Skegness Lifeboat Station

Skegness Lifeboat Station is an RNLI operated lifeboat station located in the town of Skegness in the English county of Lincolnshire. The station is located on the south-east coast north of the Wash and south of the Humber estuary. This is an area of the British coastline which is characterised by many shoals and constantly changing sandbanks, many of which lie between the town and the East Dudgeon Lightship. The current station was built in1990 and was the first in the British Isles built especially to house a Mersey-class lifeboat. The boathouse also accommodates an Inshore Lifeboat and a souvenir shop. There are currently two lifeboats stationed at Skegness (2013). They are the Inshore D-class Lifeboat Peterborough Beer Festival IV and the Mersey-class AWB Lincolnshire Poacher (ON 1166).HistoryThe first lifeboat service in Skegness was organized by the Lincolnshire Coast Shipwreck Association who placed a lifeboat at the Gibraltar Point coastguard station. In 1859 the lifeboat and boathouse was moved from Gibraltar Point to a position in Skegness, among sand dunes to a location now called Lifeboat Avenue.The station was taken under the control of the RNLI in 1864 who had a new boathouse constructed. The location of this first RNLI station was in Lifeboat Avenue close to the original station. It is now a privately owned dwelling.The RNLI built yet another new boathouse in 1892. this was located on Skegness South Parade to the south of the clock tower. This boathouse had an access doors for the lifeboat at either end of the building. There was also a watch room constructed on the first floor. This station was still in use until 1990 when it was sold to a private buyer.

Tags: Landmark & Historical Place