The Old Cromer Lifeboat Shed

From 1994 the Trust was fortunate enough to have been loaned the use of the Southwold Chandlery and Tea-room shed for stripping the boat out initially. However a permanent home had to be found for the 'Alfred Corry' in the long term.

In 1997 the Cromer Lifeboat shed was cut in half and removed from Cromer Pier to enable both a new shed and pier to be built. The contractors removed the old shed to Lowestoft by sea. Thanks tothe efforts of Mr Dennis Ball of Southwold, the Trust finally managed to acquire this shed using grants provided from the Southwold Trust, the Adnams Charity and Waveney District Council enabling the purchase and siting of the building at Southwold harbour, in April 1998. The 52 ton shed was bought in by sea, through the narrow harbour entrance, and slid across the car park to its final position. It took 18 months to renovate the shed back to its former glory.

Originally built by the RNLI in 1923, the building type was the first of its kind. Oak and pitch pine beams, diagonally boarded Columbian pine studwork walls, with a distinctive curved zinc roof, echoing seaside pier architecture of times gone by. The shed is 60ft by 24ft internally, and some 30ft at its highest point.

The shed has a history and heritage of lifeboats (when it was at Cromer) second to none in the United Kingdom. It has seen the coming and going of a number of lifeboats the saving of over 1000 lives, and of its association with the most highly decorated lifeboatman of the R.N.L.I. to date, Coxwain Henry George Blogg, who was a lifeboatman from this shed for 53 years. He was awarded the Gold Medal of the Institution (which was only given for extreme gallantry) three times, the Silver medal four times, and he held the George Cross and British Empire Medal.

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