Newhaven’s first lifeboat was established in 1803, when a lifeboat which had been built by
Henry Greathead, the pioneering rescue lifeboat builder from
South Shields, was placed on station in the town. The boat was 22-feet long, and was 6-oared. The lifeboat was funded partly by a donation from
Lloyd's of London, and the rest from locally raised donations. The lifeboat was one of 31 of this type built by Greathead, from his design of 1789 known as the
Original. This type of lifeboat was designed to work in the shallow waters off the east coast of England, but in small and open harbours like Newhaven, the Greathead-class boats were not popular because of their weight and the large number of crew needed. This may have been the case at Newhaven, as no record can be found that the boat was ever launched to a service. A second lifeboat was provided to the town in 1907, maybe named
Adeline, the gift of Wm. B. Langridge of Lewis, and built by Christopher Wilson of London. It is thought that the boat remained in service until c.1831, although no service records are available. In 1809, the Greathead lifeboat was transferred to . In 1825 the forerunner of the RNLI, the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS), supplied a lifeboat to the town. There was still no boathouse in the town, and so this lifeboat when not in use was stored out in the open under a tarpaulin. This boat was in service at the town until 1829, when it was removed to Cowes. There are no records of any other Newhaven lifeboat until 1852, when Newhaven was provided with a lifeboat by
The Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Benevolent Society (SFMRBS). By 1854, the SFMRBS was involved in the management of eight lifeboat stations, , , , , , ,
Hornsea and Newhaven. An agreement was made between the SFMRBS and the RNLI, where the former would concentrate on the welfare of those rescued, whilst the latter would be involved in lifeboats, stations and rescues. Management of all eight stations was transferred to the RNLI on 7 December 1854. The RNLI's first life boat at Newhaven arrived in 1863. It had previously been on service at and , and was extended to 35-feet by Forrestt of
Limehouse, London, and for Newhaven was renamed
Thomas Chapman. However, she only served Newhaven for four years, performing just one service, but rescuing five crew.
Kathleen Mary (ON 950) A new boat arrived in 1867, a 33-foot self-righting lifeboat, also to be named
Thomas Chapman, and built by Forrestt, costing £290-5s-0d. To house the new boat, Newhaven Lifeboat Station would finally get a boathouse, which was a brick built building on the west bank of the harbour, costing £471-8s-0d. On 30 May 1940, the RNLI received a request from the Ministry of Shipping, to assemble as many lifeboats as possible at Dover within 24hrs. Newhaven Lifeboat
Cecil and Lilian Philpott (ON 730) arrived in Dover the following morning. She was then used for the
Dunkirk evacuation, making one trip and repatriating 51 men, finally arriving back on station on 11 June. A new lifeboat, 52-32
Keith Anderson (ON 1106) arrived on service at Newhaven in 1985. Built by Wm. Osbourne of Littlehampton and costing £415,000, she was funded from the auction of a collection of jewellery, donated by Mrs Esme Anderson in memory of her late husband. The monies raised would also fund a lifeboat, 14-02
Esme Anderson (ON 1197), placed at . In November 1999, Newhaven's current lifeboat arrived on station. Costing £1,725,000, she is the 25-knot lifeboat 17-21
David and Elizabeth Acland (ON 1243). ==Station honours==