Whitby Lifeboat Station is located at Market Place, on the east side of the River Esk in Whitby, a seaside town and port in North Yorkshire, England. It is one of eight lifeboat stations situated along the Yorkshire coast.
Whitby has had a lifeboat station since 1802, with management of the station transferring to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1861. In its 200 plus year history, Whitby has had seven different lifeboat stations (although not all operated at the same time). An eighth lifeboat station was located at , just up the coast from Whitby, and whilst it was considered separate from Whitby, it was crewed by Whitby lifeboat men.
The station currently operates two lifeboats; a All-weather lifeboat (ALB), 13-49 Lois Ivan (ON 1356), on station since 2023, and the smaller Inshore lifeboat (ILB), Warter Priory (D-810), on station since 2017.
History The first lifeboat to be stationed at Whitby was in 1802 on the west side of the river. This had been paid for by a combination of local finance and an offer from Lloyd's of London, who contributed £50 of the £160 needed for a lifeboat. A 30-foot 10-oared lifeboat was constructed by Henry Greathead of South Shields, at a cost of £160, arriving in Whitby on 15 September 1802. The boat was kept on a carriage, in a boathouse near the West Pier.
By 1817, the lifeboat was reported as being unserviceable. No more details are available, until 1822, when two new lifeboats were placed at Whitby. A 26-foot 6in long 10-oared boat was constructed by Wake of Sunderland to replace the Greathead boat. It was kept in the same boathouse, and called "West Side Lifeboat". A No.2 station was created with the second boat, a 26-foot 10-oared lifeboat, constructed by local boatbuilder Christopher Gale, and launched from davits on Tate Hill Pier, where a boathouse was built out for protection. The boat was known as the "East Side Lifeboat".
By 1859, the "West Side Lifeboat" was found to be rotten, and a new 30-foot boat was ordered from local boatbuilder Francis Falkingbridge, costing £130, and delivered in September 1860. This boat would be involved in the 1861 disaster as documented later.
The lifeboat disaster of 1861, when twelve of the lifeboatmen died, prompted a local fund-raising effort for their widows and children. This eventually raised over £8,000, but the trustees of the fund thought that supplying the money to the widows and orphans might give them ideas above their station, so a memorial was paid for instead, to be installed in the parish Church of St Mary in the town.
At a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 7 March 1861, it was resolved to grant £50 to the Whitby Widow and Orphan fund. It was also noted that the local lifeboat committee at Whitby had decided to become a branch of the Institution, and to accept the offer of a new self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, with carriage. The Inspector of Lifeboats was invited to Whitby, and made arrangements for the complete re-organisation of the establishment.
By the end of the 1865, Whitby had three lifeboats under the command of the harbour master. One of these was the Lifeboat, which was housed at a newly created station on a stretch of beach at Upgang, along the coast west towards Sandsend. The station had been created as in certain conditions, launching the Whitby harbour boats had proven extremely difficult. The RNLI always regarded Upgang as being a different lifeboat station, despite its proximity to Whitby, and the fact it was crewed by men from the Whitby station.
In 1881, a ship foundered during a heavy snowstorm in Robin Hood's Bay. The lifeboat stationed in that village was deemed to be unseaworthy and so a telegraph was sent to launch the Whitby lifeboat, the Robert Whitworth. Due to the heavy seas, this had to be taken over land through blizzards and snowdrifts. A similar situation occurred in April 1834, when the lifeboat from Whitby was carried overland to Robin Hood's bay to rescue two women in difficulty.
The sinking of the Rohilla in 1914 was attended by six lifeboats in all, but with all the other 'oar-powered' lifeboats struggling with the conditions, the rescue was only completed with the arrival of the motor-powered lifeboat from . After this, most RNLI crews were persuaded about the efficacy of using motorised boats over ones with oars; previously, many crews were suspicious of motorised lifeboats.
The Whitby lifeboat No.2 lifeboat John Fielden (ON 379) was badly damaged during the Rohilla rescue, and was subsequently withdrawn. Galvanised by the promise of a motor-powered lifeboat, local fundraising for a new lifeboat raised the considerable sum of £1,668-16s-4d. A sum of £1000 had been received by the Institution from the bequest of Miss Margaret Harker-Smith in 1914, but a proviso in her will allowed her trustees to apply a further sum, towards providing a lifeboat on the Yorkshire coast. The executors of her estate granted an additional sum of £6000.
At a ceremony held at 15:00 on Saturday 28 June 1919, coincidentally the same day as the signing of the Treaty of Versailles formally ending World War I, the new East Side motor-lifeboat house was formally opened. The building was funded by Mrs Humble, dedicated to the memory of her son, Lieut. F. H. G. Trumble, R.N, who was killed in action aboard HMS Warwick (D25) whilst off Ostend on 10 May 1918. Then followed the naming ceremony of the new self-righting (motor) lifeboat. A bottle of wine was broken over the bow, with the lifeboat duly named Margaret Harker-Smith (ON 667), after which the boat was launched down the slipway for demonstration.
