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Hauxley Lifeboat Station

Hauxley Lifeboat Station was located in the village of Hauxley, in the county of Northumberland.

Hauxley Lifeboat Station
Hauxley Old Lifeboat House
Hauxley Lifeboat Station is located in Northumberland
Hauxley Lifeboat Station
Hauxley, Northumberland
General information
StatusClosed
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
AddressThe Old Boat House
Town or cityLow Hauxley, Northumberland, NE65 0JS
CountryEngland
Coordinates55°19′07.1″N 1°33′03.8″W / 55.318639°N 1.551056°W / 55.318639; -1.551056
Opened1852
Closed1939

The Warkworth Harbour lifeboat was first stationed here by the Newcastle Shipwreck Association in 1852. Management of the station was transferred to the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS) in 1853, becoming the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1854.[1]

Hauxley lifeboat station was closed, when a motor-powered lifeboat was placed at Amble in 1939.[2]

History

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A lifeboat was placed at Hauxley in 1852, managed by the Newcastle Shipwreck Association (NSA), when it was decided that Hauxley was a better location than Amble to station a carriage-launched lifeboat. Amble lifeboat station was closed.[2]

A site at Hauxley was provided by Capt. S. F. Widdrington, RN. A boathouse was constructed, and a 30-foot self-righting lifeboat, costing £200, was commissioned with Teasdel of Great Yarmouth, all funded by local dignitary, Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland. A carriage was constructed by Rutherford, costing £49-11s-0d. The boat arrived at Hauxley on the 8 September 1852, and was named Warkworth. In 1853, the station became part of the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS), which would become the RNLI in 1854.[1][3]

Warkworth would serve for three years at Hauxley, launching on service only 4 times, but saving 20 lives. Remarkably, all 4 launches were within a 5-day period. In a storm of 6 January 1854, Warkworth was launched to the aid of the Monarch of Guernsey, rescuing all 10 crew. Later the same day, a second launch saved 6 from the Earl of Newburgh, of South Shields.[4][5]
The storm raged on, and on 9 January, the lifeboat saved the crew of 4 from the Heroine of Burnham. Sadly, the lifeboat launched on its fourth service on the 10 January 1854 to the Catherine Maria of Odense in Denmark, but the ship broke up, and all lives were lost.[6]
Awards were made, see Station honours.

Hauxley would receive a replacement lifeboat in 1855, a 30-foot unnamed Peake-class lifeboat, built by Forrestt of Limehouse and costing £156, once again funded by the Duke of Northumberland. She was transported from London on the steam ship Pioneer to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, from where she was towed north, arriving in Hauxley on 7 August 1855. On 4 January 1857, she would be launched twice, firstly being taken 3 miles down the coast, and launched to the aid of the Sophie of Oporto,[7][8][9] rescuing the crew of 11. The lifeboat would then go the aid of the Georgina of Inverness,[10] rescuing a further 5 men. For these services, Capt. Hipplewhite received the RNLI Silver Medal[11]

In 1865, Hauxley would receive their third lifeboat. A 34-foot Self-righting (P&S) boat constructed by Forrestt at a cost of £295, she arrived in Hauxley in 1866 after being conveyed by the Great Northern and North Eastern Railway companies free of charge. Modification were carried out to the boathouse, and a new carriage was required, costing £163 in total. The recently deceased Duke of Northumberland had been president of both the RNIPLS and the RNLI, and all costs were met by his wife, Eleanor Percy, Duchess of Northumberland, in memory of her late husband, the boat being named Algernon and Eleanor.[1]

A further two lifeboat would be supplied to Hauxley. In 1887, a 37-foot 12-oar Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, costing built by D & W Henderson of Partick, Glasgow, and again named Algernon and Eleanor (ON 195). Then in 1902, a 34-foot 10-oar Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, constructed by Thames Ironworks at £598. Provided by a legacy from Miss M Andrew, of Hale, Cheshire, the boat was named Mary Andrew (ON 483). Two coxswains would be awarded the RNLI Silver Medal for their long service, James Armstrong in 1885, and later Andrew Oliver in 1899.[1]

The Hauxley lifeboats were launched a total of 81 times, and save 246 lives. It was only when the RNLI decided to reopen the station at Amble with a motor powered 45ft Watson-class lifeboat, the Frederick and Emma (ON 659), that Mary Andrew was withdrawn from service, and the Hauxley station was closed in 1939.[2]

The lifeboat house still exists, and today is a private residence.

Station honours

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The following are awards made at Hauxley[11]

Middleton Henry Dand, Land Owner - 1849
Middleton Henry Dand, Land Owner - 1854 (Second-Service Clasp)
Capt. Thomas Hipplewhite, Warkworth Harbour Master - 1857
James Armstrong, Coxswain - 1885
Andrew Oliver, Coxswain - 1899
John Dawson Armstrong, Colliery Bank Keeper - 1910
  • The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
Capt. Hipplewhite, Warkworth Harbour Master, Coxswain - 1854
Capt. Hipplewhite, Warkworth Harbour Master, Coxswain - 1858
Middleton Henry Dand, Land Owner - 1858

Hauxley lifeboats

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ON[a] Name In service[12][3] Class Comments
Pre-254 Warkworth 1852−1855 30-foot Self-righting (P&S) [Note 1]
Pre-292 Unnamed 1855−1866 30-foot Peake-class Self-righting (P&S) [Note 2]
Pre-448 Algernon and Eleanor 1866−1888 34-foot Self-righting (P&S) [Note 3]
195 Algernon and Eleanor 1888−1902 37-foot Self-righting (P&S) [Note 4]
483 Mary Andrew 1902−1939 34-foot Self-righting (P&S) Dungeness-type [Note 5]
  1. ^ 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. ^ 30-foot Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Teasdel of Great Yarmouth, costing £200.
  2. ^ 30-foot (10-oared) Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, costing £156. Gift of The Duke of Northumberland.
  3. ^ 34-foot Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, costing £295. Gift of The Duchess of Northumberland.
  4. ^ 37-foot 12-oar Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by D & W Henderson of Partick, Glasgow, costing £473. Gift of the dowager Duchess of Northumberland.
  5. ^ 34-foot (10-oared) Self-righting (P&S) Dungeness-type lifeboat, built by Thames Ironworks, costing £598. Legacy of Miss M. Andrews, of Hale.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Morris, Jeff (May 2000). The Closed Lifeboat Stations of Northunberland. Jeff Morris. pp. 39–44.
  2. ^ a b c Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 4–132.
  3. ^ a b Brown, Carnegie R. (1990). The Lifeboat Stations of Amble and Hauxley. Carnegie R. brown. pp. 1–64.
  4. ^ "Earl of Newburgh". A history of Tyne shipbuilders and the ships that they built. Tyne Built Ships. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  5. ^ "The New Year's Gale". The Times. No. 21638. London. 14 January 1854. col C-D, p. 10.
  6. ^ "Services of Life-Boats". The Lifeboat. 1 (13). July 1854. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Ship News". The Standard. No. 10110. London. 7 January 1857.
  8. ^ "Lifeboat Services During the Recent Heavy Gale". Daily News. No. 3322. London. 8 January 1857.
  9. ^ "Life-boat Services During the Recent Heavy Gales". The Era. No. 955. London. 11 January 1857.
  10. ^ "Fearful Gale on the North-East Coast". The Newcastle Courant etc. No. 9498. Newcastle upon Tyne. 9 January 1857.
  11. ^ a b Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. ISBN 0-907605-89-3.
  12. ^ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2021). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2021. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 2–120.
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