Brighton Lifeboat Station
Brighton Lifeboat Station | |
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![]() Brighton Lifeboat Station (Now under re-development[1]) | |
General information | |
Type | RNLI Lifeboat Station |
Architectural style | Steelframe Boathouse with brick and block construction |
Location | Brighton Marina, East Sussex, BN2 5UF |
Country | England |
Coordinates | 50°48′39.6″N 0°06′15.4″W / 50.811000°N 0.104278°W |
Opened | 1825 - 1931 re-established in 1965 |
Owner | Royal National Lifeboat Institution |
Technical details | |
Material | Concrete, brick, block and Steel |
Brighton Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station located in the town of Brighton in the English county of East Sussex in the United Kingdom.[2] It was originally established in 1825 as an all-weather lifeboat station. This lifeboat was withdrawn in 1931, and the station now operates as an inshore lifeboat station.[3] As of 2012[update], the current lifeboat is the Atlantic 85 RNLB Random Harvest (ON 852).[3]
Location
The station is located in the marina area of Brighton and is co-ordinated from HM Coastguards at Lee-on-Solent. Being an inshore station, the majority of the station's services are within two miles of the station. The station is called to an average of sixty rescues a year.[4]
History
The National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, the forerunner of the RNLI, first opened a lifeboat station in Brighton in 1824. The lifeboat for this station was kept in a cave close to the Chain Pier. The service operated from this cave until 1837, when the construction of the Madeira sea-wall and Madeira Drive was completed.[5][6] At that time, the lifeboat was withdrawn from the town, and it was not until 1858 that another station was opened in Brighton.[7]
1858–1931
In 1858, the town council provided an area on the beach for a new boathouse opposite the Bedford Hotel close to the West Pier.[7] The station was relocated twice in the next decades, once in 1868 and again in 1886 following improvements to the Brighton seafront.[7] After 1886, the station was located on the Western Esplanade between the two piers. The site was used until 1931 when the RNLI withdrew the all-weather boat from the town after nearby Shoreham Station was equipped with a motor lifeboat.[7]
1965 inshore lifeboat
After 1931, Brighton had no lifeboats of its own until it received an inflatable D-class inshore lifeboat in 1965, funded from public donations. This lifeboat was withdrawn before the winter of 1974 and the station was closed in 1975. In 1978 the station re-opened at the new Brighton Marina where a pontoon was provided for the RNLI at the cost of £10,000.[7] At that point the lifeboat was the Atlantic 21 Lions International (B 539), which did not become fully operational until 1979. In 1981 a permanent boathouse was constructed and a temporary shelter was installed on the nearby quayside to house the crew facilities. This new permanent station was the RNLI's first floating lifeboat station.[7] In 1997 the station was provided with a larger Atlantic 75 lifeboat called Thelma Glossop (B 737).[8] The new lifeboat arrived on the station on 1 July of that year.
1999 and 2014 improvements
![]() | This section needs to be updated.(December 2021) |
In 1999 work began on the construction of new shore facilities for the station on the quayside within the marina. The work was completed in 2000 at a cost of £299.775.[9] In January 2014, the station's facilities were closed and the station moved to temporary accommodation nearby. The 2000 building was demolished as part of the £235 million[1] re-development and expansion of the Brighton Marina.
Neighbouring Station Locations
References
- ^ a b "Brighton RNLI relocates while bigger, better base is built". News about the re-location of the lifeboat station. The Argus © 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- ^ "Brighton Lifeboat Station – RNLI website". Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
- ^ a b "Brighton Lifeboat – A Brief History". Brighton Lifeboat Station. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
- ^ "A Little More About What We Do". Brighton Lifeboat Station. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
- ^ Royal Institute of British Architects (1988). A Guide to the Buildings of Brighton. Macclesfield, Cheshire: McMillan Martin. p. 58. ISBN 1-869865-03-0. OCLC 44523940.
- ^ "History of Madeira Drive - Brighton". This Brighton. Archived from the original on 18 November 2007. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f For Those In Peril – The Lifeboat Service of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, Station by Station. Author: Leach, Nicholas. Publisher: Silver Link Publishing Ltd, First Issue 1999. Work:Part 2, South Coast of England – Eastbourne to Weston-super-Mare, Page 72, Brighton Lifeboat Station. ISBN 1 85794 129 2
- ^ "B-class Atlantic 85 Production List". List of the RNLI fleet of B-class Atlantic 85 ILB including B-737. All rights reserved © 2014 NavyNuts. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- ^ "Brighton Lifeboat Station – RNLI website". Reference within the History tab on the home page. RNLI © 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2014.