Eastbourne Lifeboat Station
| All-Weather Lifeboat | |
|---|---|
| Inshore Lifeboat | |
| Launch Method | Afloat |
| Address | Sovereign Harbour, Pevensey Bay Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN23 5BJ |
| Telephone | 01323 470206 |
Explore two centuries of RNLI lifeboat history, heroic rescues, and the enduring tradition of saving lives at sea.
Beneath the great chalk cliff of Beachy Head, Eastbourne has run a lifeboat since 1822 — one of the oldest stations in the country. From its modern base in Sovereign Harbour it answers calls along a treacherous stretch of coast, and its crews have earned ten medals for gallantry.
Eastbourne’s first lifeboat dates from 1822, two years before the RNLI itself was founded. For more than 170 years the lifeboat launched from the seafront, until in 1993 the all-weather boat moved to lie afloat in the new Sovereign Harbour.
The lifeboat Jane Holland was one of the nineteen that went to Dunkirk in 1940; in 2023 the station’s Tamar was exchanged for a Trent-class lifeboat.