Despite the arrival of a motor-powered lifeboat, Whitby would retained a pulling and sailing lifeboat until 1957. The last one on station, Robert and Ellen Robson (ON 667), was the last rowing boat in operation by the RNLI. This boat is now on display in the RNLI museum in Whitby.
Following a surge in water-based leisure activity, the Inshore lifeboat (D-84) was placed at Whitby in 1966, used for close inshore rescue work, inaccessible to the All-weather lifeboats.
On 7 September 2007, the Duchess of Kent formally opened the new £1million lifeboat station in Whitby. The new station was built on the site of the old motor lifeboat station (built in 1918 and in use since 1919), which had become life-expired, known to the crews as the "Tin Shed". Whilst the new lifeboat station was being constructed, the old West Side lifeboat station on Pier Road, now the museum, was resurrected as the lifeboat house for one year from 2006 to 2007.
In 2023, after serving Whitby for 27 years, the All-weather lifeboat 14-14 George and Mary Webb (ON 1212) was transferred to the training fleet. A new All-weather lifeboat, 13-49 Lois Ivan (ON 1356), arrived in Whitby on 11 June 2023.
Locations The various lifeboat stations in Whitby are detailed as follows, located on the West or East side of the River Esk.
Name Dates Side Location Notes Whitby No.1 West West Pier. Closed when the Khyber Pass was cut in the town, so the lifeboat house was moved further inland.The Khyber Pass was cut out of the West Cliff at the behest of George Hudson who built the Royal Crescent at the top of the cliff. The road curves 180 degrees and rises up the hill before curving another 180 degrees back on itself to access the cliff top. Whitby No.2 1822–1863 East On Davits, Tate Hill (East) Pier. Whitby No.1 1847–1895 West Pier Road Demolished, and rebuilt to house No.1 and No.2 lifeboats, 1895. Whitby No.2 1863–1895 West Wooden boathouse at the foot of the Khyber Pass. 1865–1919 West Located just over west of Whitby Harbour. After closure, the Upgang lifeboat William Riley of Birmingham and Leamington (ON 594) was transferred to Whitby No.2. Whitby No.2 1895–1957 West Pier Road No.1 lifeboat withdrawn in 1934. No.2 lifeboat withdrawn in November 1957.Building re-opened on 26 July 1958 as the Whitby Lifeboat Museum. Whitby (Motor) 1919–2006 East Market place. Closed and demolished in 2006. Whitby 2007– East Market place. Built on the site of the former 1919 Motor lifeboat station.
Notable incidents Between 1802 (when the first lifeboat was launched at Whitby) and 2009, 24 lifeboat crew members were lost from Whitby. Their names are commemorated in the RNLI memorial at Poole in Dorset. A news report in 2022 stated that in its more than 200-year history, the Whitby lifeboat had been launched over 2,900 times, and saved over 1,230 people.
Lifeboat disaster (1841) On 6 October 1841, the east-side lifeboat was on her way to the rescue of two yawls foundering in Whitby Bay. The lifeboat capsized and four lifeboatmen lost their lives.
Lifeboat disaster (1861) On 9 February 1861, a severe storm struck the east coast of England which resulted in 200 ships being wrecked. The crew had already been out and responded to five ships in distress, when responding to the sixth, a huge wave capsized their vessel. The only survivor of the incident was Henry Freeman, the only member of the crew wearing a cork lifejacket; the other twelve crew, all of who drowned, were wearing their traditional ballast filled lifebelts.The story is that the captain of the lifeboat, Jon Storr, had given the new type lifebelt to Henry Freeman as he was the youngest crew member. The other crew members wore their traditional life belts filled with ballast. The new life jacket had been sent out to all local lifeboat stations by the RNLI in an effort to persuade them to become part of a nationally supported organisation which it would be hoped would be better resourced and staffed.
Agenoria (1877) The schooner Agenoria which was transporting coal from Hartlepool to Whitby ran aground just outside Whitby harbour on 10 January 1877. The Whitby lifeboat Harriott Forteath launched to try and effect a rescue. During the swell, she capsized and all but one of her 12 crew were thrown into the water. One swam ashore, seven got back into the vessel, but three members of the RNLI crew drowned, with their bodies washing up on the beaches around Whitby in the following days.
The Visitor (1881) The brig Visitor foundered in the bay of Robin Hood's Bay in November 1881, and after the hold was flooded with of water, the crew abandoned ship into their lifeboat. The Robin Hood's Bay RNLI lifeboat station had been closed in 1855, and the unofficial lifeboat in the village was deemed "unseaworthy"Some reports described the boat as being rotten. and so a telegraph was sent to launch the Whitby Lifeboat. The seas were too rough to launch from Whitby and row around the coastline, so a decision was made to haul Robert Whitworth the overland to Robin Hood's Bay through blizzards and snow drifts, some as deep as . This took two hours to achieve using the combined strength of 18 horses and 200 men. When the lifeboat and crew arrived, they launched the boat and spent 90 minutes in effecting a rescue of the people still stranded at sea. All survived and a commemorative plaque now memorialises the rescue in the village of Robin Hood's Bay.
The events of The Visitor prompted the RNLI to re-open the lifeboat station at Robin Hoods Bay (until 1931).
SS Rohilla (1914)