The Lifeboat Horse, Wells harbour. - a photo on Flickriver

            A salute to the working horses of Wells.
The Lifeboat Horse, 3 meters high and made from steel bars and whisky barrels, was created by artist Rachael Long as a tribute to the horses that once pulled the Wells lifeboat more than two miles from the quay to Holkham Gap. It stood in the harbour of Wells-next-the-Sea throughout summer 2018, and after a brief absence, returned in spring 2019.
The sculpture is one of a series of 17 made especially for the Wells Heritage Art Trail, an event spanning June-September 2018. The main frame is made of metal, then ‘coloured in’ with oak from old barrels. Despite the hollow nature of the structure, it’s remarkably heavy. During installation, a crane was used to lift it into place, and huge rods used to pin the horse to the seabed. Located on the harbour sand, it's fully visible at low tide, and partly submerged at high tide, appearing to swim through the waves.
In October 2018, when the sculpture trail had closed, and summer had ended, the Lifeboat Horse was removed.
But the story didn’t end there.
Residents and visitors were keen to see the sculpture return, and a campaign was started which raised the £15,000 required to reinstall it.

1936: Last horse-powered RNLI launch.

The arrival of the motor lifeboat Royal Silver Jubilee at the Wells-next-the-Sea station in Norfolk on 11th. February 1936 marked the end of the iconic sight of horses pulling lifeboats through streets and across sand to launch in all weathers. Royal Silver Jubilee, which was launched by caterpillar tractors, replaced Wells old pulling and sailing lifeboat, the Baltic. The iconic sight of horses helping to launch lifeboats would not be seen again.
The end of service for the Baltic left only one role for horses in the RNLI which was turning the capstan to pull the Hastings lifeboat up the beach. This practice was also soon modernised with the installation of an electric winch.



   

Taken in: UK / England / North Norfolk District / Wells-Next-the-Sea (show map)

Taken on: September 10, 2019

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Lifeboat Horse

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Sets appears in: • Art, statues & sculptures • Cromer, Sheringham & Wells

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Camera: SAMSUNG WB700, f/7.6, 1/250 sec, 73mm, ISO 80 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	SAMSUNG WB700
Aperture:	f/7.6
Exposure Time:	0.004 sec (1/250)
Focal Length:	73mm
ISO:	80
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Windows Photo Editor 10.0.10011.16384
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