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Pakefield Lifeboat Station

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Coordinates: 52°27′01.5″N 1°44′03.2″E / 52.450417°N 1.734222°E / 52.450417; 1.734222
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Pakefield Lifeboat Station
Pakefield Beach.
Pakefield Lifeboat Station is located in Suffolk
Pakefield Lifeboat Station
Pakefield, Suffolk
General information
StatusClosed
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
AddressCliftonville Road
Town or cityPakefield, Suffolk
CountryEngland
Coordinates52°27′01.5″N 1°44′03.2″E / 52.450417°N 1.734222°E / 52.450417; 1.734222
Opened1840
Closed1922

Pakefield Lifeboat Station was located at various sites in Pakefield, a suburb of Lowestoft, on the Suffolk coast.[1]

A lifeboat was first placed at Pakefield by the Suffolk Humane Society (SHS) in 1840. Management of the station was transferred to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1855.[2]

After 82 years of operation, Pakefield Lifeboat Station closed in 1922.[2][3]

History

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A lifeboat station was first established at Pakefield in 1840, and along with a lifeboat at Lowestoft, was operated by the Suffolk Humane Society. A 45-foot Norfolk and Suffolk-class lifeboat was placed on station, constructed by Teasdel of Great Yarmouth.[4][5]

At the Annual General Meeting of the RNLI on 26 April 1855, it was announced that the Suffolk Humane Society, now with three stations at Lowestoft, Pakefield and Southwold, had voluntarily joined the Institution.[6]

Whilst the Southwold lifeboat was immediately replaced in 1855, it is assumed that the Pakefield lifeboat was in good condition, as it was retained, and served Pakefield for a further 17 years. In 1868, the Institution received a gift of £420 was Misses Sarah and Lydia Harris. The money was appropriated to the Pakefield lifeboat station, and the lifeboat was duly renamed Sisters.[7][8]

In 1871, an additional and smaller 30-foot lifeboat and transporting carriage was placed at Pakefield, designed for close shore work, and supplied at the request of the local beachmen. A No. 2 lifeboat house was constructed, at a cost of £50. At a ceremony on 18 January 1871, at the request of the anonymous benefactor "J. L.", the lifeboat was named Henry Burford, RN.[9]

In 1872, after 32-years service, the 46-foot lifeboat originally provided by the SHS, was declared unfit. Since 1855, when the RNLI took over, the boat and crew had saved 88 lives, and also saved five vessels from destruction. It was replaced with a lifeboat to the same design, again 46-feet long, and retained the name Sisters (ON 23). In 1876, the lifeboat was renamed The Two Sisters, Mary and Hannah, in accordance with the wishes of the late Mr Thomas Parkin, of Wigton, following his bequest of £550.[10][11]

Coxswain George Warford was awarded the RNLI Silver Medal in 1886, in recognition of his long and valuable services in the lifeboat.[12]
Services include:

Also in 1886, the No.1 lifeboat The Two Sisters, Mary and Hannah (ON 23) was loaned to Lowestoft, to be their No.2 Lifeboat. No relief boat was provided, leaving just the No.2 lifeboat on station at Pakefield. The lifeboat was at Lowestoft for four years, returning in 1890. That same year, a new boathouse was constructed on Cliftonville Road.[17][18]

The No.2 lifeboat Henry Burford, RN (ON 24) was withdrawn in 1895, and the No.2 station closed.[19]

Coxswain George Warford was awarded a bar (clasp) to his RNLI Silver Medal on his resignation in 1898, and for further rescues, including:

  • Brigantine Kelpie, 9 January 1895, Saved seven, and vessel recovered.[20]

The two 46-foot lifeboats at Pakefield would cover an extraordinary period of 70 years service at Pakefield. The Two Sisters, Mary and Hannah was finally replaced in 1910, with a 42-foot lifeboat, funded from the bequest of £3049-6s-11d, for the provision of a lifeboat and equipment, from the late James Leath of Winchmore Hill, London. The James Leath (ON 607), would serve at Pakefield for just nine years, before being transferred to Caister and later Aldeburgh.[21][22]

The James Leith was sold from service in 1936, but was later acquired by the Bristol Lifeboat Museum, and transferred to the RNLI Heritage Collection at Chatham Historic Dockyard in 1996.[23]

A motor-powered lifeboat was placed at Lowestoft Lifeboat Station in 1921. As a result, Pakefield Lifeboat was withdrawn in 1922, and the station closed. It was agreed that the service boards would be placed in Pakefield Church.[24]

