Tyrella Lifeboat Station

Tyrella Lifeboat Station
Tyrella beach
Tyrella Lifeboat Station is located in Northern Ireland
Tyrella Lifeboat Station
Tyrella, County Down
General information
StatusClosed
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
Town or cityTyrella, County Down
CountryNorthern Ireland
Coordinates54°14′53.1″N 5°45′56.5″W / 54.248083°N 5.765694°W / 54.248083; -5.765694
OpenedRNLIPS 1838–1851
RNLI 1860–1899
Closed1920

Tyrella Lifeboat Station was located near the beach, in the parish of Tyrella, close to the village of Ballykinler, overlooking Dundrum Bay, on the coast of County Down in Northern Ireland.

A lifeboat was first stationed at Tyrella in 1838 by the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS), but had ceased to operate by 1851. A new lifeboat station was established by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1860.[1]

After operating for 39 years, Tyrella Lifeboat Station closed in 1899.[2]

History

A lifeboat was first placed at Tyrella in 1838 by the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS). No details of any service carried out by the lifeboat have been found. Fortunes of the Institution began to wane during the 1840s, especially following the death of its founder, Sir William Hillary, Bt. in 1847, and many stations ceased to operate. It is recorded that the Tyrella lifeboat had ceased to operate by 1851.[3]

The RNIPLS was revitalised in the early 1850s, primarily down to the efforts of president Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland, and secretary Richard Lewis, with the Institution changing its name to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1854.[4]

At the meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 2 February 1860, it was announced that the Institution had received a donation from an anonymous lady, sufficient to supply lifeboats and equipment for St Ives, Newquay, Buckie and Tyrella, and that stations were to be established at each location if practical.[5]

In the January 1861 edition of the RNLI journal 'The Lifeboat', it was announced that a station had been established at Tyrella, where a boathouse had been constructed at a cost of £90, on land provided by A. H. Montgomery of Tyrella House. A 30-foot Peake-class self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing (P&S) lifeboat, one with sails and (6) oars, and costing £156-12, had been sent to the station, transported to Belfast free of charge by the Belfast Screw Steam-packet Company. The lifeboat was named Tyrella.[1][6]

In 1866, a larger 10-oared lifeboat was placed at Tyrella. Formerly stationed at Poolbeg, the previously unnamed lifeboat was again given the name Tyrella.[7]

On 29 November 1874, the brigantine Donna Maria of Belfast, on passage from Belfast to Liverpool, was driven ashore and wrecked in Dundrum Bay in a south-east gale. The Tyrella lifeboat launched in the middle of the night, and rescued five crew. A sixth man was trapped by a timber. Assistant Coxswain Gordon went aboard and sawed through the wood, whilst the lifeboat landed the other five crew members. The lifeboat then returned, and both men were taken off, and landed on shore soon after daybreak. For this service, Coxswain Adam Murphy and Second Coxswain John Gordon were each awarded the RNLI Silver Medal.[8]

By 1875, it was seen that the 13-year-old lifeboat was deteriorating, and it was replaced with a 30-foot 8-oared lifeboat, along with new transporting carriage. The lifeboat was funded from a gift of the Misses Frances and Kate Peach of Langley Hall in Derbyshire, from the sale of their needlework. At a ceremony on 17 December 1875, the lifeboat was named Memorial.[9][10]

The fourth and last boat to be placed at Tyrella, was a much larger 34-foot 10-oared lifeboat. The costs were defrayed from the gift of Mrs Cameron of Ripon, the wife of the former Inspecting Commander of H.M. Coastguard at Newcastle, County Down, Capt. Cameron, RN, with the monies raised over 10 or 11 years by the sale of her own work. Both Capt. and Mrs Cameron were present for the naming ceremony on 13 June 1888, where in accordance with her wishes, she named the lifeboat Louisa Burnaby (ON 159).[11]

At a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 12 October 1899, it was decided that Tyrella Lifeboat Station would be abolished, although a new station, Killough would be (re) established at Rossglass, just 4 miles (6.4 km) to the east.[12]

The station building still stands in an isolated field near Tyrella House. The lifeboat on station at the time of closure, Louisa Burnaby (ON 159), was sold from service in 1900. No further details of the boat are available.[13]

Station honours

The following are awards made at Tyrella, Co. Down.[8]

Adam Murphy, Coxswain – 1875
John Gordon, Second Coxswain – 1875

Tyrella lifeboats

ON[a] Name Built On Station[14] Class Comments
Pre-179 Unnamed 1838 1838–1851 22-foot North Country [Note 1]
Station Closed 1851–1860
Pre-366 Tyrella 1860 1860–1866 30-foot Peake Self-righting (P&S) [Note 2]
Pre-391 Tyrella 1862 1866–1875 30-foot Self-righting (P&S) [Note 3]
Previously at Poolbeg
Pre-602 Memorial 1875 1875–1888 30-foot Self-righting (P&S) [Note 4]
159 Louisa Burnaby 1888 1888–1899 34-foot Self-righting (P&S) [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

Notes

  1. ^ 22-foot North Country lifeboat.
  2. ^ 30-foot x 7-foot (6-oared) Peake-class self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Forrest of Limehouse, London, costing £156-12s
  3. ^ 30-foot x 7-foot 2in (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat,, built by Forrest of Limehouse, London, costing £205 when new.
  4. ^ 30-foot x 8-foot (8-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, costing £275
  5. ^ 34-foot x 7-foot 6in (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat,

References

  1. ^ a b "Additional Stations and New Life-Boats". The Lifeboat. IV (39): 359. 1 January 1861. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  2. ^ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2025). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2025. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. p. 124.
  3. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, p. 124.
  4. ^ "From the brink of disaster: Richard Lewis and the making of the modern RNLI". RNLI. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  5. ^ "Summary of the Meetings of the Committee". The Lifeboat. IV (37): 325. 2 July 1860. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  6. ^ "Additional Stations and New Life-Boats". The Lifeboat. V (58): 729. 2 October 1865. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  7. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, p. 8.
  8. ^ a b Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. p. 158. ISBN 0907605893.
  9. ^ "Additional Stations and New Life-Boats". The Lifeboat. IX (101): 594. 1 August 1876. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  10. ^ "Langley Hall". Historic England. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  11. ^ "Additional Stations and New Life-Boats". The Lifeboat. XIII (150): 640. 1 November 1888. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  12. ^ "Summary of the Meetings of the Committee". The Lifeboat. XVII (195): 552. 1 February 1900. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  13. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 34–35.
  14. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 6–35.
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