Cromer Lifeboat Station
Cromer Lifeboat Station is located in Norfolk
Cromer Lifeboat Station
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
LocationCromer Lifeboat Station, Cromer Pier, Cromer, Norfolk
CountryEngland
Coordinates52°56′3.4″N 1°18′5.84″E / 52.934278°N 1.3016222°E / 52.934278; 1.3016222
Opened1804 as Norfolk Shipwreck Association
Owner Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Technical details
MaterialFabricated steelwork and concrete

Cromer Lifeboat Station is an RNLI station located in the town of Cromer in the English county of Norfolk.[1] The station operates two lifeboats – one for inshore work and the other for offshore work.

The current lifeboat station on the end of Cromer Pier was re-built between 1997 and 1999 to replace the smaller 1923 one which was re-located to Southwold in Suffolk where it is used as a lifeboat museum. The new boathouse cost approximately £3 million which was funded by bequests and private donations.[2] Cromer Lifeboat station is one of the most famous of the lifeboat stations operated by the RNLI.[3]

There has been a lifeboat service operated from Cromer for two centuries – predating the establishment of the RNLI. The volunteer crews at Cromer have gained a record of gallantry stretching back to the beginnings of the RNLI. Some of the most notable rescues and service have been carried out by famous coxswains such as Henry Blogg and Henry "Shrimp" Davies and their crews. To date there have been awards of 45 Bronze medals, 8 Silver medals and 3 Gold medals.

History

In the early days of the station the lifeboats were kept outdoors on the east jetty. From 1804 the privately operated service was funded by a subscription fund which was administered by a local committee led by Lord Suffield, the third baron of Gunton Hall.[3] Other dignitaries on the committee included George Wyndham of Cromer Hall, Thomas Mickleburgh, a local merchant, Joseph Gurney, a Cromer draper and Benjamin Rust who was a grocer.[3] This was the situation of the service until 1857, when with the lifeboat organisation falling into financial troubles and the lifeboats falling into a bad state of repair, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution took over the Cromer station along with other Norfolk Association stations.[3] By this time the association had built a lifeboat house which once stood some 100 yards from the high-water mark close to what is now the inshore lifeboat station. The RNLI altered and renovated this station at a cost of £46.2s.7d.[4] but by the mid-1860s this station had outlived its usefulness and a new boathouse was planned. The new site was on the east gangway and in 1867[3] work started on the new station. The new boathouse work also included building an extension to the sea walls and a slipway across the top of the beach. The work cost £476.4s.0d[3] and was carried out by a local builder by the name of E. Simmons.[3] The cost of the station was met by Benjamin Bond Cabbell[3] who had also bought the new lifeboat for the station.

Fleet

The station operated two offshore boats from 1923. The second boat was replaced by an inshore lifeboat (ILB) in 1967.

All-weather lifeboats

ON[lower-alpha 1] Op. No.[lower-alpha 2] Name In service [5] Class Comments
unnamed 1804–1830 Greathead-class
unnamed 1830–1858 Greathead-class
unnamed 1858–1868 Peake-class
Benjamin Bond Cabbell 1868–1884 34 ft Self-Righter
12 Benjamin Bond Cabbell II 1884–1902 Cromer-class
495 Louisa Heartwell 1902–1923 Liverpool-class
670 H F Bailey 1923–1924 Norfolk and Suffolk-class (renamed to John and Mary Meiklam of Gladswood when transferred)
694 H F Bailey 1924–1928 45ft Watson-class
714 H F Bailey II 1928–1929 45ft 6in Watson-class
694 H F Bailey 1929–1935 45ft Watson-class
777 H F Bailey III 1935–1945 46ft Watson-class
840 Henry Blogg 1945–1966 46ft Watson-class
990 48-03 Ruby and Arthur Reed 1967–1984 Oakley-class 48ft 6in Mk.II
926 Guy and Clare Hunter 1984–1985 46ft 9in Watson-class
1097 47-006 Ruby and Arthur Reed II 1985–1996 Tyne-class
1189 12-30 Her Majesty The Queen 1996–1999 Mersey-class Carriage launched during boathouse rebuilding
1097 47-006 Ruby and Arthur Reed II 1999–2007 Tyne-class
1162 12-004 Royal Shipwright 2007–2008 Mersey-class Carriage launched during slipway rebuilding
1287 16-07 Lester 2008– Tamar-class

No. 2 lifeboat

When the station received its first motor lifeboat, a No. 2 station was established located in the old boathouse. It was closed in 1967 when the station received an inshore lifeboat.

ON Op. No. Name In service [5] Class Comments
495 Louisa Heartwell 1923–1931 Liverpool-class (P&S)
514 Alexandra 1931–1934 Liverpool-class (P&S)
770 Harriot Dixon 1934–1964 Liverpool-class
834 Jose Neville 1964–1964 Liverpool-class Relief fleet
980 37-13 William Henry and Mary King 1964–1967 Oakley-class 37ft Mk I

Inshore lifeboat

Op. No. Name In service [5] Class Comments Photo
D-101 unnamed 1967–1970 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-26 unnamed 1970–1971 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-197 unnamed 1972–1984 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-307 Spirit of Round Table 1984–1992 D-class (EA16)
D-436 Chloe 1992–2001 D-class (EA16)
D-568 Seahorse III 2001–2010 D-class (EA16)
D-734 George & Muriel 2010–2022 D-class (IB1)
D-864 Mr Eric Sharpe
(Civil Service No.54) [6]		 2022– D-class (IB1)


See also

Notes

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

References

  1. ↑ OS Explorer Map 252 – Norfolk Coast East. ISBN 978-0-319-23815-8.
  2. ↑ Cromer lifeboat history Archived 28 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2 March 2010
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Cromer Lifeboat, A pictorial history, By Nicholas Leach & Paul Russell, Pub; Landmark Collector’s Library, ISBN 978-1-84306-363-6
  4. ↑ "Cromer Lifeboats 1804-2004", Leach, Nicholas & Russell, Paul, Pub: Tempus Publishing, 2004, ISBN 0-7524-3197-8
  5. 1 2 3 Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2023). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2023. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society.
  6. ↑ "Cromer RNLI's new inshore lifeboat named during special ceremony". The Lifeboat Fund. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
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