Penlee Lifeboat Station is the base for

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

(RNLI) search and rescue operations for

Mount's Bay Mount's Bay ( kw, Baya an Garrek) is a large, sweeping bay on the English Channel coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom, stretching from the Lizard Point to Gwennap Head. In the north of the bay, near Marazion, is St Michael's Mount; the origin o ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, United Kingdom. The

lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen ...

station operated at various locations in

Penzance Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...

from the early 19th century. It moved to Penlee Point near

Mousehole Mousehole (; kw, Porthenys) is a village and fishing port in Cornwall, England, UK. It is approximately south of Penzance on the shore of Mount's Bay. The village is in the civil parish of Penzance. An islet called St Clement's Isle lies ab ...

in 1913, thus gaining its current name, but was moved to

Newlyn Newlyn ( kw, Lulyn: Lu 'fleet', Lynn/Lydn 'pool') is a seaside town and fishing port (the largest fishing port in England) in south-west Cornwall, UK.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' Newlyn lies on the shore of Mount ...

in 1983 without any change of name. The station is remembered for the loss of the entire lifeboat crew on 19 December 1981. Since 2003 the station has operated a all weather boat (ALB) and an ''Atlantic''-class (currently an ) inshore lifeboat (ILB). The lifeboat has an operating range of and a top speed of , enabling it to reach any casualty up to , and within two hours in good weather. Adjacent lifeboats are at to the east, and to the west.

History

Early locations

The first lifeboat in Cornwall was purchased for

in 1803. Part of its cost was paid by

Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gov ...

but it was sold, in 1812, without ever being used in service and was not replaced. In 1824 a district association was formed as part of the

National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

and the next lifeboat in Mount's Bay was again stationed at Penzance from 1826 to 1828 by the recently formed Institution. The station then lapsed until 1851, when a lifeboat was again stationed in the town. The boat was kept at several different places around the town until a boathouse was built in 1856, for £88, by the RNLI (as the Institution was now known), at what is now the entrance to the

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

. There was local controversy when the boat did not launch on several occasions in 1862, and as a consequence, there was a proposal to move the lifeboat to

, which would have been unpopular with the residents of Penzance. As a compromise the lifeboat station moved to

Wherrytown Wherrytown is a small settlement in west Cornwall, United Kingdom, on the east side of the Laregan River, between Newlyn and Penzance. It was formerly in the civil parish of Madron and was incorporated into the Borough of Penzance in 1934 when ...

, where a new timber lifeboat house was opened in 1867 at the bottom of Alexandra Road, near the Coastguard Station. It was decided to move back to Penzance harbour, and in 1884 a new boathouse built of

Lamorna Lamorna ( kw, Nansmornow) is a village, valley and cove in west Cornwall, England, UK. It is on the Penwith peninsula approximately south of Penzance. Lamorna became popular with the artists of the Newlyn School, including Alfred Munnings, Lau ...

granite at the foot of Jennings Street, at a cost of £575–6s–6d. This was paid for by a £1,000 gift from Henry Martn Harvey of

Hexworthy Hexworthy is a hamlet on Dartmoor, in Devon, England. It lies on the West Dart River a mile upstream from Dartmeet. Historically in the parish of Lydford, since 1987 it has been in the civil parish of Dartmoor Forest. Hexworthy has an inn, ...

, which also paid for a new lifeboat (''Dora'') and carriage. In 1908, the Penzance Lifeboat ''Elizabeth and Blanche'' was moved to

, where it was kept under a

tarpaulin A tarpaulin ( , ) or tarp is a large sheet of strong, flexible, water-resistant or waterproof material, often cloth such as canvas or polyester coated with polyurethane, or made of plastics such as polyethylene. Tarpaulins often have reinforced ...

beside the harbour, although the 1884 boathouse remained in use until 1917 as a reserve station.

