Rhoscolyn Lifeboat Station
Rhoscolyn Lifeboat Station stood at Porth-y-Corwgl, near the village of Rhoscolyn on the west coast of Holy Island, off Anglesey. It served for 99 years, from 1830 until 1929, on a coast of reefs and strong tides that wrecked many ships.
History
The station was founded in 1830 by the Anglesey Association for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, set up by the Reverend James Williams and his wife Frances after they witnessed the loss of 140 lives from the ship Alert in 1823. It passed to the RNLI in 1855. Rhoscolyn’s crews made many rescues, but the station is also remembered for tragedy: in December 1920, five of the lifeboatmen drowned when the lifeboat capsized while going to the aid of the steamer Timbo in a gale. The station closed in 1929.
Visiting
Porth-y-Corwgl is a small cove near Rhoscolyn, on the Anglesey Coast Path. Nearby are the white sands of Borthwen beach and St Gwenfaen’s Well on the headland.
About island lifeboat stations
All lifeboat stations →On islands, the lifeboat is often the only help that can reach someone in trouble at sea, and island lifeboat crews cover some of the most exposed waters around Britain and Ireland. Here you will find the lifeboat stations on the islands we cover, with their history and the boats they launch.
