Hastings Lifeboat Station is located on The Stade, in the town of Hastings, in East Sussex.

A lifeboat was first stationed here in 1835, but after a period of decline, the boat was no longer fit for purpose. A new station was opened by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1858.

The station currently operates All-weather lifeboat, 13-28 Richard and Caroline Colton (ON 1335), launched off the beach using the Shannon Launch and Recovery System, and a Inshore lifeboat, Richard Francis (D-835).

History The loss of a Coastguard boat and six crew in 1834 prompted a local fund to be set up, raising £81, and a lifeboat was provided in 1835, built locally by Thwaite and Winter. There are no records of any service, and by 1851, the boat was deemed to be unfit.

The loss of another boat and crew off Hastings in October 1857 prompted local residents to place a request with the RNLI, that a lifeboat be placed at Hastings. This was agreed, and an order was placed with Forrestt of Limehouse, London to build a 30-foot self-righting lifeboat, costing £161. A carriage was ordered, and a new boat house was commissioned at Rock-a-Nore, constructed by local builder Edwin Harman, at a cost of £137-10s. All costs were funded locally.

The lifeboat arrived in Hastings on Monday 5 April 1858, along with a carriage and her equipment, all transported free of charge by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Company. She was drawn on her carriage by a team of horses, and paraded through the streets of Hastings and St Leonards-on-Sea to the boathouse, where she was named Victoria by the Mayor. Mr. T. S. Hyde was appointed Honorary Secretary, and Charles Picknell to be Coxswain.

Victoria only served Hastings for 5 years, as she was found to be too small for the conditions encountered. In 1863, she was transferred to Palling in Norfolk, where she served for the following 18 years. Hastings were provided with a replacement unnamed boat, previously a 30-foot 10-oared Self-righting boat stationed at Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire). She was modified for Hastings by Forrestt and extended to 36-foot 4inches (12-oared), arriving on 7 August 1863, and again transported free of charge by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Company. In 1867, she was named Ellen Goodman in acknowledgment of the bequest of Miss E. Goodman, of Eversholt, Bedfordshire.

On her last service at Hastings, Ellen Goodman was launched on 18 February 1879, to the aid of the schooner Apollo, on passage from London, United Kingdom to Cette, Hérault, France, with a cargo of currants. Five crew were rescued when she ran aground and was wrecked near 'Rock-a-Nore'.

Hastings was one of the first stations to receive one of the small fast (D-21) inshore lifeboats in 1964. As was common at the time, the use of the inshore boat was seasonal, and so followed a succession of boats each year until one was permanently placed on service in 1975, a (D-226).

A new lifeboat was assigned to the station in 1989. She was funded by bequests from Dr. William Murphy and Mrs. Dorothy Kellet, and from a special promotion run by Sealink British Ferries, costing £498,625. At a ceremony on 21 September 1989, she was named 12-002 Sealink Endeavour (ON 1125) by HRH The Duke of Kent, President of the RNLI.

In 2015, the RNLI received the most valuable items ever left to the Institution in a single legacy. In a most extraordinary bequest, the RNLI received two rare Ferrari cars from the estate of the late Richard Colton, businessman. Both were sent to auction:

A silver 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4, sold for £1.93m A red 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB, sold for £6.6m

This has funded two lifeboats, the first being assigned to Hastings in 2018, 13-28 Richard and Caroline Colton (ON 1335).

In 2018, photographer Jack Lowe made images of the lifeboat and crew at Hastings Lifeboat Station using his Edwardian plate-glass camera. An image of Sloane Phillips, Deputy Second Coxswain, has been accessioned into the collection at the Royal Maritime Museum at Greenwich.

On 1 October 2025, following a strategic review of resources across the UK, the RNLI announced that the Hastings lifeboat 13-28 Richard and Caroline Colton (ON 1335) would be withdrawn from Hastings in 2027, for redeployment elsewhere. The station will be receiving one of the new Mk.4 Atlantic-class Inshore lifeboats.

Notable rescues On 31 March 1943, Hastings lifeboat Cyril and Lilian Bishop (ON 740) was called to the aid of H.M. Trawler Caulonia, stranded off Jury's Gap, 10 miles east of Hastings, in a WSW gale, with rough seas and heavy swell. All kinds of obstacles had to be removed from the beach following War Defence work. The lifeboat was eventually run down the beach just as an enormous wave hit, and the boat was flung back on the beach. Finally the boat was launched, and made to the Caulonia. 17 men had already left in a liferaft. With wreckage all around, Coxswain Muggeridge managed to bring the lifeboat alongside for 30 minutes while the remaining seven crew were rescued. For this service, Coxswain John Muggeridge and Motor Mechanic William Hilder were both awarded the RNLI Bronze Medal. Only days after the rescue, Muggeridge was killed when his fishing boat hit a sea mine, and Hilder died in an air raid two months later.

Station honours The following are awards made at Hastings

RNIPLS Gold Medal Lt. John Prattent, RN, HMS Hyperion – 1830 Lt. Horatio James, RN, HMS Hyperion – 1830

Gold Medal, awarded by the Argentinian Naval Authorities Dr Peter Davy – 1974

RNLI Silver Medal Alfred Stonham, Fisherman – 1904

John Herbert William Martin, Coxswain/Mechanic – 1975

Dr Peter Davy – 1974

RNLI Bronze Medal John Edward Muggeridge, Coxswain – 1943 William R. Hilder, Motor Mechanic – 1943

George Douglas White, Second Coxswain – 1975

John (Joe) Henry William Martin, Coxswain/Mechanic – 1985

Bronze Medal, awarded by the Carnegie Hero Fund Trust Dr Peter Davy – 1974

The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum Cmdr. W. Highfield, , RN, Honorary Secretary – 1943 Edward F. Adams, Second Coxswain – 1943 Fred White, Bowman – 1943

Hasting Lifeboat Crew – 1975

Christopher Cooper, Helm – 1985 Graham Furness, crew member – 1985 Steven Martin, crew member – 1985

David John Curtis, Assistant Mechanic – 1991

Simon Hodgson, Helm – 2007

A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution J. H. Martin, Motor Mechanic – 1965 S. Ferguson, Police Sergeant – 1965

J. H. Martin, Motor Mechanic – 1967 W. Adams – 1967

R. Shoesmith, ILB crew – 1972 C. Green, ILB crew – 1972 K. Ronchett, ILB crew – 1972

Fred White, Coxswain – 1991

Sloane Phillips, crew member – 2007 Glenn Barry, crew member – 2007

Letters of Thanks signed by the Secretary of the Institution John Martin, Coxswain/Mechanic – 1972 B. Foster – 1972 R. White – 1972 F. Davis – 1972 J. Mitchell – 1972 R. Taylor – 1972

Testimonial on Parchment, awarded by the Royal Humane Society S. Ferguson, Police Sergeant – 1965

Resuscitation Certificate, awarded by the Royal Humane Society S. Ferguson, Police Sergeant – 1965 John H. Martin, Motor Mechanic – 1965

British Empire Medal John H. W. Martin, Coxswain Mechanic – 1987NYH

Hastings lifeboats Pulling and Sailing (P&S) lifeboats ON Name Built Class Comments − Ariel? – c.1835−c.1851 Unknown Believed to have been built locally by Thwaite and Winter. Victoria 1857 1858−1863 30-foot Peake (P&S) 30-foot x 7-foot 6in (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £161. Pre-281 1854 1863−1867 30-foot Self-righting (P&S) 30-foot x 8-foot (10-oared) Peake-class self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £150 when new. Lengthened to 36-foot 4in x 8-foot 2in (12-oared) by Forrestt in 1863.Previously at . Renamed Ellen Goodman in 1867. Pre-281 1854 1867−1880 36-foot 4in x 8-foot 2in (12-oared) Peake-class self-righting (P&S) lifeboat. 187 Charles Arkcoll 1880 1880−1901 34-foot Self-righting (P&S) 34-foot x 8-foot 3in (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, gift of Mr C. Arkcoll of Chatham, built by Woolfe of Shadwell, London, costing £363. 469 Charles Arkcoll 1901 1901−1931 35-foot Self-righting (P&S) 35-foot x 8-foot 6in (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, gift of Mr C. Arkcoll of Chatham, built by Thames Ironworks of Blackwall, London, costing £844.

All-weather lifeboats ON Op.No. Name Class Comments 740 − Cyril and Lilian Bishop 1931−1950 35-foot 6in Self-righting (motor) 35-foot 6in self-righting motor lifeboat, built by J. Samuel White of Cowes, with single 35-hp Weyburn petrol-engine, giving 7.25 knots. 878 − M. T. C. 1950−1963 35-foot 6in Self-righting (motor) 35-foot 6in self-righting motor lifeboat, built by Groves and Guttridge, with twin 18-hp Weyburn petrol-engines, giving 7.25 knots, and costing £11,283.M.T.C. was named for the Mechanised Transport Corps 795 − Frank and William Oates 1963−1964 973 37-06 Fairlight 1964−1988 984 37-17 Mary Joicey 1988−1989 1125 Sealink Endeavour 1989−2018 1335 13-28 2018−

Inshore lifeboats Op.No. Name Class Comments D-21 1964 D-25 1965 D-27 1965−1967 D-11 1967 D-143 1967−1975 D-226 1975−1982 D-288 Cinque Ports I 1983−1989 D-392 Cecile Rampton 1989−1998 D-540 1998−2008 D-699 Daphne May 2008−2019 D-835 Richard Francis 2019−

Launch and recovery tractors Op. No. Reg. No. Type Comments T65 VYT 878 T57 NYE 351 Fowler Challenger III 1970–1972 T65 VYT 878 Fowler Challenger III 1972–1973 On display in the RNLI Heritage Collection at Chatham Historic Dockyard T60 OXO 323 Fowler Challenger III 1973–1974 T65 VYT 878 Fowler Challenger III 1974–1985 T95 B188 GAW 1985 T96 B688 HUJ 1985–1997 T95 1997–2007 T119 N470 XAW 2007–2019 HF18 DYS SLARS (Clayton) 2018– Named Richard and Mark Colton

Notes

See also List of RNLI stations List of former RNLI stations Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats

References

External links Hasting RNLI Lifeboat Station