The ''Zetland'' is the oldest surviving

lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen ...

in the world. It is currently in a free

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

Redcar Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is located east of Middlesbrough. The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdivision had a population of ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The name ''Zetland'' comes from the local Lord of Manor, the

Marquess of Zetland Marquess of Zetland is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 22 August 1892 for the former Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lawrence Dundas, 3rd Earl of Zetland. Zetland is an archaic form of Shetland. The Dundas family des ...

. The ''Zetland'' is on the National Register of Historic Ships, as part of the

National Historic Fleet The National Historic Fleet is a list of historic ships and vessels located in the United Kingdom, under the National Historic Ships register. National Historic Ships UK is an advisory body which advises the Secretary of State for Culture, Media a ...

. The lifeboat was stationed at Redcar in 1802, built by

Henry Greathead Henry Francis Greathead (1757–1818) was a pioneering rescue lifeboat builder from South Shields. Although Lionel Lukin had patented a lifeboat in 1785, Greathead successfully petitioned parliament in 1802 with the claim that he had invented ...

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...

. Not all rescue attempts were successful. On Christmas Day 1836, a crewman was washed from the ''Zetland'' and drowned during a vain attempt to save the crew of the Danish brig ''Caroline''. The man, William Guy, was a Tees pilot, and it is said that he left a service in chapel to take his place in the lifeboat. During 1858 the Tees Bay Lifeboat Society decided to hand over the administration of their boats to the RNLI. On 17 February 1864, the ''Zetland'' sustained damage whilst rescuing the crew of seven from the brig ''Brothers''. The RNLI considered the old boat no longer fit for service and supplied a new self-righting lifeboat named ''Crossley''. Arrangements were made to have the ''Zetland'' broken up and a local carpenter was employed to carry out the task. An angry crowd prevented the work commencing and, after negotiation, the boat was given to the townspeople providing it would not 'compete' with the new RNLI lifeboat. In 1872, the ''Zetland'' was repaired following fundraising which totalled £100. In 1880, it was launched with two other Redcar lifeboats (the ''Crossley'' and the ''Emma'') and saved seven sailors' lives from the brig ''Luna''. Zetland lifeboat museum-1000

The boat was the centrepiece of 1963 ''International Lifeboat Conference'' in Edinburgh. Listed as part of the

, the ''Zetland'' lifeboat remains fully preserved and open for public visits in the Zetland Lifeboat Museum, which is a listed building on the Esplanade, Redcar, just a few hundred yards from the present Redcar Lifeboat Station.

References

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External links

Zetland Lifeboat Museum
{{National Historic Ships Greathead-class lifeboats Museum ships in the United Kingdom Sea rescue in England Ships and vessels of the National Historic Fleet Redcar Ships built on the River Tyne

References

Further reading

External links