The Solway Firth like many other coastal areas, was a dangerous location for shipping, particularly as storms lashed the Cumbrian coastline. Men made their living from the shipping of goods to and from its ports and the fish the sea had to provide. Both had a cost, paid for dearly with human life. The ships that made for the Cumbrian ports of Whitehaven, Workington, Maryport, Silloth and Port Carlisle were vulnerable to these elements of wind and tide, with the coastal rocks and shallow sand banks in the Firth itself, hidden just below the tidal surface. In 1859 there was already a lifeboat stationed at Whitehaven but no others, despite the many deaths that occurred along the coastline, or making their way to or from those harbours. On Monday 29th August 1859 a ship called The Amelia was coming out of Port Carlisle and had to run aground near Silloth as it was blown off course by the storm. The next day The Mary was making its way to Port Carlisle, in similar storm conditions, and was laden with slates. It became grounded on Silloth Bank at 10:15am and the crew flew signals of distress, then having to take to the rigging as she began to fill with water. The Queen was bound for Dumfries and after repeated attempts at rescue, she finally managed to save the crew of the stricken vessel, but the Mary's mast now snapped and seriously injured the mate of the Queen. Thankfully there was no loss of life but these incidents now caused discussions to be had on the need for the positioning of a lifeboat at Silloth, as Whitehaven was too great a distance to effect urgent rescue.
By mid October that year the Royal Lifeboat Association had decided to place a vessel there, but the funds for the boathouse, carriage, and the lifeboat itself had to be gathered by subscriptions or donations. These were proving difficult to gather, until a female philanthropist called Miss Angela Georgina Burdett Coutts, of 22 Regents Park Terrace, London, offered to pay for the lifeboat, if local funds could be found for the carriage and boathouse.
The boat was built by Messrs Forrestt of London and was put through a harbour test at Limehouse, in the city. It was 20 feet long, 7 feet wide, 3 feet 3 inches deep, was rowed with eight oars and weighed 30 cwt. The carriage was built by Mr. Robinson, of Cambden Town, London. The boathouse had already been constructed and the boat and carriage were transported free of charge by the London and North Western Railway Company. The boat was launched to great fanfare on the afternoon of Monday 25th June 1860, near the Cote Lighthouse on the Skinburness Road. As it launched from the carriage into the water, Mr. William Gaddes, the inspector of buoys and light houses in the Solway, dashed a bottle of port against her side. It was crewed by: John Duff (Coxswain), Robert Ferguson, William Hawkins, Thomas Howes, Jos. Bennett, Joseph Faulder, John Johnston, and James Matthews. All were men of the neighbourhood.
The AGM for thre lifeboat took place on Tuesday 19th March at Carlisle Town Hall with the Mayor Mr. J. D. Carr in the chair. The finances were gone over and the cost of the life boat was stated as £148 9s 6d, the boathouse £146 18s, the carriage and skidds £59 and the stores were £30.
September 1861 saw the addition of a patented coast barometer, calibrated against the Greenwich instrument. Fourteen of these had been in operation along the Northumbrian coast, paid for by the Duke of Northumberland, and were believed to have been instrumental in the saving of more than 30 lives.
Quarterly exercises were performed, testing the boat and training the crew. The one conducted on 6th October 1862 was done so under the most trying of circumstances. A strong gale was blowing with a heavy sea rolling in on a low tide. One man was thrown from the boat but fortunately received no injury, but it highlighted the risk the crew were exposing themselves to in order to save life from the waters of the Solway.
The boat provided service to the town and local communities for a number of years, but by 1867 it was regarded as no longer fit for purpose. It was then replaced by a mahogany built boat, 32 feet in length, now with 10 oars with the name of the new boat to continue with 'Angela Hannah'.
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