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Penmon Lifeboat Station

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Coordinates: 53°18′34.0″N 4°02′29.4″W / 53.309444°N 4.041500°W / 53.309444; -4.041500
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Penmon Lifeboat Station (closed)
Penmon Old Lifeboat Station
Penmon Lifeboat Station is located in Anglesey
Penmon Lifeboat Station
Penmon, Anglesey
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
LocationPenmon Point
AddressPenmon
Town or cityBeaumaris, Anglesey, LL58 8RP
CountryWales
Coordinates53°18′34.0″N 4°02′29.4″W / 53.309444°N 4.041500°W / 53.309444; -4.041500
Opened1831
Closed1915
Owner Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Website
https://rnli.org/find-my-nearest/lifeboat-stations/beaumaris-lifeboat-station

Penmon Lifeboat Station is a former Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat station located at Penmon Point, north east of the town of Beaumaris, on the eastern tip of the Isle of Anglesey, Wales.

A lifeboat was first stationed here by the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS) in 1831, managed by the Anglesey Association for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck[1]

The station was closed in 1915, after a motor-powered lifeboat was placed at Beaumaris[2]

History

The Anglesey Association for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (AAPLS) was founded by the Rev. James and Mrs Frances Williams in 1828.They had witnessed the loss of 140 lives from the wreck of the vessel Alert in 1823, and spent the following five years raising funds and gaining support.[3]

In 1830, the Anglesey Association wrote to the RNIPLS requesting their help to place a lifeboat at Penmon. Lifeboat No.4, a 26-foot 6-oar non-self-righting 'Palmer' type lifeboat, was built by Harton, and transported by sea via Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire), to Holyhead, arriving at Penmon on 28 January 1831. Landowner Sir Richard Williams-Bulkeley, 10th Baronet provided a site, and constructed a 32-foot x 10-foot stone-built boathouse, with doors at both ends to help launch in either direction, at the sound between Anglesey and Puffin Island. In 18 years, the first Penmon boat would launch 8 times, and rescue 27.[4]

Lifeboat No.4 was transferred to the new station at Moelfre in 1848, and a new 26-foot boat was provided to Penmon. Only one service call is recorded, and no lives saved, but on 29 March 1850, over 35 vessels were driven ashore by the conditions at Penmon, and the lifeboat-men spent many hours helping vessels and crew.[4]

The lifeboats of the AAPLS were transferred over to the management of the (now) RNLI in 1855. Soon afterwards, Capt. Ward, Inspector of Lifeboats, visited Penmon, and launching with the crew on exercise, found that the lifeboat was "too light". A replacement 28-foot 6-oar lifeboat costing £126 was ordered from Forrestt of Limehouse. She was a self-righting lifeboat, which would prove invaluable some years later. Called to the aid of the Jabez of Scarborough on the 23 March 1868, and with 5 rescuees aboard, the lifeboat was capsized. After self-righting, everyone managed to get back on board. However, the incident prompted calls for a larger boat.[5]

Costing £251, a 30-foot 10-oared self-righting boat was provided to Penmon in 1868, again built by Forrestt. A long way from the sea, the lifeboat was funded by the Settle, North Yorkshire branch of the RNLI, the boat being named Christopher Brown after their primary fundraiser.[1][6]

A new boathouse was constructed in 1880 to house a 34-foot lifeboat, again funded by Settle RNLI branch, and again named Christopher Brown (ON 266). The lifeboat ended up being moored afloat for 2 years, during the reconstruction of the slipway, which was washed away in a storm.[4]

In 1914, the lifeboat station at Beaumaris was reopened, following the construction of a new boathouse and deep-water roller-slipway, to house a new motor-lifeboat, Frederick Kitchen (ON 621). Now surplus to requirements, Penmon Lifeboat Station was closed on 31 March 1915. The lifeboat on station at the time, Christopher Brown (ON 390), was withdrawn and sold.[1]

The boathouse was handed back to the landowner, the grandson of the original landowner, Sir Richard Williams-Bulkeley, 12th Baronet. The boathouse still stands, and is available as a Holiday Let.[4]

Station honours

The following are awards made at Beaumaris[7]

Owen Roberts, Pilot - 1838
Thomas Price, Fisherman - 1854
William M. Preston, Honorary Secretary - 1890
Robert Roberts, Coxswain - 1890
William M. Preston, Honorary Secretary - 1893 (Second Service Clasp)
Robert Roberts, Coxswain - 1893 (Second Service Clasp)
William Pritchard, Coxswain Superintendent - 1909
James Hartley Burton, Honorary Secretary - 1909
William Pritchard, Coxswain Superintendent - 1910 (Second Service Clasp)
  • The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
William M. Preston, Honorary Secretary - 1878

Penmon lifeboats

ON[a] Name In service[1] Class Comments
– Lifeboat No.4 1831–1848 26-foot non-self-righting Palmer-type [Note 1]
– Unnamed 1848–1857 26-foot non-self-righting Palmer-type [Note 2]
– Unnamed 1857–1868 28-foot Self-righting (P&S) [Note 3]
– Christopher Brown 1868–1880 30-foot Self-righting (P&S) [Note 4]
266 Christopher Brown 1880–1896 34-foot Self-righting (P&S) [Note 5]
390 Christopher Brown 1896–1915 37-foot Self-righting (P&S) [Note 6]
  1. ^ ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ 26-foot 6-oared non-self-righting Palmer-type lifeboat, built by Harton
  2. ^ 26-foot 6-oared non-self-righting Palmer-type lifeboat, built by Costain of Liverpool
  3. ^ 28-foot 6-oared Self-righting lifeboat, built by Forrestt of Limehouse
  4. ^ 30-foot 10-oared Self-righting lifeboat, built by Forrestt of Limehouse
  5. ^ 34-foot 10-oared Self-righting lifeboat, built by Woolfe of Shadwell
  6. ^ 37-foot 12-oared Self-righting lifeboat, built by Hansen & Sons

References

  1. ^ a b c d Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 4–132.
  2. ^ "Beaumaris' station history". Beaumaris Lifeboat Station. RNLI. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  3. ^ "The Lifeboats of Holyhead and Anglesey". People's Collection Wales. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d Morris, Jeff (February 1997). The History of the Penmon and Beaumaris Lifeboats. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 1–50.
  5. ^ "Shipwrecks around Anglesy 1868". Liverpool University. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  6. ^ "Our Inland Branches. Settle". The Lifeboat. 12 (135). February 1885. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  7. ^ Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. ISBN 0-907605-89-3.
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