At Penlee Point

The lifeboat remained at Newlyn until 1913, when a new boathouse was built at Penlee Point south of Newlyn on the outskirts of

. This was elevated a little above the water, and the lifeboat could be launched down a slipway into open water at all states of the tide. The old "pulling and sailing" lifeboat was replaced by one with a motor in 1922. Several similar motor lifeboats were to follow, culminating in the ''Solomon Browne'', a wooden, twin engined, boat that arrived at the station in 1960. In 1936, Coxswain Frank Blewitt was awarded a RNLI bronze medal for rescuing the crew of nine from the SS ''Taycraig'' after it ran aground in Mount's Bay during a gale. Coxswain Edwin Madron received a silver medal and Mechanic Johny Drew a bronze medal for another exceptional service in April 1947. They took the ''W and S'' out into seas to rescue eight people from which ran aground on the way to the breakers yard after it had been retired at the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Madron was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in 1957 when he was surprised by

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ A ...

at a theatre in London. In the introduction the audience was told that although Madron 'has snatched so many lives from the cruel sea, that same sea has claimed his father and son'. He was told that the programme was dedicated 'as a tribute not only to you but to the thousands who man the lifeboats of Britain.' In January 1975, the ''Solomon Browne'' was launched into a Force 12 hurricane when it was reported that the 13 crew members of the MV ''Lovat'' had abandoned ship south west of Lizard Point. A helicopter saved two people but the rest were drowned. The lifeboat had to drop the safety rails around its deck so that the bodies could be hauled out of the sea, all while the boat was rolling side-to-side at 60˚ and the seas were washing across the boat. They were at sea for nearly eight hours. The coxswain, Trevelyan Richards, was awarded a RNLI bronze medal.

The loss of the ''Solomon Browne''

On 19 December 1981 the ''Solomon Browne'' was launched to go to the aid of the MV ''Union Star'' after its engines failed east of the Wolf Rock. Winds were gusting at up to –

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

force 12 on the

Beaufort scale The Beaufort scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort wind force scale. History The scale was devised in 1805 by the Irish hydrographer Francis Beaufort ...

– and whipping up waves high. On board the ''Union Star'' was a crew of five, and three members of the captain's family. A helicopter had been unable to rescue them and so the lifeboat with its crew of eight men went alongside. After several attempts four people managed to jump across; the captain's family and one of the men were apparently safe. The lifeboat radioed that 'we’ve got four off'; that was the last ever heard from anyone on either vessel. Lifeboats were summoned from , and to try to help their colleagues from Penlee. The Sennen Cove Lifeboat found it impossible to make headway round

Land's End Land's End ( kw, Penn an Wlas or ''Pedn an Wlas'') is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, on the Penwith peninsula about west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is ...

. The Lizard Lifeboat found a serious hole in its hull when it finally returned to its slipway after a fruitless search. Wreckage from the ''Solomon Browne'' was found along the shore, and the ''Union Star'' lay capsized onto the rocks west of

Tater Du Lighthouse Tater Du Lighthouse is Cornwall's most recently built lighthouse. The construction of the lighthouse came out of the tragedy of losing a small Spanish coaster called the ''Juan Ferrer'' on 23 October 1963, on the nearby Boscawen Point, the vess ...

. Some, but not all, of the 16 bodies were eventually recovered. Within a day of the disaster enough people from Mousehole had volunteered to form a new lifeboat crew. Coxswain Trevelyan Richards was posthumously awarded the RNLI gold medal, while the remainder of the crew were all posthumously awarded bronze medals. The station itself was awarded a gold medal service plaque. The disaster prompted a massive public appeal for the benefit of the village of Mousehole which raised over £3 million (£ as of ), although there was an outcry when the government tried to tax the donations.

The move to Newlyn

After the loss of the ''Solomon Browne'', the Penlee Point station remained in use until 1983 when the ''Mabel Alice'', larger, faster all-weather lifeboat (ALB) was acquired, and a new lifeboat station constructed at Newlyn harbour, where the new lifeboat is kept afloat at a mooring. Despite the move, the station continues to be known as 'Penlee'. In 1991, a inshore lifeboat (ILB) was stationed on the opposite side of Mount's Bay at

Marazion Marazion (; kw, Marhasyow) is a civil parish and town, on the shore of Mount's Bay in Cornwall, UK. It is east of Penzance and the tidal island of St Michael's Mount is half-a-mile offshore. At low water a causeway links it to the town and ...

(although it was actually kept at

St Michael's Mount St Michael's Mount ( kw, Karrek Loos yn Koos, meaning " hoar rock in woodland") is a tidal island in Mount's Bay, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The island is a civil parish and is linked to the town of Marazion by a causeway of granite se ...

