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Upgang Lifeboat Station

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Coordinates: 54°29′42.6″N 0°38′24.8″W / 54.495167°N 0.640222°W / 54.495167; -0.640222
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Upgang Lifeboat Station
Former location of Upgang Lifeboat House
Upgang Lifeboat Station is located in North Yorkshire
Upgang Lifeboat Station
Upgang, Whitby, North Yorkshire
General information
StatusClosed
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
AddressUpgang
Town or cityWhitby, North Yorkshire
CountryEngland
Coordinates54°29′42.6″N 0°38′24.8″W / 54.495167°N 0.640222°W / 54.495167; -0.640222
Opened1865
Closed1919

Upgang Lifeboat Station was located just over 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Whitby Harbour, midway between Whitby and Sandsend, on the coast of North Yorkshire.

A lifeboat was first stationed here by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1865, effectively a No.3 station for Whitby Lifeboat Station.[1]

Following the placement of a motor-lifeboat at Whitby, Upgang lifeboat station was closed in 1919.[2]

History

[edit]

In conditions of a northerly gale, launching either of the Whitby lifeboats was proving extremely difficult. In August 1864, a request was made of the RNLI to station an extra lifeboat further along the coast, to the west of Whitby. The station would be managed by the Whitby committee, and when required, launched with the crew from Whitby. Costing £220-16s-0d, a boathouse was constructed by Robinson and Smales at the tiny hamlet of Upgang, a place that has long since disappeared off the map. A 30-foot Self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, and previously at Penzance, was delivered to Whitby, arriving on 4 July 1865. Funds were appropriated from a gift from Dr. H. W. Watson of Derby, and the boat was named William Watson.[3]

In 1878, the Institution received £600, the legacy of the late Mrs Ann Elizabeth Sykes of Grasmere, for a lifeboat to be named in memory of her late son Lt. Joseph Sykes, who had once been rescued from HMS Alceste (1806), when it was wrecked in 1817. William Watson was renamed Joseph Sykes.[4][5]

When the 20-year old lifeboat was retired the following year in 1879, after 14 years at Upgang, it had never been called out on service. The new boat arriving at Upgang in 1879, was a 32-foot Self-righting boat, costing £282. Again funded from the legacy of Mrs Sykes, it would retain the name Joseph Sykes.[6]

On 15 January 1881, the Upgang lifeboat would finally be called upon, but the outcome was not good. Along with Whitby lifeboat Robert Whitworth, she went to the aid of the brig Lumley, on passage from the River Tyne to Motril, Spain, and now stranded on rocks approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) off Upgang. Despite great effort and many attempts by both lifeboat crews, neither was able to effect a rescue, and all 10 crew aboard the Lumley perished.[7]

The Joseph Sykes was transferred to Rhosneigr in 1885. The boat had been launched just twice on service, with no lives saved. In her place, Upgang would receive another 32-foot Self-righting lifeboat, built by Woolfe of Shadwell, previously on service at Bamburgh Castle as the John and Betty Cuttell (ON 184). The boat would be renamed Joseph Sykes (ON 184). Very much like her predecessors, there was little demand for the lifeboat, and she too would not be called in the following five years on service.[3]

1890 saw yet another replacement lifeboat for Upgang. This was a slightly larger 34-foot Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, constructed by Watkins & Co. at £414. Provided by an anonymous donor, the boat was named Upgang (ON 298). She would come to be launched six times on service, and save 8 lives.[3]

Upgang was launched for the first time on service on 18 November 1893, to the steamship Southwark, but as the lifeboatmen battled the seas to reach the wreck, all 13 crew were rescued by the Rocket Brigade. Launched to the schooner Maria on 11 June 1899, the lifeboat would finally record its first life saved, in fact rescuing the three crewmen, and recovering the vessel to Whitby harbour.[3] Five crew members of the steamship Ben Corlic were saved on 31 May 1902, when the vessel ran aground on the Upgang rocks.[8]

William Riley of Birmingham and Leamington (ON 594)

The final boat to be placed at Upgang was the William Riley of Birmingham and Leamington (ON 594), in 1909. A 34-foot Dungeness-class (or Rubie) lifeboat, built by Thames Ironworks.[3]

One of only two calls made on the William Riley of Birmingham and Leamington, was on 30 October 1914, to the 7,400 ton hospital ship Rohilla, which ran onto rocks off Saltwick Nab to the east of Whitby in terrible conditions, with 229 people on board. Much has been documented about the rescue efforts over several days, involving lifeboats from Whitby, Scarborough, Teesmouth and Tynemouth and Upgang. On Friday 30 October, the Upgang lifeboat was transported to Saltwick, and lowered down the cliff on ropes, but the conditions were too bad to launch. On Saturday, the crew rowed for an hour, but couldn't get close, returning exhausted. Finally, other boats managed to rescue 145 of the 229 people on board.[9][10] For their efforts, Coxswain Robinson and Second Coxswain Kelly were awarded The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum.

