Believe it or not The former Lifeboat station (with the red roof) is now a private home. The current RNLI station built in 2005, has a silver curved roof.
The Wales Online Website carried the Headline: "Couple’s grand design rescues Tenby’s historic lifeboat station" The whole report is shown at the end of this Waymark. (With links to other News publications, covering the same story)
"Due to the extraordinary nature of this project there was a great deal of local and national media interest by organisations such as the BBC, The Times, Western Telegraph and The Financial Times. The regional BBC Wales news programme 'Wales Today' featured an interview with Michael Argent, our architect" Text Source: (
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More info & great Satellite image: (
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Info on the current & active Tenby Lifeboat Station:
There has been a Lifeboat Station at Tenby for over 150 years. The RNLI lifeboat station is open daily for viewing the Lifeboats & Learning about the history of the Tenby Lifeboat rescues.
Tenby Lifeboat Station, Pembrokeshire, Wales.:
A Lifeboat station has been located to the east of the Tenby headland since 1852, three generations have been built. The original & updates in 1905 & 2005. The new station currently houses two lifeboats, an all weather lifeboat and an inshore D class lifeboat. It was the first station to receive the new slipway-launched All weather lifeboat, the Tamar class, 'Haydn Miller'
From The RNLI Tenby website:
"Tenby Lifeboat Station is one of over 200 RNLI Lifeboat Stations in the UK. It is situated on the South West Wales Coast and is one of the busiest stations in the UK.
There has been a lifeboat in Tenby since 1852 when the Shipwrecked Mariners Society established the first lifeboat in the town. Things have changed a lot since then however – Tenby now has 2 lifeboats – a Tamar class All Weather Lifeboat and a D class Inshore Lifeboat." Text Source & More info: (
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From the Wales Online News Website:
Headline:
"Couple’s grand design rescues Tenby’s historic lifeboat station"
Story:
"For more than a century, it was home to the brave volunteers of the RNLI and became one of the world’s most photographed lifeboat stations thanks to its imposing coastal position.
But the cameras have now returned to Tenby’s old lifeboat station for a very different reason – thanks to a sumptuous Grand Designs makeover.
The efforts of Tim O’Donovan and wife Philomena to convert the Grade II-listed structure into a unique seaside home will be aired on Channel 4 tomorrow.
And the pair say nothing could have prepared them for the battles they would face to pull the historic building into shape.
Perched 40ft above the sea, and with no access except across the soft sandy beach, deliveries had to be timed to beat the rapid incoming tides which often got the better of the development’s floundering machinery.
As Mr O’Donovan waged war on the surly structure, it fell to his wife to transform the interior from what was once little more than a tin shed into a beautiful modern home with far-reaching views of the sea.
Explaining why they took on the epic development, Mr O’Donovan said the challenge in itself and a unique mooring for his boat was all the inspiration he needed.
“We heard they were going to build a new station so I wrote to the RNLI to see if I could buy the old one,” said Mr O’Donovan.
“In much the same way as people climb Mount Everest – ‘because it is there’ – I went for a lifeboat station because it’s there, and if I didn’t then someone else would have bought it and I would always be thinking I wish I had gone for that.
“Life is too short to shy away from a challenge especially if it will give great satisfaction when completed.”
The couple, who live in Cardiff, considered the development in the picturesque surroundings of one of Wales’ most popular seaside resorts a convenient project.
“It is just an hour and a half away from Cardiff so it was all so possible, but Tenby is such a totally different world,” said Mrs O’Donovan.
By taking on the project, the couple helped save the RNLI an annual maintenance bill of some £6,000 and may well have salvaged the structure from crumbling into the sea.
But, aside from preserving part of Tenby’s history, Mr O’Donovan – boss of Welsh civil engineering company Horan – said the project gave him the unique opportunity of having a boat in Tenby.
“What motivated me the first day wasn’t the lifeboat station itself, it was the slipway.
“You cannot get a mooring in Tenby these days. You literally have to wait until someone dies to be able to keep a boat here. We have got a boat in Cardiff but there’s no point in us bringing it round. I was interested in this because I could launch a boat from my house!”
The building is described by architects as one of the most complex to try and turn into a home.
Its interior is described as “voluminous...but not exactly house shaped”, by Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud.
Securing planning for the project proved a bit of a battle in itself. It took the O’Donovans seven years to get a permit to proceed with their plans to create a home there.
Although Mr O’Donovan will not reveal the cost of the project – which he jokes, is between “a fair lot of money and an awful lot of money” – programme makers said the couple wouldn’t get much change from £600,000, with more than 200sqm of building to renovate.
“The building is evolving from what its previous use was but the key was to maintain its character,” said Mrs O’Donovan.
“Many families in Tenby will have been involved with the RNLI so it has special significance for the town. Change is inevitable because the building was redundant and hopefully this will be seen as something positive.”" Text Source: (
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