As some of you will remember, the summer of 2024 saw the Shipwreck Museum bring the two historic lifeboats, Cyril and Lilian Bishop and Priscilla MacBean safely into its yard after serious concern had been expressed about the two vessels’ future if they were simply left to rot at their previous resting places alongside the main A259 road. After so much work had been put in to bringing these historic vessels back to glory from almost complete dilapidation, it was, to put it mildly, extremely disappointing to see them once again sinking into a state of disrepair. At the Shipwreck Museum, they are now being protected from the worst of the weather, but there is still a great deal of work to be done.
Another major restoration project will be needed and it is intended to put in place this year a fundraising project that will enable work to begin, not just on the lifeboats, but also on the Primrose, the only known surviving example of a great Rye river barge, that sits alongside the Cyril and Lilian Bishop and the Priscilla MacBean. More details in due course.