Newhaven Lifeboat Station


Newhaven Lifeboat Station is situated on the west bank of the River Ouse, in the port town of Newhaven in the English county of East Sussex, on the south coast of the United Kingdom. The Port of Newhaven is a busy commercial port with a ferry terminal, one of only two navigable harbours between the Isle of Wight to the west and Dover to the east. The harbour opens out onto the English Channel, one of the busiest stretches of waterway in the world.
A lifeboat station was established at Newhaven in 1803, operating until c.1831. The station was re-established by The Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Benevolent Society in 1852, with management of the station being transferred to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in December 1854.
The station currently operates a All-weather lifeboat, 17-21 David and Elizabeth Acland, on station since 1999, and a Inshore lifeboat, Elaine McLeod Scott, on station since 2024.
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History

Newhaven’s first lifeboat was established in 1803, when a lifeboat which had been built by Henry Greathead, the pioneering rescue lifeboat builder from South Shields, was placed on station in the town. The boat was 22-feet long, and was 6-oared. The lifeboat was funded partly by a donation from Lloyd's of London, and the rest from locally raised donations.
The lifeboat was one of 31 of this type built by Greathead, from his design of 1789 known as the Original. This type of lifeboat was designed to work in the shallow waters off the east coast of England, but in small and open harbours like Newhaven, the Greathead-class boats were not popular because of their weight and the large number of crew needed. This may have been the case at Newhaven, as no record can be found that the boat was ever launched to a service.
A second lifeboat was provided to the town in 1907, maybe named Adeline, the gift of Wm. B. Langridge of Lewis, and built by Christopher Wilson of London. It is thought that the boat remained in service until c.1831, although no service records are available. In 1809, the Greathead lifeboat was transferred to.
In 1825 the forerunner of the RNLI, the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, supplied a lifeboat to the town. There was still no boathouse in the town, and so this lifeboat when not in use was stored out in the open under a tarpaulin. This boat was in service at the town until 1829, when it was removed to Cowes.
There are no records of any other Newhaven lifeboat until 1852, when Newhaven was provided with a lifeboat by the The Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Benevolent Society. By 1854, the SFMRBS was involved in the management of eight lifeboat stations,,,,,,, Hornsea and Newhaven. An agreement was made between the SFMRBS and the RNLI, where the former would concentrate on the welfare of those rescued, whilst the latter would be involved in lifeboats, stations and rescues. Management of all eight stations was transferred to the RNLI on 7 December 1854.
The RNLI's first life boat at Newhaven arrived in 1863. It had previously been on service at and, and was extended to 35-feet by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, and for Newhaven was renamed Thomas Chapman. However, she only served Newhaven for four years, performing just one service, but rescuing five crew.
A new boat arrived in 1867, a 33-foot self-righting lifeboat, also to be named Thomas Chapman, and built by Forrestt, costing £290-5s-0d. To house the new boat, Newhaven Lifeboat Station would finally get a boathouse, which was a brick built building on the west bank of the harbour, costing £471-8s-0d.
In 1904, Newhaven became the first lifeboat station to operate a motor-powered lifeboat, when former Folkestone lifeboat J McConnell Hussey was temporarily assigned for trials. It had been fitted with an 11-hp engine, giving a speed of nearly 6 knots. She served Newhaven for 5 months, before being transferred to Tynemouth for further trials, but it was much liked by the crew, who requested that their regular boat, now the Michael Henry be also fitted with an engine. This boat was sent to Thames Ironworks, with a reserve lifeboat being placed on station until the return of Michael Henry in 1908.
In 1909, the lifeboat house was extensively modified, and a new slipway was constructed.
On 30 May 1940, the RNLI received a request from the Ministry of Shipping, to assemble as many lifeboats as possible at Dover within 24hrs. Newhaven Lifeboat Cecil and Lilian Philpott arrived in Dover the following morning. She was then used for the Dunkirk evacuation, making one trip and repatriating 51 men, finally arriving back on station on 11 June.
A new lifeboat, 52-32 Keith Anderson arrived on service at Newhaven in 1985. Built by Wm. Osbourne of Littlehampton and costing £415,000, she was funded from the auction of a collection of jewellery, donated by Mrs Esme Anderson in memory of her late husband. The monies raised would also fund a lifeboat, 14-02 Esme Anderson, placed at.
In November 1999, Newhaven's current lifeboat arrived on station. Costing £1,725,000, she is the 25-knot lifeboat 17-21 David and Elizabeth Acland.

Station honours

The following are awards made at Newhaven

Roll of honour

In memory of those lost whilst serving Newhaven lifeboat.
  • Died in 1910 from the effects of exposure, after a service on 3 December 1909
  • Died 3 June 1931, 18 months after injuries received on service to the Danish schooner Mogens Koch on 7 December 1929
  • Washed overboard and drowned, after a collision between the lifeboat Cecil and Lilian Philpott and H.M. Trawler Aventurine, 23 November 1943