Staithes and Runswick Lifeboat Station

Staithes and Runswick Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat station based in the village of Staithes, North Yorkshire, England. The station was first opened in 1875 but has been closed for two periods between then and the 21st century due to a decline in the fishing industry and the ability to supply people to crew the lifeboat. It is now host to an Inshore Lifeboat (ILB).

Staithes and Runswick Lifeboat Station
Staithes Lifeboat Station
Location within North Yorkshire
General information
Type	RNLI Lifeboat Station
Location	Staithes, North Yorkshire
Country	England
Coordinates	54.5597°N 0.7917°W / 54.5597; -0.7917
Owner	Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Website
Official webpage

History

A lifeboat at Runswick, just to the south of Staithes, was established in 1866, with another at Staithes nine years later.[1][2] The RNLI had wished to station a lifeboat in Staithes by 1870, but had given up on the idea as there was a lack of suitable locations to site the lifeboathouse. In 1874, a wealthy donation, and a codicil in a will of a benefactor that stipulated that a lifeboat should be stationed there, enabled the RNLI to press ahead with its plans.[3] The crew used an old alum warehouse as a temporary lifeboathouse until the official RNLI one could be built.[4]

The lifeboathouse was built at Staithes in 1875 and adapted in 1910, and both Staithes and Runswick Bay lifeboat stations operated side by side, but a lack of members and a decline in the fishing fleet at Staithes, precipitated the closure of Staithes in 1922.[5] The station was re-opened in 1928 after the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries installed a harbour and breakwaters. This created a resurgence in fishing from Staithes and the RNLI provided a lifeboat.[6] The resurgence was short lived however, the station closed again in 1938.[7] In January 1978, the site was used as a testbed for the new Atlantic 75-class lifeboats. After an acceptance trial, it was decided to re-open Staithes.[8]

The station officially re-opened on 17 June 1978, with Runswick closing on 30 June 1978. The station had been operational since April 1978, when the first new ILB had been sent for trials.[9] The Staithes lifeboat occupied the same station that had been built in 1875; this building is now grade II listed.[10] The lifeboathouse is on a stretch of land known as the "Cowbar" and the slipway gentle curves towards the bay allowing the lifeboat to be launched by a tractor.[11]

The people of Runswick Bay later instituted their own independent lifeboat which is known as the Runswick Bay Rescue Boat (RBRB). By 1984, the RBRB was fully accredited with the coastguard and is part of the overall response to emergencies in the north east region, being seen as a complement to the RNLI services not as competing or hindering them.[12]

The station has a yearly Lifeboat Weekend. The event sees a nightgown parade, a fireworks display and demonstrations at sea and usually has over 2,000 people attending. The event is held across both villages of Staithes and Runswick.[13]

Notable callouts

• 27 November 1888 - a great storm raged on the sea, and the Staithes lifeboat went out to aid the return of forty-five fishing cobles. The final launch to bring the last coble back to port was feared to be a disaster when the storm worsened overnight; neither ship was sighted, and also, two bodies were washed ashore. Whilst those on the coble were not saved, the crew and boat battled through the storm with significant damage to the lifeboat. The lifeboat crew were picked up by a passing steamer and dropped off at Middlesbrough.[14] One of the lifeboat crewmen was drowned and his body was washed ashore a day later.[15] At the inquiry it was noted that;

  ...the boat was in every respect staunch and seaworthy, but that on her being launched by a strange crew for the first time, the brass ventilators opening into the air-chambers below deck were not screwed down, and consequently, when on her second voyage, she shipped in heavy seas and the air-cases filled with water and she capsized.[16]

• 1990 - whilst deploying the lifeboat to a call-out, a tractor driver collapsed and died.[17]

• 8 August 2018 - the crew were called out to a nine year-old child who had been trapped by a rockfall on the beach.[18]

Fleet

Dates in service	Class	ON[lower-alpha 1]	Op. No.[lower-alpha 2]	Name	Comments
1875–1887				Hannah Somerset	[19]
1887–1888				Winefride Mary Hopps	[20]
1907–1922				James Gowland	[21]
1978	Atlantic 21-class		B-506	Unnamed
1978–1989	Atlantic 21-class		B-538	Lord Brotherton	[22]
1989–2002	Atlantic 21-class		B-576	Ellis Sinclair	[22]
2002–2016	Atlantic 75-class		B-788	Pride of Leicester	[22]
2016–	Atlantic 85-class		B-879	Sheila and Dennis Tongue III	[23][24]

ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat. Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

References

1. McKee, Grant (18 August 2012). "Saviours of the sea". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
2. Historic England. "Lifeboat Station at Staithes (1025953)". PastScape. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
3. "Launch of a new life-boat at Staithes". The Northern Echo (1, 684). 2 June 1875. p. 4. OCLC 614690399.
4. Whitworth, Alan (2012). Runswick Bay & Staithes through time. Stroud: Amberley. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-4456-0593-7.
5. Chrystal 2012, p. 38.
6. "Staithes Station Reopened". The Lifeboat. Poole: RNLI. 27 (295): 123. September 1928. ISSN 0024-3086.
7. "Nostalgia on Tuesday: Brave Tradition". The Yorkshire Post. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
8. Leach 2018, pp. 113–114.
9. Morgan, Mike (10 June 2008). "Staithes celebrates lifeboat tradition". Gazette Live. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
10. Historic England. "Lifeboat House  (Grade II) (1312642)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
11. Bagshaw, Mike (2018). North York Moors & Yorkshire Wolds: Including York & the Coast. Chalfont St Peter: Bradt. p. 79. ISBN 978-1-78477-075-4.
12. Robinson, Chris (July 1984). "The Foresight of Man, and the Birth of the Runswick Bay Rescue Boat". North East Times. Newcastle: Chris Robinson Publishing (14): 10. ISSN 1468-909X.
13. Robson, Dave (9 August 2018). "Staithes Lifeboat Weekend to go ahead despite rock fall tragedy". Gazette Live. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
14. Spencer, Brian (1984). The visitor's guide to the North York Moors, York and the Yorkshire coast. Ashbourne: Moorland. p. 65. ISBN 0-86190-114-2.
15. "The Staithes life-boat disaster". The Northern Echo (5, 856). Col F. 29 November 1888. p. 3. OCLC 614690399.
16. "The perils of the sea". The Northern Echo (5, 858). Col A. 1 December 1888. p. 8. OCLC 614690399.
17. "Station history | RNLI". rnli.org. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
18. Perraudin, Frances (10 August 2018). "Girl, nine, who died in Staithes rockfall named as Harriet Forster". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
19. Leach 2018, p. 114.
20. "Additional stations and new life-boats". The Lifeboat. Poole: RNLI. 13 (146): 422. November 1887. ISSN 0024-3086.
21. "Annual Report (Assets)". The Lifeboat. Poole: RNLI. 21 (240): 354–355. May 1911. ISSN 0024-3086.
22. Morgan, Mike (10 June 2008). "Staithes celebrates lifeboat tradition". Gazette Live. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
23. Leach 2018, p. 113.
24. "Naming ceremony for new lifeboat". The Northern Echo. 10 April 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2019.

Sources

• Chrystal, Paul (2012). Lifeboat Stations of North East England; From Sunderland to The Humber, Through Time. Stroud: Amberley. ISBN 978-1-4456-1376-5.
• Leach, Nicholas (2018). The Lifeboat Service in England; the North East Coast, Station by Station. Stroud: Amberley. ISBN 978-1-4456-6832-1.

External links