With a motor-powered lifeboat being placed in service at Whitby, it was decided that the lifeboat at Upgang was no longer required. The Upgang Lifeboat Station was closed in 1919.[2]

No evidence remains of the Upgang boathouse. Upgang lifeboat had been launched just 11 times in 54 years, saving 9 lives. The William Riley of Birmingham and Leamington (ON 594) was transferred to the Whitby No.2 station, serving until 1931. Sold from service that year, the boat was re-discovered in 2005, in a neglected state. Restoration was carried out, with the boat now used for display purposes. On 4 March 2024, William Riley of Birmingham and Leamington was taken to London, and displayed alongside a brand new Shannon-class lifeboat, outside Westminster Abbey at the RNLI 200 service. [11][12][13]

Station honours

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The following are awards made at Upgang.[3]

  • The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
Robinson 'Pounder' Robinson, Coxswain – 1914
T. Kelly, Second Coxswain – 1914

Upgang lifeboats

[edit]
ON[a] Name On Station[14] Class Comments
Pre-359 William Watson,
Joseph Sykes 		1865–1878
1878–1879 		30-foot Self-righting (P&S) [Note 1][15]
Pre-641 Joseph Sykes 1879–1885 32-foot Self-righting (P&S) [Note 2][16]
184 Joseph Sykes 1885–1890 32-foot Self-righting (P&S) [Note 3][17]
298 Upgang 1890–1908 34-foot Self-righting (P&S) [Note 4][18]
594 William Riley of Birmingham and Leamington 1909–1919 34-foot Self-righting (Rubie) [Note 5][19]
  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

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Notes

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  1. ^ 30-foot x 7-foot 4in (10-oared) Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Forrestt of Limehouse.
  2. ^ 32-foot x 7-foot 6in (10-oared) Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, costing £282.
  3. ^ 32-foot x 7-foot 6in (10-oared) Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat.
  4. ^ 34-foot x 7-foot 6in (10-oared) Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Watkins & Co.
  5. ^ 34-foot x 8-foot (10-oared) Self-righting (P&S) Dungeness-class (Rubie) lifeboat, built by Thames Ironworks, costing £722.

References

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  1. ^ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2025). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2025. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. p. 116.
  2. ^ a b Leonard & Denton 2025, p. 116.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Morris, Jeff (January 1989). The Story of the Whitby Lifeboats. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 1–28.
  4. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 8–9.
  5. ^ "WHITBY AND UPGANG". The Lifeboat. 11 (117). August 1880. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  6. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 16–17.
  7. ^ "Shipwreck at Whitby". Daily Gazette for Middlesbrough. No. 4232. Middlesbrough. 17 January 1881. p. 3.
  8. ^ Humble, A. F. "Coxswain Thomas Langlands". The Rowing Lifeboats of Whitby. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  9. ^ "HMHS Rohilla". HMHS Rohilla. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  10. ^ "The Wreck of the S.S. "Rohilla."". The Lifeboat. 22 (255). February 1915. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  11. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 40–41.
  12. ^ "William Riley of Birmingham and Leamington". First World War Vessels. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  13. ^ "Westminster Abbey marks the 200th anniversary of the RNLI". Westminster Abbey. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  14. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 8–41.
  15. ^ "Annual Report 1867". The Lifeboat. VI (64): 272–273. 1 April 1867. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  16. ^ "Annual Report. 1886". The Lifeboat. XIII (140): 34–35. 1 May 1886. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  17. ^ "Annual Report. 1888". The Lifeboat. XIII (148): 468–469. 1 May 1888. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  18. ^ "Annual Report. 1891". The Lifeboat. XIV (160): 474–475. 1 May 1891. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  19. ^ "Annual Report. 1910". The Lifeboat. XXI (236): 50–51. 2 May 1910. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
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