| Horton and Port Eynon Lifeboat Station | |
| RNLI Lifeboat station | |
|
Port Eynon
|
|
| Country | Wales, UK |
|---|---|
| City | Swansea |
| Coordinates | |
| Founded | 1884 |
| Owner | Royal National Lifeboat Institution |
| Visitation | Sunday Only |
|
Horton, Swansea, Wales
|
|
Horton and Port Eynon Lifeboat Station (based in Horton, Swansea, Wales) opened in 1884 and was originally based in Port Eynon.[1]
The current station in Horton currently operates a D class lifeboat named Albert Wordley.
Contents |
The first station opened in 1884 in Port Eynon after multiple tragedies along the coast resulted in a large death toll within a short time period. The RNLI decided it was time for a lifeboat to be stationed further west that the Mumbles Lifeboat Station and thus decided a new station should be built in Port Eynon.
A boathouse was built on the west end of Port Eynon Bay to house the lifeboat A Daughter's Offering. This building is now used as a Youth Hostel by the YHA.
A Daughter's Offering had a successful 22 years of service, saving 39 live in total. In 1906, A Daughter's Offering had reached the end of its useful life, so a new lifeboat was sent to the station to replace it.
The new lifeboat named Janet was also had a great career at the station saving a total of 15 lives before tragedy struck on January 1, 1916.
On this date, the lifeboat Janet responded to a distress signal from the S.S. Dunvegan and while making its way to the vessel was capsized by a large wave that capsized the lifeboat.
Although the lifeboat automatically righted itself, one crewmember could not make it back onboard and drowned.[2]
Janet then capsized again and another two crewmembers had been lost overboard and could not be found. The lifeboat had lost all of its oars at this point and could do nothing but drift towards Mumbles.
Due to this terrible tragedy, the lifeboat station was closed in 1916. There is a large sculpture commemorating the lost crew of the Janet in the Churchyard of Port Eynon Church, along with a plague inside the Church.
In 1968, the RNLI determined that there was a new need for a lifeboat station in this area, and so allocated a D class lifeboat to a new station based close to the beach in Horton.
This new station still operates today, although a new boathouse was built in 1992.
| Dates in service | Name |
| 1884 - 1906 | A Daughter's Offering |
| 1906 - 1916 | Janet |
| Dates in service | Class | Op. No. | Name |
| 1968 - 1998 | D class | ||
| 1998 - 2008 | D Class | D531 | Walter Grove |
| 2008 - present | 'IB1' D class | D688 | Albert Wordley |
|
||||||||