# Maryport Lifeboat Station

Maryport RNLI Station, not to be confused with Maryport Rescue, was located on Marine Road at the harbour in Maryport, a town sitting just outside the Lake District National Park, on the north west coast of Cumberland, Cumbria.
A lifeboat was first stationed at Maryport in 1865, by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).
After 84 years of operation, Maryport RNLI Lifeboat Station was closed in 1949.
In 1978, the loss of three lives from a local fishing boat prompted the establishment of Maryport Inshore Rescue, an independent lifeboat service, which continues to this day. For further information about the current rescue service, please see the website link.

## History

At a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 2 February 1865, two letters of 6 December and 15 December 1864 were read, from H. Lindsay, Collector of Customs at Maryport. He advised of the considerable trade through the port, highlighting that between 15 and 20 vessels had been lost in the locality over a period of just seven years, and noted that there was considerable local support for a lifeboat to be placed at Maryport. The report of the visit of Capt. John R. Ward, Inspector of Lifeboats to Maryport was also taken into consideration, and his recommendation that a lifeboat station should be established at Maryport was agreed.
It was reported in the October 1865 edition of the RNLI journal 'The Lifeboat', that the station had been established at Maryport. A new boathouse had been constructed, and a 32-foot self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with both sails and (10) oars had been supplied to the station, along with its launching carriage. The lifeboat had been transported to the station by the London and North Western, Lancashire and Yorkshire, and the Whitehaven and Furness Railway Companies.
The cost of the establishment had been defrayed with the gift of £550 from Mr Henry Dixson of Manchester, and at a ceremony held on the arrival of the lifeboat at Maryport, the boat was named Henry Dixson.
At 21:00 on 9 October 1878, the barque Carn Tual was seen in distress in the Solway Firth, at anchor riding out a gale. She had departed Maryport three days earlier. The Henry Dixson was launched, but now dark, and with no lights on the vessel, the lifeboat searched for her for 5 hours, with no success. The following day, the lifeboat set out again, this time in the tow of a Steam Tug, and nine men were brought ashore, one reportedly driven insane with fear. The Master and mate refused to leave the vessel, and it was later assisted by the Whitehaven lifeboat and a steamship, and taken into Whitehaven. For this service, and with other rescues taken into consideration, Coxswain John Webster was awarded the RNLI Silver Medal.
The next two lifeboats to be placed at Maryport were provided by the Civil Service charity, an official charity, set up over 150 years ago by civil servants, and still in operation today. It raises funds through donations from both serving and retired employees, from legacies, and from fundraising events.
For further information, please see
* Civil Service lifeboats
In 1931, Maryport would receive their first motor-powered lifeboat. Built in 1921, the Priscilla Macbean (ON 655) had already served at Eastbourne and Kirkcudbright, and would serve just three years at Maryport before retirement.
On the 17 January 1934, the steamship SS Plawsworth of Newcastle-upon-Tyne dragged her anchors in a south west gale, and was driven ashore off Workington. Pricilla Macbean was launched at 12:00, and found the vessel ashore stern first, affording no shelter on either side to the lifeboat. The lifeboat was required to set her own anchor, and veer down to the vessel, damaging the rudder in the process. Hindered with a poorly handling boat, the coxswain still managed to get the boat alongside for 42 minutes, and 13 crew were taken off, with the Master and 4 crew remaining aboard. The lifeboat landed the survivors at Workington, and after repairs, set out again. They arrived back to find the vessel had shifted, and although the lifeboat could no longer get close, the 5 remaining aboard were able to wade ashore at low tide. Coxswain Thomas Quayle Reay was awarded the RNLI Bronze Medal.
The last lifeboat to be placed at Maryport arrived on station later in 1934. It is estimated over 20,000 people attended the naming ceremony, which was held on 27 September 1934. One man attending the event was Mr. John Murray, the last surviving member of the 1865 crew of the Henry Nixson, the first lifeboat at Maryport. The new lifeboat, a single-engined 35-foot 6in Liverpool-class, was funded from the legacy of Mr Joseph Braithwaite, a native of Wigton, Cumberland, and was named in his memory.
On the afternoon of 9 October 1940, the wind began to increase, and the herring drifters of Maryport made for home from the Solway Firth. Such was the speed of the increase in wind-speed, that one boat, the ''Mourne Lass, took only 5 minutes longer than the rest hauling in her nets, but lost an hour on the return journey, and was caught in the now gale force conditions. At 18:30, she was spotted in difficulty, approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) out. The lifeboat launched at 19:47, and struggled to even leave the harbour. Arriving with the Mourne Lass at 18:30, they found the crew exhausted, with the propeller fouled on the nets, and the mizzen sail in shreds. The lifeboat arrived back to harbour with the 4 crew aboard, and was guided in by the harbour master flashing his torch. Coxswain Thomas Quayle Reay received the second service clasp to his previously won RNLI Bronze Medal.
It was decided to close Maryport Lifeboat Station in 1949. A building stands on the site of the old boathouse, but it is thought at least one wall is original. The lifeboat on station at the time of closure, Joseph Braithwaite (ON 773), was transferred to the Relief fleet, before being sold from service in 1952. It was last recorded as being in a back garden in Barry, South Wales in 2019.

## Station honours

The following are awards made at Maryport.
* RNLI Silver Medal
       John Webster, Coxswain – 1878
* RNLI Bronze Medal
       Thomas Quayle Reay, Coxswain – 1934
       Thomas Quayle Reay, Coxswain – 1941 (Second-Service clasp)
* The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
       Albert E. Jolley, motor mechanic – 1934
       Herbert Rook, motor mechanic – 1941

## Maryport RNLI lifeboats

| ON | Name | Built | On Station | Class |
| Pre-437 | Henry Nixson | 1865 | 1865−1886 | 32-foot Self-righting (P&S) |
| 80 | Civil Service No.5 | 1886 | 1886−1905 | 34-foot Self-righting (P&S) |
| 544 | Civil Service No.5 | 1905 | 1905−1931 | 38-foot Watson (P&S) |
| 655 | Priscilla Macbean | 1921 | 1931−1934 | 35-foot Self-righting (motor) |
| 773 | Joseph Braithwaite | 1934 | 1934−1949 | Liverpool |
* ↑ 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.