The RNLI yesterday opened its new Grace Darling museum at Seahouses, on the Northumberland coast.
After a service at St Aiden's Church, where Grace Darling is buried, RNLI chairman Sir Jock Slater cut the ribbon and declared the museum officially open.
The original Grace Darling Museum opened in 1938, a century after the event it commemorates.
Grace Darling became a national heroine after she and her father rowed their coble - a 21 ft open fishing boat - through stormy seas from the Longstone Lighthouse to rescue survivors on the stricken SS Forfarshire.
The Forfarshire was an early paddle steamer built for a regular run between Hull and Dundee. After leaving Hull on September 5,1838, the weather deteriorated and she struck Big Harcar rock early on September 7, half a mile west of Longstone lighthouse.
The lighthouse keeper's daughter Grace Darling saw the disaster Grace and her father William rowed out to rescue nine survivors clinging on to the rock. Grace held
the coble steady in the raging seas while William helped the passengers.
Soon news of
Grace's deed spread nationwide and her name became associated with courage and humanity. Over 160 years later, a lifeboat named Grace Darling operates at nearby Seahouses RNLI lifeboat station.
Now 70 years on from its original opening, after a major redevelopment project, the museum's original Flemish brick facade fronts a new two-storey museum - thanks largely to a grant of nearly £1,000,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
Designed to be environmentally friendly, the museum's temperature is controlled by a ground heat recovery system and uses natural insulation - lambs' wool. During its two-year closure exhibits have been cleaned and conserved.
The new museum illustrates Grace's upbringing, her life at Longstone lighthouse, the events of the rescue and her subsequent fame. Grace's story is told through personal items, including letters and family portraits, with the coble as a centrepiece. The museum also features atmospheric audio-visuals and a model of the lighthouse.
Maureen La Frenais, RNLI Grace Darling Museum project manager, said:
“This new museum, managed by the RNLI Heritage Trust, has improved access for the public and provides better conditions for storing and displaying the Grace Darling collection.
“It also includes an education, research and community room, will provide hands-on opportunities for learning, research, talks and special events, and a gift shop to help raise funds for the RNLI. We also have a learning officer on site who has already set up a programme for visitors and school presentations.
“Although the building is quite modest in size this has been a challenging project.
The collection relating to Grace and her family has required an extensive programme of conservation work and cleaning. We're all extremely proud of this exciting RNLI flagship museum, and our volunteers are keen to extend a warm welcome to visitors.”
Dr Keith Bartlett, regional manager for the HLF, said:
“We are delighted to see the completion of this project that celebrates and reveres such an iconic and inspirational figure from our past as Grace Darling. HLF support towards the £1.5m project will enable today's community to experience the Victorian heroine's life first-hand in this exciting environment.”
Joanna Bellis, RNLI Heritage manager, added:
“Our aspirations are that the museum becomes a national favourite with the public, and so far feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
“As a registered charity, with the aim of saving lives at sea, the RNLI is limited in what it can spend on its heritage. However, its subsidiary the RNLI Heritage Trust is able to apply specifically for heritage and cultural grants that would not be available for funding the core RNLI activity.
“Needless to say, we would like to extend our grateful thanks to all those whose funding enabled us to develop the £1.5m museum project. These include the Heritage Lottery Fund, Northern Rock Foundation, the Foyle Foundation, the Sir James Knott Trust and an RNLI education appeal in the north.
“We hope the story of Grace, her father William and the lifeboat heroes and heroines of today's RNLI inspire all those who visit.”
The RNLI Heritage Trust, a subsidiary charity of the RNLI, was established in 2004 and manages five museums and over 30 historic lifeboats and extensive collections and archives.
