Monumental Obelisk, Southport

In a severe gale on 9 December 1886, the Mexico, a German barque, was driven on to the Horse Bank, a sandbank off Ainsdale, near Southport. Three lifeboats were launched to come to her rescue, Eliza Fernley from Southport, Laura Janet from St Annes, and Charles Biggs from Lytham. The crew from the Mexico were rescued by the Lytham lifeboat, but the other two lifeboats capsized. All thirteen of the crew of the St Annes lifeboat were lost, and only two of the sixteen members of the Southport lifeboat crew survived. It was the worst disaster in the history of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Following the disaster, John Unwin, the mayor of Southport, set up a Disaster Fund, which…

The monument is constructed in grey granite. It stands on a base of three square steps, on which is a plinth in the form of a tabernacle. This has columns at the corners, and on each side is a bronze plaque. There are inscriptions on three of the plaques, the south side being blank. On top of the plinth is the obelisk, which has chamfered edges. The inscription on the plaque on the north side includes the following: