Torquay Lifeboat Station was 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 at

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

in England from 1876 until 1923. A second lifeboat was kept at the harbour from 1917 until 1928.

History

The RNLI had stationed a

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 A ...

Brixham Brixham is a coastal town and civil parish, the smallest and southernmost of the three main population centres (the others being Paignton and Torquay) on the coast of Torbay in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. Commercial fish ...

in 1866 but ten years later they opened a second station on Torbay. The

boathouse A boathouse (or a boat house) is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. describing the facilities These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats ...

was built at the Ladies Bathing Cove (Beacon Cove) on a site donated by Sir Lawrence Palk and the lifeboat arrived on 22 May 1876. Brixham was equipped with a motor lifeboat in 1922 which could cover a larger sea area in more extreme conditions. Changes in the shape of the beach at the Ladies Bathing Cove were also making it difficult to launch the lifeboat, so on 31 March 1923 the station was closed The boathouse was later used as a café but was demolished in 1975. The managing director of local shipping company Whiteways and Ball presented the ''Torquay Harbour Lifesaving Boat'' to the RNLI in 1917 on the understanding that it would be kept operational even if the lifeboat station at the Ladies Bathing Cove closed. For the first year it of its operation it was kept on davits on Beacon Quay but from 1918 it was kept afloat in the harbour until 1928.

Description

The boathouse was built in a decorative style at the back of the Ladies Bathing Cove under the cliff. Above the double opening doors was a bay window that give views of operations. On the long side of the building nearest the sea was a large shelter with three dormer windows above.

Fleet

References

External links

The History of Torbay Lifeboat Stations
{{Lifeboat stations in Dorset and South Devon Lifeboat stations in Devon Buildings and structures in Torquay