Blackpool Lifeboat Station
| Inshore Lifeboats | |
|---|---|
| Launch Method | A85 Carriage |
| Address | Central Promenade, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY1 5JA |
| Telephone | 01253 620424 |
Explore two centuries of RNLI lifeboat history, heroic rescues, and the enduring tradition of saving lives at sea.
On the Central Promenade just south of Blackpool Tower, between the North and Central Piers, Blackpool is one of only two RNLI stations to run three inshore lifeboats — a fast Atlantic 85 and two D-class — covering the busy beaches and waters of the Fylde coast. A lifeboat has served here since 1864, and its crews hold six gallantry medals.
After the Rev. R. Redman wrote to the RNLI in January 1864, backed by the local coastguard, the Institution agreed to establish a Blackpool station in March 1864. The first lifeboat, the Robert William, was launched before a crowd of 20,000 in July; within weeks she had made her first service, saving fourteen from the brig St Michael off the coast. Robert Bickerstaffe was appointed coxswain.
Launching over Blackpool’s soft sand and shallow water was always a challenge — for years the boat was hauled by horses, and after the promenade was widened in 1904 it had to be taken half a mile to the only slipway. A launching tractor finally arrived in 1930. The town even formed its own Lifeboat Band in 1884, said to be the only one of its kind in the world.
The all-weather lifeboat was withdrawn in 1975, and Blackpool became an inshore station. A new boathouse on the promenade, with a visitor centre, opened in 1998, and the station now runs an Atlantic 85 and two D-class lifeboats.