). It proved difficult to find enough volunteer crews in this small village, so in 2001 the station was closed and a larger B Class boat was added to the complement at Penlee, with a new boathouse built to house it. The following year a new pontoon was built in Newlyn harbour so that crews could board the ALB more easily. On 16 December 1994, the ''Mabel Alice'' and the Sennen Cove Lifeboat were launched to the aid of the ''Julian Paul'' which was adrift in a storm west of the Longships. The fishing boat's propeller had been fouled and she was towed back to Newlyn harbour. Neil Brockman, the Coxswain/Mechanic of the Penlee Lifeboat, was awarded a RNLI bronze medal for his seamanship, leadership and meritorious conduct, as was Terry George, his counterpart from Sennen Cove. In 2003, the ''Ivan Ellen'', a new ALB, was acquired by the station to replace its Arun-class predecessor. In 2016, the stations capability was further enhanced with the introduction of a replacement ILB, the ''Mollie & Ivor Dent''.

Buildings

The Old Lifeboat House Bistro, Penzance (geograph 4178390)

The 1856- and 1867-built boathouses no longer exist, but the 1884-built boathouse still stands at the corner of Wharf Road and Jennings Street in Penzance. It is separated from the harbour by Wharf Road and now houses a

bistro A bistro or bistrot , is, in its original Parisian incarnation, a small restaurant, serving moderately priced simple meals in a modest setting. Bistros are defined mostly by the foods they serve. French home-style cooking, and slow-cooked foods ...

. The 1913-built boathouse at Penlee Point is built into the cliffs below the Newlyn to Mousehole road. It is a single-storey building with a short slipway. It launched boats into

facing

. Although no boat is now stationed here, the boathouse is still maintained and a small memorial garden has been created on the north side of the boathouse where people can sit and remember the crew of the ''Solomon Browne''. The new station at Newlyn harbour comprises two buildings. The main one, which houses the crew facilities, workshop, and fund-raising gift shop, is a single-storey masonry structure with a tile roof. The ALB berth is alongside a modern pontoon that is accessed by a metal truss walkway. A separate masonry and corrugated metal boathouse contains the ILB, which is launched from a shallow slipway by its entrance.

Lifeboats

'ON' is the RNLI's sequential Official Number; 'Op. No.' is the operational number painted onto the boat.

Pulling and sailing lifeboats

{, class="wikitable" , - ! ON ! Name ! Built ! At Penzance ! Class ! Comments , - , – , , 1803 , 1803–1812 , North Country , long, The site of lifeboat house is now the entrance to the railway station car park , - , – , , 1825 , 1826–1828 , , long , - , , , 1853 , 1853–1856 , , New lifeboat house built adjacent to the railway station in 1856 , - , , , 1853 , 1856–1860 , Peake , , - , , ''Alexandra'' , 1860 , 1860–1862 , Peake , Moved to

c. 1862 after failure to launch to the aid of the ''Saint Prospere'' , - ! ON ! Name ! Built ! At Wherrytown ! Class ! Comments , - , , ''Alexandra'' , 1860 , 1862–1865 , Peake , c. 1862 , - , , ''Richard Lewis'' , 1865 , 1865–1884 , , 10-oared boat of length and breadth. New timber lifeboat house opened in 1867 , - ! ON ! Name ! Built ! At Penzance ! Class ! Comments , - , 49 , ''Dora'' , 1884 , 1884–1895 , , Provided by Mr H M Harvey of

. Sold 1895 and broken up in Ireland 1980.{{{harvnb, Denton, 2009, pages= 2–3 A new lifeboat house opened in 1885 at Penzance Harbour and built under the first Penzance bathing-house. , - , 378 , ''Elizabeth and Blanche'' (1) , 1895 , 1895–1899 , Self–righting , , - , 424 , ''Elizabeth and Blanche'' (2) , 1899 , 1899–1908 , {{Lbb, Watson , To Newlyn in 1908 , - , 341 , ''Cape of Good Hope'' , 1892 , 1908–1912 , Self–righting , Penzance became a reserve station , - , 386 , ''Janet Hoyle'' , 1912 , 1912–1917 , Self–righting , The lifeboat house at the bottom of Jennings Street is still extant. , - ! ON ! Name ! Built ! At Newlyn ! Class ! Comments , - , 424 , ''Elizabeth and Blanche'' (2) , 1899 , 1908–1913 , {{Lbb, Watson , To Penlee in 1913 , - ! ON ! Name ! Built ! At Penlee ! Class ! Comments , - , 424 , ''Elizabeth and Blanche'' (2) , 1899 , 1913–1922 , Watson , First launch on 25 October 1913, sold 1922 and last reported in use as a yacht at Falmouth in 1969

