A lifeboat station was established in Clovelly in 1870, the stations first lifeboat being the 33ft self-righting Lifeboat Alexander and Matilda Boetefour which was built at a cost of £320 and was housed in a it’s the new lifeboat house which cost £175 to build. The lifeboat capsized while on exercise in 1871 fortunately without loss of life. The Lifeboat was renamed Graham Hughes in 1881 and continued to serve until 1893.

In 1892 the lifeboat house was reconstructed, and a new slipway provided at a cost of £1,065. In 1893 the Graham Hughes was replaced with a 34ft self-righting lifeboat Elinor Roget which was built at a cost of £420. In 1902 Bowman John Dunn died from the effects of exposure whilst on service on the 28th April. In 1907 the Elinor Roget was replaced by the 37ft self-righting lifeboat Elinor Roget II which was built at a cost of £1,057. In 1913 whilst on service the Second Coxswain was washed overboard but fortunately was recovered.

In 1936 the station received its first motorised lifeboat, the City of Nottingham which served until 1949 when it was replaced by the new Liverpool Class William Cantrell Ashley which was built at a cost of £10,964. This lifeboat was replaced in 1968 by the new 70ft Clyde class cruising lifeboat Civil Service No 35 which was kept on a mooring off the harbour with a full time crew, the Clyde Class lifeboat City of Bristol taking over duties in 1975 until the station was closed in 1988.

The lifeboat station was re-opened by the RNLI as an inshore lifeboat station, with the Atlantic 21 Inshore Lifeboat Spirit of Clovelly being placed on service, funded by the Clovelly Lifeboat Trust. Today the station is served by the Atlantic 85 class inshore lifeboat Toby Rundle which was placed on service in 2014

Since the station was established there have been eight gallantry medals awarded, four Silver and four Bronze, the last being awarded in 1974.

The volunteer lifeboat crew provide a 24-hour search and rescue service 365 days a year along the North Devon Coastline, but none of this would be possible without the support of the public and their donations. It costs in the region of £100k a year to run and maintain the service in Clovelly, all of which comes from the generous donations of the public.

Through this page you can either make a simple donation to support the work of our volunteers by clicking on the "Give Now" button, or why not create your own JustGiving Fundraising Page by clicking on the "Start Fundraising" button and raise money by carrying out your own event or challenge.

Your contribution will help to fund the selfless work of our volunteer lifeboat crew in Clovelly, by doing so you will be helping to save lives around our coast and will be providing the best equipment possible to ensure the safety of our volunteers.