A black and white photograph of a lifeboat crew stood posing in a line in front of a lifeboat
The 'Guide of Dunkirk' and crew at Cadgwith Station, Cornwall, around 1942. The station was established in 1867 and closed in 1963. © RNLI
The 'Guide of Dunkirk' and crew at Cadgwith Station, Cornwall, around 1942. The station was established in 1867 and closed in 1963. © RNLI

RNLI: 200 Years of Saving Lives at Sea

Add your unique piece of the RNLI story to the Missing Pieces Project and help us discover more about the places that have protected people at sea.

The RNLI has been saving lives at sea since 1824. Over the past 200 years, lifeboat stations, churches and memorials have become an important part of England's coastal heritage, acting as beacons of safety and honouring the people who bravely risk their lives to save others.

Many of these sites are protected through listing, and whilst most are no longer owned or managed by the RNLI, they all have strong connections to the lifesaving charity and its history.

On this page
  1. Share your sea story
  2. Listed places

Share your sea story

Historic England and the RNLI are asking people to add their own contributions to the Missing Pieces Project and help tell the story of the listed landmarks featured on the new interactive map.

View the map

We’d love to see your photos, memories and information so we can learn more about what makes these places special.

Perhaps a member of your family was part of an RNLI crew, or there’s a local sea shanty that tells the story of a famous rescue? Maybe your community came together to raise funds for an RNLI lifeboat or a special memorial for local lifesavers. There could be traditions passed down the generations that keep local maritime history alive.  

Historic England invites everyone to discover the listed places on their doorstep and contribute their own unique piece to the picture by adding photos, videos, and text to the National Heritage List for England. Every snapshot and story you can add is an important piece of the picture.

How do I contribute?

Lifesavers through a lens

Lifeboat crews from times past can be seen in rare historic photographs shared through the RNLI map and list entries. These atmospheric images bring us face-to-face with the ordinary people from local communities who put their lives at risk to save others.

A black and white photograph of a lifeboat on a truck outside a building. People are stood around looking at the lifeboat at ground level. A black and white photograph of a lifeboat crew stood posing in a line in front of a lifeboat A sepia photograph of a lifeboat being launched into the sea with a crowd looking on A sepia photograph of a lifeboat crew aboard a lifeboat on a slipway in front of a lifeboat station. In the background are houses and crowds of people stood around. A black and white photograph of a lifeboat station with a boat in an open doorway surrounded by people A black and white photograph of a lifeboat on land with people posing on board and at ground level A sepia photograph of a lifeboat crew stood posing in front of two lifeboats and a lifeboat station. A black and white photograph of a lifeboat on land, with crew onboard in lifejackets and men in suits and hats inspecting the outside of the boat A sepia photograph of a lifeboat station and slipway, with a hillside in the background. A black and white photograph of a lifeboat and its crew posing on land. Three people are in the boat wearing life jackets, while two more are stood at ground level in suits and hats leaning against the boat. A black and white photograph of a lifeboat on a ramp outside a lifeboat station, surrounded by its crew A black and white photograph of a large crowd at a lifeboat fundraiser. They are stood on and around a lifeboat in front of the Albert Memorial in Manchester.

Listed places

Historic England’s new interactive map shows the listed places – former lifeboat stations, memorials, churches, donation boxes, and more – that can be found around England’s coastline.

View the map

The map features 2 new listings:

Church of St Mary, Cadgwith, Cornwall
The Grade II listed Church of St Mary, in the small fishing village of Cadgwith on the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall, is important for its unusual architecture and its connection with a major event in the history of the RNLI.

St Mary’s was built as a mission church and chapel of ease (an Anglican chapel situated for the convenience of parishioners living too far from the parish church) for the local community in 1898. 

It is an example of a ‘tin tabernacle’, a prefabricated corrugated iron building developed in the mid-19th century as a relatively low-cost way to establish a place of worship in fast-growing urban and rural areas. Many were built during the upsurge in Non-Conformism, which was particularly strong in Cornwall. Few of these buildings survive today, having been designed for temporary use until permanent structures could be built. 

The first vicar of St Mary’s, Reverend Henry Vyvyan, was an active member of the RNLI and was recognised as one of the most distinguished honorary secretaries of the institution, serving the Cadgwith station (Grade II listed) from 1898 until his death in 1937. He received a RNLI silver medal for gallantry for his active role, with the Cadgwith lifeboat Minnie Moon, in the rescue of 227 survivors from the White Star liner Suevic when it ran aground off the Lizard Point on 17 March 1907. The rescue of a total of 456 passengers and crew from the liner without any loss of life remains the largest in the institution’s history.

James Gall Grave, Barrow Cemetery, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria
James Gall was the last survivor of the SS Forfarshire, which was wrecked on the north-east coast on 7 September 1838. He was a fireman onboard the ship.

The wreck was made famous by the brave actions of Grace Darling. With her father, keeper of the Longstone Lighthouse, Northumberland (Grade II listed), Grace set out in their coble (a traditional North East open fishing boat) through stormy seas and rescued five survivors. Grace’s father returned with 2 of the survivors to rescue another 4 people. 

James had to stay at the lighthouse for 2 days where his injuries were attended to by the Darling family.  

Grace’s act of bravery became front page news, reaching Queen Victoria, and capturing the imagination of people around the world.  

In 1838, the rescue was recognised by the youthful RNLI (then called the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck) by the awarding of silver medals for bravery to Grace and her father. Grace was the first woman to receive a RNLI medal.  She died of tuberculosis 4 years later on 20 October 1842 and is commemorated by a tomb in St Aidan’s churchyard, Bamburgh (Grade II* listed). The RNLI Grace Darling Museum sits opposite St Aidan’s Church and celebrates the life of the Victorian heroine. 

In 1888, the RNLI took the lead in remembering James Gall and reviving the interest in Grace’s remarkable rescue. James Gall’s grave monument, now Grade II listed, features a 10-foot-tall lighthouse sculpture.

Other highlights of the map include:

Also of interest

Missing Pieces Project
Listed Lighthouses in England
Coastal, Marine and Maritime Heritage Research