Burnham-on-Sea Lifeboat Station
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Present station 2003
| Burnham-on-Sea Lifeboat Station | |
|---|---|
 Flag of the RNLI | |
 Burnham-on-Sea Lifeboat Station | |
  Location within Somerset | |
| General information | |
| Type | Lifeboat station |
| Location | Pier Street,, Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, TA8 1BT, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°14′01″N 2°59′50″W / 51.2337°N 2.9973°W |
| Opened | First station 1836 Present station 2003 |
| Owner | Royal National Lifeboat Institution |
| Website | |
| Burnham-on Sea RNLI Lifeboat Station | |
Burnham-on-Sea Lifeboat Station is located on Pier street in Burnham-on-Sea, a seaside town at the mouth of the River Parrett, overlooking Bridgwater Bay and the Bristol Channel. The town sits 10 miles (16 km) to the south of the popular resort of Weston-super-Mare, in the county of Somerset in England.
A lifeboat was first placed at Burnham-on-Sea in 1836, operated by the Bridgwater Harbour Trust. The station was re-established by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1866, operating until its closure in 1930.[1]
Burnham Area Rescue Boat (BARB), an independent rescue service, was established in 1993, but in 2003, decided to concentrate on operating a rescue hovercraft. The RNLI were invited to take over the Inshore lifeboat operations, re-establishing a station at Burnham-on-Sea in 2003.
The RNLI station currently operates two Inshore lifeboats, a B-class (Atlantic 85), Doris Day and Brian (B-914), on station since 2019, and the smaller D-class (IB1), Burnham Reach (D-801), on station since 2016.
Burnham-on-Sea is on the Bristol Channel near the mouth of the River Parrett. Ships entering the river to Bridgwater have to negotiate sand banks and mudflats. The first lifeboat at Burnham-on-Sea was a 26 ft (7.9 m) Palmer-class 6-oared lifeboat, built by Taylor of Blackwall, London in 1836. With the assistance of the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS), the boat was the gift of Sir Peregrine Acland, to the Corporation of Bridgwater.[2]
No service records are known. After being on station for 10 years, the boat was condemned in 1846. The replacement boat provided in 1847 was a broad beam North Country type 10-oared lifeboat, funded by harbour dues, and built by John Gale of Whitby to RNLI standards. The boat was on station until c.1857, when it was reported to be damaged, and subsequently broken up. The boat was not immediately replaced.[3]
In 1866, following negotiation with the Bridgwater Harbour Trustees and other "gentlemen of the locality", a new branch of the RNLI was established at Burnham-on-Sea. " It was thought desirable that a life-boat should be stationed there, as the ordinary shore boats frequently ran great risk in putting off to vessels in distress on the outlying sandbanks in the vicinity."[4]
A new boathouse was constructed, at a cost of £207, and a 32 ft 0 in (9.75 m) self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with sails and 10 oars, was provided to the station. The station, lifeboat, and transporting carriage, were funded from the Cheltenham Lifeboat Fund, raised due to the efforts of the Rev. W. Hodgson, Capt. A. W. Young, R.N., and Mr. Witchell, a bookseller.[4][5]
In recognition of the funding, the boat was first transported to Cheltenham, where on the 10 October 1866, the boat was presented to the Institution by Charles Schreiber MP, and then named Cheltenham by Lady Charlotte Schreiber, before being launched on demonstration on Pittville Lake. The lifeboat and carriage were then transported to Burnham-on-Sea, conveyed on both journeys free of charge by the Great Western and Bristol and Exeter Railway Companies.[4]
In 1874, a new boathouse was constructed on Pier Street next to the railway station, at a cost of £219-5s. A railway siding was laid to the boat house, allowing the boat to be hauled down the track on a carriage to the slipway. The RNLI annual report records the cost of a new carriage at £70.[3][6]
Lifeboat records show the Cheltenham was launched 13 times on service, saving a total of 36 lives. The majority of calls seem to be vessels stranded on the approaches to Bridgwater, when the lifeboat was required to stand by until the vessel refloated. On 9 December 1886, the barque Fremad of Tønsberg, bound for Bristol from Nova Scotia, was stranded on Stert Island during a gale. 11 crew were rescued by the Burnham lifeboat.[7][8]
By 1930, a decline in the number of trading sailing vessels, and an increase in motor-powered vessels, led to a dramatic reduction in calls for the lifeboat. Burnham's lifeboat Philip Beach (ON 498), by then on station for 28 years, had been launched just 3 times. With lifeboats still at Watchet and Weston-super-Mare, at a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on 17 July 1930, it was decided to close Burnham-on-Sea lifeboat station.[9][10]
The Philip Beach was sold from service. The building has since had several uses, including being a scout hut and children's play centre.[11]
Lifeboats returned to the town in 1994 when the Burnham Area Rescue Boat (BARB) provided an inflatable inshore rescue boat. However, in 2003, the service decided to change direction, and specialise on providing a hovercraft that could operate on the local mudflats. BARB asked the RNLI to take over the provision of a sea-going inshore rescue boat. A new lifeboat station was built near the old 1874 boat house, coming into operation on 23 December 2003.[3]
In 2014, two members of the crew received signed Letters of Appreciation from the Chief Executive of the RNLI, for their part in the rescue of three teenagers, caught in fast flowing water at the end of Burnham-on-Sea jetty during the previous summer.
In 2016 Puffin (D-664), a D-class lifeboat (IB1) lifeboat, which had been in service for ten years, was replaced by a new craft, Burnham Reach (D-801), after a campaign raised nearly £50,000. It was felt appropriate to christen the boat with a jug of local cider, rather than the usual bottle of champagne.[12]
Launch method and area of operation
The Atlantic 85 is launched using a Talus MB-4H amphibious tractor, using a Talus Atlantic 85 DO-DO launch carriage (Drive On-Drive Off) carriage, can operate in Force 7 winds (Force 6 at night), has a top speed of 35 knots (65 km/h) and a range of 2½ hours at maximum speed. The D-class (IB1), launched by the Softrak launch vehicle, has a top speed of 25 knots (46 km/h) and a range of 3 hours at maximum speed.[13][14]
Adjacent lifeboats are at Minehead to the west, and Weston-super-Mare to the north. The nearest All-weather lifeboat is stationed at Barry Dock in South Wales.
