Kimmeridge Lifeboat Station

Kimmeridge Lifeboat Station
Kimmeridge Bay
Kimmeridge, Dorset
General information
Status	Closed
Type	RNLI Lifeboat Station
Town or city	Kimmeridge, Dorset
Country	England
Coordinates	50°36′40.2″N 2°08′29.5″W
Opened	December 1868
Closed	1896

Kimmeridge Lifeboat Station was located near the village of Kimmeridge, approximately 10 miles (16 km) west of Swanage on the Isle of Purbeck, overlooking the western end of Kimmeridge Bay and the Jurassic Coast of Dorset.[1]

A lifeboat was first placed at Kimmeridge in December 1868, by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).[2]

After just over 27 years of operation, Kimmeridge lifeboat station was closed in 1896.[3]

(NB: Kimmeridge is recorded as Kimeridge in virtually all RNLI documentation)

History

During the gale of 25 September 1868, the schooner Liberty of Portsmouth was wrecked on Kimmeridge Ledge. Despite the best efforts of Henry Stocks, Chief Officer, and five men of Kimmeridge Coastguard, who were later rewarded £3-10s by the RNLI committee for their efforts, and the Chapman's Pool lifeboat, all hands were lost. [4][5][6]

Following the wreck, requests were made for the provision of a lifeboat in the area, and the Inspector of Lifeboats was dispatched to Kimmeridge. His report of 27 October was read and approved at a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on 5 November 1868.[6]

Due to the limited population in the area, it was decided to send a smaller 28-foot Self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with both sails, and, in this case, 5 oars, single-banked. The boat arrived on station in December 1868, and was located in a sheltered spot on Kimmeridge Bay, kept under a canvas cover on a platform, at the only suitable place for launch.[2]

The lifeboat placed on station was not new, and had been built in 1856, serving at Hornsea under the name B. Wood from 1857 until 1864. However, the gift of £200 received by the Institution from Mr Benjamin Heape of Manchester was appropriated to the station, and the lifeboat was renamed Mary Heape.[7]

It was noted at the RNLI meeting on 8 April 1869, that Rev. Nathaniel Bond had offered to provide a wooden boathouse at his own expense, which was accepted.[8]

At 23:00 on 9 December 1874, the Stralsund of Stralsund was driven onto the rocks east of Kimmeridge. The Mary Heape was launched, but was driven back on the beach by the storm. She launched again the following day, and with the assistance of a line fired by the coastguard rocket brigade, managed to reach the vessel, and in two trips, rescued 15 people.[9]

In 1881, a replacement boat was sent to Kimmeridge. This time, a much larger 32-foot lifeboat, rowing 10 Oars, but again, not a new boat. Already 15-years-old, the Sheffield was built in 1866, and was the first lifeboat to be placed at Runswick, serving there between 1866 and 1880. Now transferred to Kimmeridge, funding was again made available by Benjamin Heape, and the lifeboat was again renamed Mary Heape.[10][11]

In dense fog on 21 March 1886, the cutter Ceres of Poole was driven ashore when the wind changed suddenly. Two crewmen took to the ship's boat, but it was capsized, and one was drowned. The lifeboat was launched, and managed to save the Master and mate who were still aboard the vessel, and the third man from the small boat, who had survived clinging onto two oars.[12]

By 1887, the second Mary Heape was 21-years-old, and was replaced that year by the third, and first 'new' lifeboat, to be placed at Kimmeridge. Since the station opened, the Mary Heape lifeboats had saved 18 lives.[13]

On 9 May 1888, the launch of a rocket signalled the start of proceedings of the inauguration ceremony at Kimmeridge. A large crowd were present, when the new 34-foot lifeboat was drawn out of the boathouse. After an address by Lt. Col. Mansel (chairman), the boat was formally handed to the care of the local committee. After hymns, and a blessing by Rev. W. C. Browne, the lifeboat was named Augustus Arkwright (ON 137), after a gift of £675 from Mr F. C. Arkwright, JP of Willersley, Derbyshire, and friends, had been appropriated to the station, in memory of the late Capt. Augustus Peter Arkwright of Dartmouth, Devon, former MP for North Derbyshire. The lifeboat was then launched for a demonstration, and greeted by the Swanage lifeboat Charlotte Mary (ON 193), which was in attendance.[13][14]

Details of only one service of Augustus Arkwright have been found. The lifeboat launched at 21:00 to the brigantine Lythemore of Llanelli, which had been stranded on Kimmeridge ledge on 26 June 1892, whilst bound for Cardiff with a cargo of coal. In no immediate danger, the lifeboat stood by at the request of the Captain, and in the morning, laid out the anchor, allowing the vessel to haul herself afloat when the tide allowed.[15]

At a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 13 February 1896, following the report of the RNLI District Inspector, it was decided that Kimmeridge Lifeboat Station be discontinued.[3]

The lifeboat house is long since demolished. The lifeboat on station at the time of closure, August Arkwright (ON 137), was sold from service. No further details of the boat are available.[16]

Kimmeridge lifeboats

ON[a]	Name	Built	On Station[17]	Class	Comments
Pre-305	Mary Heape	1856	1868–1881	28-foot Self-righting (P&S)	[Note 1] Previously B. Wood at Hornsea
Pre-463	Mary Heape	1866	1881–1887	32-foot Self-righting (P&S)	[Note 2] Previously Sheffield at Runswick
137	Augustus Arkwright	1887	1887–1896	34-foot Self-righting (P&S)	[Note 3]

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

Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.

See also

• List of RNLI stations
• List of former RNLI stations
• Independent lifeboats in Britain and Ireland

Notes

1. 28-foot x 6-foot 8in (5-Oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, costing £128-15s-0d when new.
2. 32-foot self-righting (P&S) lifeboat.
3. 34-foot x 7-foot 6in (10-Oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat.

References

1. "Dorset LV.12". Maps. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
2. "Additional Stations and New Life-Boats". The Lifeboat. VII (74): 270. 1 October 1869. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
3. "Summary of the Meetings of the Committee". The Lifeboat. XVI (181): 630–631. 1 August 1896. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
4. "Marine Intelligence". Newcastle Courant. No. 10110. Newcastle upon Tyne. 2 October 1868.
5. "The Equinoctal Gales". Isle of Wight Observer. No. 840. Ryde. 3 October 1868.
6. "Summary of the Meetings of the Committee". The Lifeboat. VII (71): 29. 1 January 1869. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
7. "Annual Report". The Lifeboat. VII (72): 37. 1 April 1869. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
8. "Summary of the Meetings of the Committee". The Lifeboat. VII (74): 272. 1 October 1869. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
9. "Stralsund". The Lifeboat. IX (95): 208. 1 February 1875. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
10. Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2025). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2025. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 10–11.
11. "Index to the Gift Life-Boats of the Royal National Life-Boat Institution". The Lifeboat. XI (124): 476–477. 1 May 1882. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
12. "Ceres". The Lifeboat. XIII (141): 180. 2 August 1886. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
13. "Additional Stations and New Life-Boats". The Lifeboat. XIII (150): 639–640. 1 November 1888. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
14. "Annual Report. 1889". The Lifeboat. XIV (152): 34, 38, 39. 1 May 1889. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
15. "Lythemore". The Lifeboat. XV (167): 272. 1 February 1893. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
16. Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 22–23.
17. Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 6–23.

External links

• Swanage RNLI Lifeboat Station