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The following is one of the many informative articles in the Autumn / Winter 1999 edition :
The Blackpool Lifeboat House and Visitor Centre
The building of the new lifeboat house in Blackpool has represented a major investment and secured the future of the Blackpool station. The new boathouse has provided an ideal base for the town's three lifeboats, providing considerable improvements in the facilities for the crew and also the provision of superb facilities for visitors to the new station.
Although its primary function is an operational one, a large portion of the building forms the new visitor centre and is only one of a handful of stations to have such facilities in addition to the usual souvenir sales area. Its location in such a major seaside resort is unrivalled. Facilities to accommodate visitors are becoming more and more a part of new shore facilities, the RNLI recognizing the fact that to be able to tell people about the work of the lifeboat service adequate facilities are essential.
As you enter the visitor centre you pass through one end of the shop and up a flight of stairs, the majority of very well produced display boards, which are located on the walls as you go up the stairs. The history of the Blackpool station is well covered and although aimed at the general public, lifeboat enthusiasts will be able to see a large range of historical and modern images concerning the history of the Blackpool station.
When in the raised gallery you have a bird's eye view of the station's Atlantic 75, "Bickerstaffe," and its launching vehicle together with the two D Class inshore lifeboats and LandRover. The interactive displays are found in the raised gallery, together with numerous historical artifacts about wreck and rescue on the Fylde coast. The three screens showing video footage are easily viewable from this gallery. There is a mixture of footage relating specifically to Blackpool, for example in the form of the unique Lifeboat Band, and also other footage that is not specific to Blackpool. The video also includes some previously unreleased pictures of various types of lifeboats at sea, the majority of which I have not seen before. It is well worth waiting for a while to see the whole sequence.
On leaving the gallery you proceed down a second flight of stairs, where more display boards are viewable. To exit the centre you have to walk through the shop were you have plenty of opportunity to buy some of the wide variety of RNLI merchandise that is on sale. It should be pointed out that disabled visitors are well accommodated within the centre, as they have access to the raised gallery by the use of a specially installed lift.
As well as being an ideal base for visitors, the new boathouse shows what that we have come along way from the simple Marley garage arrangements of the sixties. The RNLI has continuously sought ways to improve the operating standards of its crews and at Blackpool the crew are proud of the improved facilities they have been provided with. The station now has ample room to store the town's lifeboats and launching vehicles, unlike in the 1937 lifeboat house. On the ground floor of the boathouse, there is a very large gear storage room as well as excellent shower and toilet facilities for the crew. Also on the ground floor are fuel stores, workshop and numerous storage areas. On the upper floors of the boathouse there is the crew room, fully equipped kitchen and even the Station Honorary Secretary has his own office. The crew room is a well-equipped training facility, with all the usual fixtures such as television and video, wipe boards etc, together with ample seating and the station's communications equipment is set up in this room.
The boathouse has been designed with strong Victorian architectural features and this reflected in the finished design. Visitors will be surprised to see how much glass has been used in the new building, especially in such an exposed location, making it possible to see most of the station through numerous internal and external windows.
Finally I would urge members to visit the new station and take a look around the visitor centre and we must acknowledge the hard work that the Blackpool crew must have put in to get the new building up and running.
Martin Fish
Others include Station Reports - (from North Anglesey to Workington, and the Isle of Man) - Book Reviews and many photographs of Lifeboats and Lifeboat Equipment, the rebuilding of the Barrow Slipway and Boathouse etc.etc. This is a must for any North Western Lifeboat Enthusiast.
Go to Lytham Lifeboat Website - see the Plans of the new St Annes Lifeboat House
