James Beeching (1788 – 7 June 1858) was an English boat builder. He invented a "self-righting lifeboat", and designed a type of fishing boat which became characteristic of the port of

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

in the 19th century. He also built ships for the smuggling trade.

Life and work

Beeching was born at Bexhill in

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

(now

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

), in 1788, to a family who had connections with

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

, and served an apprenticeship in nearby

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

as a boat builder. In 1809, he married Martha Thwaites (1789–1831), daughter of shipowner Thomas Thwaites; they went on to have nine children. Beeching and a partner ran a shipbuilding yard in Hastings for several years, until it failed in 1816 and was purchased by Thomas Thwaites. He then went to

Flushing Flushing may refer to: Places Netherlands * Flushing, Netherlands, an English name for the city of Vlissingen, Netherlands United Kingdom * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in Cornwall, England * The Flushing, a building in Suffolk, England ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, and built many craft, including several involved in the English smuggling trade such as the cutter known as "''Big Jane''", launched in 1819. On leaving Flushing he settled at

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

where he introduced a design of fishing-vessel that for a time was characteristic of the port. George Palmer, who was deputy chairman of the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on s ...

for over 25 years, created a new design for a lifeboat which was officially adopted by the Institution in 1828. However, by 1848, Britain's lifeboats were found by the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

to be unsatisfactory: of the 100 boats available, only 55 were in good repair, and many of those were of too heavy a construction; and 21 boats were found to be unfit for use. Lifeboat design was not standardised and the boats available, though an improvement on ordinary vessels, were vulnerable to heavy seas, which could lead to capsizing and loss of life.Gilmore, John.
Storm warriors: or, Life-boat work on the Goodwin Sands
' p. 32 ff. Northumberland model lifeboat

In 1851 attempts were made, under the auspices of Albert the Prince Consort, to revive the activity of the

National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. Founded in 1824 ...

. A competition was initiated by the

for a new, improved lifeboat which would meet criteria: (a) being self-righting; (b) being of lighter construction than before and easier to launch and transport; (c) able to free itself of water faster (i.e. self-draining) and (d) of lower cost.Lewis, Richard.
History of the Life-Boat, and Its Work
' (MacMillan & Co., 1874) pp. 27-38. The

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of N ...

, president of the Institution, offered to fund a prize of £100 for the best

scale model A scale model is a physical model that is geometrically similar to an object (known as the ''prototype''). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small protot ...

of a new lifeboat, and another £100 towards the cost of building it. Out of 280 models sent in from all parts of the world (a selection of which were displayed at the famous Crystal Palace exhibition of 1851), Beeching's "self-righting" design was awarded the prize. With a few slight modifications made by James Peake, who was a master shipwright at

Woolwich Dockyard Woolwich Dockyard (formally H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich) was an English Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich - originally in north-west Kent, now in southeast London - whe ...

and one of the competition judges, this design became the standard model for the new fleet of lifeboats acquired by the

. It was known as the Beeching-Peake SR (self-righting) lifeboat. Beeching had built a boat on the same model before the prize was awarded, and it was purchased by the trustees of

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...

Harbour in December 1851. "The Northumberland", as it was called, was 36 feet long and had 12

oars An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Rowers grasp the oar at the other end. The difference between oars and paddles is that oars are used exclusively for rowing. In rowing the oar is connecte ...

; she became the first self-righting lifeboat and was said to have been "one of the most frequently used and useful lifeboats in the United Kingdom", saving the lives of several hundred people on the

Goodwin Sands Goodwin Sands is a sandbank at the southern end of the North Sea lying off the Deal, Kent, Deal coast in Kent, England. The area consists of a layer of approximately depth of fine sand resting on an Chalk, Upper Chalk platform belonging to ...

. James Beeching died on 7 June 1858, aged 70. The firm, "Beeching Brothers" (founded 1795) continued to build ships in Great Yarmouth for several decades after his death well into the 20th century, eventually including steam-powered vessels.Record of the Norfolk Museums and Arachaeology service for Beeching Bros

Legacy

Beeching's self-righting lifeboat, together with other changes instituted by the

RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. Founded in 1824 ...

, greatly improved Britain's lifeboat service in the latter half of the 19th century. The number of boats was increased from 96 in 1850 to 242 in 1874, and their improved reliability contributed to the saving of countless lives of both mariners and lifeboatmen.

References

External links

(

Caister Lifeboat Caister Volunteer Lifeboat Service, or Caister Lifeboat, is based at Caister-on-Sea in Norfolk, and operates one of only three offshore lifeboats in the UK that are independent of the RNLI. A lifeboat at Caister was first documented in 1791, b ...

built by Beeching in 1883).
The Boys/Godsend
(Caister Lifeboat built by Beeching in 1867). {{DEFAULTSORT:Beeching, James British boat builders People from Bexhill-on-Sea 1788 births 1858 deaths

Life and work

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading

External links