The James Stevens lifeboats were a series of twenty lifeboats which were purchased by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) using a legacy received in 1894 from the estate of Mr James Stevens, the largest number of RNLI lifeboats funded from a single donation.
James Stevens' legacy
The RNLI received a £50,000 legacy in 1894 (equivalent to £7,191,000 in 2023) from the estate of Mr James Stevens, a developer, from Edgbaston in Birmingham.[1][2] This donation provided more lifeboats than any other single donation received by the RNLI.[1]
The 20 lifeboats were built between 1896 and 1901, during which time they accounted for 22% of the 90 lifeboats built:[3]
Year
James Stevens' legacy
Other new lifeboats
1896
1
12
1897
0
10
1898
2
9
1899
8
7
1900
6
11
1901
3
21
Total
20
70
Lifeboats
James Stevens No. 1 entered service in 1896, followed by the other 19 between 1898 and 1901. They were built to several different designs and sizes to suit the needs of their stations. James Stevens No. 4, James Stevens No. 5 and James Stevens No. 13 were all lost in service between 1900 and 1917, the remainder being withdrawn between 1917 and 1933.
As was usual at this time, most were 'pulling and sailing' lifeboats, provided with oars but also fitted with sails for when conditions allowed their use. James Stevens No. 3 and James Stevens No. 4 were both built with steam engines, while James Stevens No. 14 was fitted with a petrol engine in 1906.
Two of the lifeboats, James Stevens No. 10 and James Stevens No. 14 have been restored and are kept in the towns where they were stationed.
Costing £538. In 1900 it was accidentally dropped 14 ft (4.3 m) into the water. It was badly damaged when it was washed onto a ship that it was trying to rescue on 28 December 1908.[5]
Capsized during a practice launch in March 1908 with the loss of one life. It was launched on 17 December 1917 to help the SS Ostenbut was wrecked although the crew managed to get ashore.[9][10] The remains were found submerged near the Towan Head slipway in 2004.[3]
Fitted with a petrol engine in 1906. Launched 126 times, rescued 227 people. Sold for further use in 1928, by the late 1970s it had lost its engine and become a houseboat. It was returned to Walton-on-the Naze for preservation in 1998.[18]
15 November 1923, launched to rescue the Aberdeen trawler Imperial Prince, resulting in the crew being awarded two silver and a bronze RNLI medal for bravery.[19] Sold in 1928, by 1970 it had been converted to a yacht.[3]
^Lifeboat Gallantry: The Complete Record of Royal National Lifeboat Institution Gallantry Medals and How They Were Won (1st ed.). Spink & Son Ltd. 10 May 1998. ISBN978-0907605898.