Ilfracombe Lifeboat Station
| All-Weather Lifeboat | |
|---|---|
| Inshore Lifeboat | |
| Launch Method | SLARS |
| Address | The Lifeboat House, 14 Broad Street, Ilfracombe, Devon, EX34 9EE |
| Telephone | 01271 863771 |
Explore two centuries of RNLI lifeboat history, heroic rescues, and the enduring tradition of saving lives at sea.
At the head of the harbour in the seaside resort of Ilfracombe, overlooking the entrance to the Bristol Channel, the station runs a Shannon-class all-weather lifeboat and a D-class inshore boat over a large stretch of the rugged north Devon coast and the waters around Lundy. A lifeboat has served the town for nearly two centuries, since 1828.
The town’s first lifeboat was provided in 1828 under local management, the National Institution contributing to the cost; a further boat came from the Ilfracombe Lifeboat Association in 1850. The local service appears to have lapsed, and after a request from residents the RNLI re-established the station in 1866, building a boathouse at the foot of Lantern Hill near the pier.
The crews built a long record on this exacting coast. In 1874 Captain C. Gray-Jones RN, an Inspector of Lifeboats, won a second-service clasp to his Silver Medal for the rescue of seven from the brig Annie Arby. Tragedy struck on 2 October 1895, when retired lifeboatman Richard Souch and his son Frederick, a serving crew member, were both lost trying to save the crew of the ketch Arabella — who also perished.
The present station on Broad Street dates from 1996. Ilfracombe received a waterjet-driven Shannon-class lifeboat in 2015, which works alongside the D-class across a coast of high cliffs, strong tides and the offshore island of Lundy.