Motor lifeboats

{, class="wikitable" , - ! ON ! Op. No. ! Name ! Built ! At Penlee ! Class ! width="390pt", Comments , - , 671 , – , ''The Brothers'' , 1922 , 1922–1930 , {{Lbb, 45ft Watson , Single engine, transferred to {{Lbs, Falmouth and sold in 1952; reported working as a dive support boat at

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

in 2007. Transferred from a

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

boatyard to

Gweek Gweek ( kw, Gwig, meaning ''forest village'') is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately three miles (5 km) east of Helston. The civil parish was created from part of the parish of Constantine by ...

for restoration in 2020. , - , 736 , – , ''W and S'' , 1930 , 1930–1960 , {{Lbb, 45ft 6in Watson , Twin engines. Sold in 1970 and converted to a motor yacht at

Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,998 at the 2011 Census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...

but moved to Falmouth in 2000 before being laid up at Mylor. In 2013 it was sold and moved to

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

for restoration. , - , 954 , – , ''

Solomon Browne Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah ( Hebrew: , Modern: , Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yah"), was a monarch of ancient Israel and the son and succe ...

'' , 1960 , 1960–1981 , {{Lbb, 47ft Watson , Wrecked in service , - , 987 , 70-001 , ''Charles H. Barrett (Civil Service No. 35)'' , 1965 , 1981 , {{Lbb, Clyde , Relief lifeboat , - , 866 , – , ''Charles Henry Ashley'' , 1949 , 1981–1982 , rowspan="2", {{Lbb, 46ft 9in Watson , New to

Porthdinllaen Porthdinllaen (''in English'' sometimes Porth Dinllaen) is a small coastal village on the Llŷn Peninsula in the Dwyfor area of Gwynedd, Wales, built on a small promontory, and historically in Caernarfonshire. It is near the larger village of Mo ...

, transferred to {{Lbs, Fowey, sold 1986 and last reported as pleasure boat ''Charles Ashley'' in 2008. , - , 926 , – , ''Guy and Clare Hunter'' , 1954 , 1982–1983 , Previously at {{Lbs, St Mary's and Fowey, transferred to {{Lbs, Padstow; sold in 1988 and reported working as a pleasure boat at

Donaghadee Donaghadee ( , ) is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northeast coast of the Ards Peninsula, about east of Belfast and about six miles (10 km) south east of Bangor. It is in the civil parish of Donaghadee and t ...

in 2008.{{harvnb, Ewens, 2021, page=196 , - ! ON ! Op. No. ! Name ! Built ! At Newlyn ! Class ! Comments , - , 1085 , 52-24 , ''Mabel Alice'' , 1982 , 1983–2003 , rowspan="2", {{Lbb, Arun , Sold in 2004 and reported working at Portishead in 2008. , - , 1086 , 52-25 , ''A.J.R. & L.G. Uridge'' , 1983 , 2003–2003 , Sold for further use as lifeboat ''Hebe'' at

Kemi Kemi (; sme, Giepma ; smn, Kiemâ; sms, Ǩeeʹmm; Swedish (historically): ''Kiemi'') is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located very near the city of Tornio and the Swedish border. The distance to Oulu is to the south and to Rovani ...

, Finland.{{harvnb, Denton, 2009, pages= 30–31 , - , 1265 , 17-36 , ''Ivan Ellen'' , , 2003–present , {{Lbb, Severn ,

Inshore lifeboats

{, class="wikitable" , - ! Op. No. ! Name ! Built ! At Penlee ! Class ! Type ! Comments , - , B-753 , ''City of Bradford V'' , 1999 , 2001–2002 , B , {{Lbb, Atlantic 75 , , - , B-787 , ''Paul Alexander'' , , 2002–2016 , B , {{Lbb, Atlantic 75 , {{harvnb, Denton, 2009, page= 44 , - , B-893 , ''Mollie & Ivor Dent'' , 2005 , 2016–present , B , {{Lbb, Atlantic 85 ,

References

{{Reflist

External links

* {{Official website
Lifeboat station listing (1884–1917)

RNLI station information
{{Lifeboat stations in Cornwall {{Authority control Lifeboat stations in Cornwall Newlyn