committee having been created from the local clergy and gentry of the area. The lifeboat was a 30-foot self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with (6) oars, single-banked, and sails, constructed by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, and was duly named Brightwell.[2][7]

Almost immediately, it was recognised that the boat just wasn't big enough, and with just 6 oars, not powerful enough either. In May 1863, the RNLI committee decided that the Blakeney boat would be replaced as soon as was possible, and by October 1883, the original boat had been transferred to Ferryside, and a replacement boat was on station. The 30-foot lifeboat had previously served at Fishguard, before being returned to the manufacturers, and extended to 36-feet 4in, now rowing 12-oars, double-banked. Both lifeboats were transported to and from London to Wells-next-the-Sea, free of charge by the Great Eastern railway company. On arrival at Blakeney, the lifeboat was named Brightwell.[8][9]

Blakeney Lifeboat Service Board 1

Over the next six years, the Blakeney lifeboat recorded 8 lifesaving rescues, saving 53 lives,

• 4 November 1864, Chasse-marée Eleanore of Nantes – Six[10]
• 23 November 1864, Schooner Fernand of St. Malo – Five[11]
• 20 February 1865, Barque Amana of Sunderland - Eighteen[12]
• 12 August 1866, Pilot coble of Blakeney - Three and boat.[13]
• 1 January 1867, Sloop Emma of Portsmouth - Three and boat[13]
• 8 April 1869, Sloop Richard of Goole - Three[14]
• 19 October 1870, Brig John and Mary of South Shields - Nine[15]
• 20 October 1870, Brig Ravensworth of Hartlepool - Six[16]

Despite this fine record, it was recorded that the coxswain and crew had repeatedly stated that boat was not suited to the area, not having sufficient beam, and that confidence in the boat had been lost. The Brightwell was withdrawn from service in 1873, returned to London free of charge by the Great Eastern railway company, but was subsequently broken up.[2]

Blakeney Lifeboat Service Board 2

The Brightwell was replaced with the Hettie, a 37-foot x 9-foot 6in lifeboat, funded by a gift from a gentleman from Bradford, who also promised to support the expenses every year. The lifeboat was towed to its station by the steamship Mack Diamond. Hettie would serve at Blakeney for the next 18 years, recording two rescues, and saving 12 lives.[17]

In 1891, Blakeney took delivery of the Zaccheus Burroughs (ON 318), a 35-foot lifeboat funded from the bequest of the late Mrs. Burroughs of South Norwood, and named in memory of her late husband. The lifeboat was once of only three Cromer-class lifeboats, all with a wide beam, built by the Beeching brothers of Great Yarmouth.[2] [18]

In 1896, Coxswain William Hooke was awarded the RNLI Silver Medal on his retirement, for his service since 1865.[19]

A new boathouse was constructed in 1898, and is still standing. It is currently a visitor centre for the National Trust.[20]

The last lifeboat to be stationed at Blakeney was the Caroline (ON 586), a 38-foot Liverpool-class lifeboat rowing 14 oars, arriving on 17 November 1908. She was funded from the bequest of the late Miss Caroline Everard of Laverstock, Wiltshire.[21]

War Service Plaque

Caroline would also go on to have a fine service record at Blakeney. In two services in January 1818 during World War I, 30 men were rescued. Other than a one line entry, very little detail is available in the RNLI journal 'The Lifeboat', maybe due to wartime reporting, but a wooden plaque now in Blakeney church, records the crew who, in frosty and snowing conditions in a north-west gale, rescued 16 men from the steamship General Havelock of Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 7 January 1918, and 14 men from the H.M. Tug Joffre on 8 January 1918. She would go on to save another six lives during her time on service.[22]

At a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 14 March 1935, it was decided to close the lifeboat stations at Brancaster and Blakeney. By this time, motor-powered lifeboat were already located at Skegness and Cromer, and new ones were due at the flanking stations of Wells-next-the-Sea and Sheringham in 1936. It had been eleven years since the Caroline had been last required in 1924.[3]