Nothing remains of any of the three lifeboat houses at Pakefield. The last lifeboat at Pakefield at the time of closure, Hugh Taylor (ON 629), went on to serve at Aldeburgh. The boat was last reported as a yacht in Dordrecht in 1987.[22]

Station honours

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The following are awards made at Pakefield.[25]

George Warford, Coxswain – 1886
George Warford, Coxswain – 1898 (Second-Service clasp)

Pakefield lifeboats

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Pakefield / Pakefield No. 1 Station

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ON[a] Name Built On Station[26] Class Comments
Pre-195 Marianne,
Sisters 		1840 1840−1868
1868–1872 		46-foot Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) [Note 1]
23 Sisters,
The Two Sisters, Mary and Hannah 		1872 1872−1876
1876−1886 		46-foot Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) [Note 2]
Station Closed 1886–1890
23 The Two Sisters, Mary and Hannah 1872 1890−1910 46-foot Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S)
607 James Leath 1910 1910−1919 42-foot Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) [Note 3][27]
629 Hugh Taylor 1912 1919−1922 34-foot Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) [Note 4]
Station Closed, 1922

Pakefield No. 2 Station

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ON[a] Name Built On Station[19] Class Comments
24 Henry Burford, RN 1870 1871−1895 30-foot Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) [Note 5][28]
Station Closed, 1895
  1. ^ a b ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ 46-foot x 12-foot 2in (14-oared) Norfolk & Suffolk-class (P&S) lifeboat, built by Teasdel of Great Yarmouth.
  2. ^ 46-foot 3in x 12-foot (14-oared) Norfolk & Suffolk-class (P&S) lifeboat, costing £276.
  3. ^ 42-foot x 12-foot 6in (12-oared) Norfolk & Suffolk-class (P&S) lifeboat, built by Thames Ironworks.
  4. ^ 34-foot Norfolk & Suffolk-class (P&S) lifeboat.
  5. ^ 30-foot x 9-foot (12-oared) Norfolk & Suffolk-class (P&S) lifeboat, costing £120.

References

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  1. ^ "Suffolk Sheet X.SE". Maps. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  2. ^ a b Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2025). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2025. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. p. 117.
  3. ^ "Annual Report. 1904". The Lifeboat. XIX (212): 26. 2 May 1904. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  4. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, p. 117.
  5. ^ "To the Editor". Norfolk Chronicle: 3. 19 February 1842.
  6. ^ "Annual Report 1855". The Lifeboat. II (16): 26, 32. May 1855. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  7. ^ "List of Special Gifts to the Royal National Life-Boat Institution for the Purchase of the Following Life-Boats". The Lifeboat. VI (68): 564. 1 April 1868. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  8. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 4–5.
  9. ^ "Additional Stations and New Life-Boats". The Lifeboat. VIII (83): 196–197. 1 February 1872. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  10. ^ "Additional Stations and New Life-Boats". The Lifeboat. VIII (90): 555–556. 1 November 1873. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  11. ^ "Summary of the Meetings of the Committee". The Lifeboat. IX (101): 599. 1 August 1876. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  12. ^ Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. p. 179. ISBN 0907605893.
  13. ^ "Amicizia, of Genoa". The Lifeboat. VI (70): 747. October 1868. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  14. ^ "Douglas, of Guernsey". The Lifeboat. VII (74): 260. 1 October 1869. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  15. ^ "James Cuckow, of Ipswich". The Lifeboat. VII (78): 544. 1 November 1870. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  16. ^ "Nimrod". The Lifeboat. XII (127): 13. 1 February 1883. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  17. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, p. 18.
  18. ^ "Suffolk Sheet X.SE". Maps. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  19. ^ a b Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 18–19.
  20. ^ "Kelpie". The Lifeboat. XVI (181): 625. 1 August 1896. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  21. ^ "Summary of the Meetings of the Committee of Management". The Lifeboat. XX (226): 297. 1 November 1907. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  22. ^ a b Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 40–41.
  23. ^ "James leath". National Historic Ships. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  24. ^ "Life-Boat Service Boards to Be Hung In a Church". The Lifeboat. XXV (279): 64. June 1923. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  25. ^ Cox 1998, pp. 179, 208.
  26. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 4–41.
  27. ^ "Annual Report. 1911". The Lifeboat. XXI (240): 356. 1 May 1911. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  28. ^ "Annual Report 1871". The Lifeboat. VIII (80): 32–35. 1 May 1871. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
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