Penlee Point lifeboat station given Grade II listing in Cornwall

The former Penlee Point lifeboat station, which witnessed the Penlee Lifeboat disaster in 1981, has been given Grade II listed status, along with the early concrete roller-slipway and memorial garden.

The announcement was made this morning (Tuesday) by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on the advice of Historic England.

Penlee Point Lifeboat Station was built between 1911 and 1913, and closed for active service in 1983 following the Penlee Lifeboat disaster two years earlier. Some 16 people, including eight RNLI crew on the lifeboat Solomon Browne, lost their lives in hurricane conditions while trying to rescue passengers on board the cargo ship Union Star, which was on its maiden voyage on December 19, 1981.

The Penlee Point structures have been maintained by a team of local RNLI volunteers since their closure in 1983 and, along with the later 1985 memorial garden, stand as a reminder of the disaster and of the crucial role played by the RNLI in saving lives at sea since the 19th century.

An exterior view of Penlee Lifeboat House showing the upper window and signage (Image: Historic England Archive)

The lifeboat station and associated structures are some of the last works of WT Douglass, RNLI architect and engineer from 1888 to 1913. Despite some minor alterations, they still have much of their original fabric and fittings, and the slipway is a relatively early and almost intact example of a reinforced concrete structure of its type.

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: “These simple and functional structures at Penlee Point Lifeboat Station witnessed a very sad moment in our history. They stand as a focal point for remembering those who lost their lives in the December 1981 disaster, including the eight RNLI crew members.

“The story they tell, as well as the architectural interest of the buildings and the slipway, mean their listing at Grade II is well deserved.”

The news has been welcomed by Adrian Carey, head of region for the RNLI in the south west.

He said: “Standing quietly inside the old Penlee lifeboat station, which remains as it was in 1981, you can’t help but feel the incredible courage, determination, and selflessness of the crew of the Solomon Browne.

Penlee lifeboat Solomon Browne launching from the slipway (Image: Royal National Lifeboat Institution)

“The fact that building will forever stand in testament to the sacrifice the eight crew made that night, is comforting to all those connected to Penlee RNLI and the wider RNLI community.

“The architectural interest is also significant and displays the great engineering that was at the forefront of the RNLI over 100 years ago, but also how far the charity has come over the last century in both engineering and lifeboat technology.” Penlee Point lifeboat station will forever be associated with the final launch of Solomon Browne, and the pain of the disaster was felt nationally.

The remembrance service at Paul Church in Mousehole was attended by the Duchess of Kent and the national memorial service at Truro Cathedral in 1982 was attended by Prime Minister of the time, Margaret Thatcher.

Messages of sympathy came in from around the world, and a disaster fund raised £3 million for the crew’s families. The crew was granted posthumous awards for gallantry – rare in the history of the RNLI.

The memorial garden dedicated to the eight lifeboatmen who lost their lives on the Solomon Browne in 1981 (Image: Historic England Archive)

In 1985, the town council created a memorial garden on land to the north-west of the lifeboat station and along with the building are cared for by a team of local volunteers. The walls are set with several plaques commemorating those lost in the disaster.

A BBC documentary ‘The Cruel Sea’ was made for the 25th anniversary of the disaster, which is also remembered each year on December 19 when the Christmas lights at Mousehole are switched off.

The Penlee Lifeboat disaster happened at a time when the RNLI was developing a new lifeboat, the Tyne class, which had a steel hull and was self-righting. It was launched in November 1982.

As Solomon Browne was a timber lifeboat, vulnerable not only to the waves and weather, but also obstacles - including the steel container ship it went to rescue - it made the point that new boat-technology was needed quickly.