The lifeboat on station at the time of closure, Caroline (ON 586), was sold from service, but last reported in 1960. The Blakeney lifeboat service boards can be seen on display in the Church of St Nicholas, Blakeney.[2]

Station honours

The following are awards made at Blakeney.[19]

• RNLI Silver Medal

William Hooke, Coxswain - 1896

Blakeney lifeboats

Pulling and Sailing lifeboats

ON[a]	Name	Built	In service[2]	Class	Comments
Pre-394	Brightwell	1862	1862−1863	30-foot Self-righting Peake (P&S)	[Note 1]
Pre-293	Brightwell	1855	1863−1873	37-foot Self-righting (P&S)	[Note 2]
Pre-578	Hettie	1873	1873−1891	37-foot Self-righting (P&S)	[Note 3]
318	Zaccheus Burroughes	1891	1891−1908	35-foot 3in Cromer (P&S)	[Note 4]
586	Caroline	1908	1908−1935	38-foot Liverpool (P&S)	[Note 5]

1. ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.

See also

• List of RNLI stations
• List of former RNLI stations
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats

Notes

1. 30-foot (6-Oared) Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, costing £154.
2. 37-foot (12-Oared) Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat.
3. 37-foot x 9-foot 6in (12-Oared) Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat.
4. 35-foot 3in x 10-foot 3in (14-Oared) Cromer-class (P&S) lifeboat, built by Beeching Brothers of Great Yarmouth.
5. 38-foot x 10-foot 9in (14-Oared) Liverpool-class (P&S) lifeboat.

References

1. "Norfolk Sheet IV.SW 1886". Maps. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
2. Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 4–132.
3. "Summary of the Meetings of the Committee of Management". The Lifeboat. XXIX (322): 482. June 1935. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
4. "Summary of the Meetings of the Committee". The Lifeboat. V (43): 14. 1 January 1862. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
5. "Summary of the Meetings of the Committee". The Lifeboat. V (45): 137. 1 July 1862. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
6. "Annual Report". The Lifeboat. V (48): 201–209. 1 April 1863. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
7. "Additional Stations and New Life-Boats". The Lifeboat. V (47): 170–171. 1 January 1863. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
8. "Summary of the Meetings of the Committee". The Lifeboat. V (50): 343. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
9. "Additional Stations and New Life-Boats". The Lifeboat. V (50): 342. 1 October 1863. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
10. "The French Chasse-Maree Eleanore, of Nantes". The Lifeboat. V (57): 706. 1 July 1865. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
11. "Fernand, of St Malo". The Lifeboat. V (57): 706. 1 July 1865. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
12. "Amana, of Sunderland". The Lifeboat. V (57): 706. 1 July 1865. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
13. "Emma, of Portsmouth". The Lifeboat. VI (65): 465. 1 July 1867. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
14. "Richard, of Goole". The Lifeboat. VII (74): 260. 1 October 1869. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
15. "John and Mary, of Shields". The Lifeboat. VIII (81): 149. 1 August 1871. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
16. "Ravensworth, of Hartlepool". The Lifeboat. VIII (81): 149. 1 August 1871. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
17. "Additional Stations and New Life-Boats". The Lifeboat. VIII (90): 557. 1 November 1873. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
18. "Additional Stations and New Life-Boats". The Lifeboat. 14 (161): 626. 1 August 1891. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
19. Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. p. 206. ISBN 0907605893.
20. "Blakeney National Nature Reserve". Visit North Norfolk. North Norfolk. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
21. "New Life-Boats". The Lifeboat. XX (231): 598. 1 February 1909. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
22. "The Great Services Which Were Rendered By the Life-Boats to the Allied Cause During the War Have Been Referred to In Previous Numbers of The Life-Boat". The Lifeboat. XXIV (268): 27. February 1920. Retrieved 3 January 2025.

External links

• Wells RNLI Lifeboat Station