Plans are underway to display the historic Thomas Lingham lifeboat in Rhosneigr, celebrating its rich maritime heritage.
Anglesey: An old lifeboat, the Thomas Lingham, might find a new home in Rhosneigr. This boat has quite the story, having been at the village’s lifeboat station until it closed back in 1924.
After its service, it had a rough time. It was used privately for a bit but eventually fell apart and even went missing for a while. There were several attempts to fix it, including one where it was found in a field in France.
In 2017, the Daily Post shared its story, and a heritage group stepped in, hoping to restore it as a training boat. Sadly, that plan didn’t work out, and the lifeboat has been sitting at Holyhead for some time now.
Recently, Anglesey County Council got a proposal to place the lifeboat in a memorial garden in Rhosneigr. Roger Shoesmith is behind this plan, and he’s clear that they don’t intend to restore it for use, just to display it.
The design team, Layer Studio, shared that the lifeboat’s return symbolizes resilience. They want it to sit by the sea, reminding everyone of the village’s rich history.
The garden will feature stone, benches, and even some nautical-themed decorations. Interestingly, the original boathouse was funded by Mrs. Thomas Lingham in memory of her husband.
They even found a plaque from her in a garden in Rhosneigr, which will be part of the project. Roger and his bandmate Mark are excited about this initiative.
Roger, a retired estate agent, mentioned that the boat is currently taking up space at Holyhead. While restoring it would be too costly, they want to preserve it as a piece of history and return it to Rhosneigr.
If they get the green light for the project, it’ll be a big job to move the boat. They plan to raise funds in the village for the project, which will include planting and informative signs, even QR codes to share its story.
Simon Tugby from Layer Studio expressed how great it is to work on something so important to the island’s history.
