Historic Lifeboat Heirloom Rescued

Historic Lifeboat Heirloom Rescued

Written by Angela Gooch on October 1st, 2007 in Historical Buildings, Human Interest, Lifeboat, Memorabilia, People, Social History.

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News story review:

The article is seeping with historical information about the Skegness Lifeboat and the local glazing business, Moody’s Glass, invaluable for our research into Skegness history.

Source: Skegness Standard 17th August 1984
Photo: Ben Hardaker

The news article brings to our attention a pane of glass which depicts the 1928 Samuel Lewis Lifeboat. The pane was commissioned by the Samuel Lewis Coxswain, Matt Grunnill as a decoration for his house in Drummond Road. We learn that Moody made the pane at his grandmother’s guest house, Cherry Tree House in High Street Skegness.

Our picture shows the approximate location of the guest house:

High Street Skegness

Let’s take a quick glimpse of Cherry Tree House on the 1901 census

To continue the research, the pane of glass transparently, sorry, apparently, found its way to Scunthorpe after the war where it was damaged by vandals. Some time later, it returned to Skegness and was taken back to Mr Moody to see if he could repair it. This he did and was reported to have added tiny lifeboats in each corner of the pane (see below).

Eventually, the article informs us, the glass pane was presented to the lifeboat station.

“Local craftsman Mr Norman Moody made a leaded glass panel in 1928 which has turned into an heirloom since he restored it recently.
It depicts the Samuel Lewis Lifeboat in use in 1928 and was commissioned by the then Skegness Lifeboat Cox Matt Grunnill as a doorway decoration for his Drummond Road house.

Mr Moody of Moody’s Glass Alexandra Road Skegness, still actively working at 74, said the panel cost 45 shillings originally.
“I made it in the old tea room at Cherry Tree House, High Street, when I first started in business,” he explained.
The premises had been his grandmother’s guest house and the site is near where Elkington’s fish shop now stands.
With an artist’s attention to detail, Mr Moody was emphatic that the item he made for Cox Grunnill was a leaded glass panel and not a ’stained glass window’.

Damage

After the war other members of the Grunnill family took the panel to Scunthorpe where it was damaged by vandals.
It was presented to Skegness Lifeboat Station, and Mr Moody was called upon to try and mend it. He remounted it in a wooden frame, and Cox Ken Holland was delighted with the result.
“Mr Moody’s even put a tiny lifeboat in each corner,” he said.
The finished product is to hang in the boathouse.”

end of transcript

The article continues to outline Mr Moody’s memories of apprenticeship.

We paid a visit to the Skegness Lifeboat Station in search of the historical pane of glass.

Sure enough, we found it and took the photograph below, though I can’t see any evidence of the ‘tiny lifeboats in the corners’.

Update: 29th October 2007 - we decided to return to the lifeboat station and re-inspect the ornamental pane. This is quite difficult as the pane is displayed very high up on the wall of the station. Fortunately, there is a flight of steps to the side of the display, and from this vantage point one can just about detect the miniature lifeboats in the four corners. The mini lifeboats, complete with sails seem to be etched into the glass. They are transparent and colourless, which is why they don’t show up too well on our photo below.

pane of glass historic heirloom skegness lifeboat station