The final stone of a new groyne to protect the Mary Stanford Lifeboat House was put in place on Tuesday 2 June. Over the last few weeks, volunteers have moved over 150 tonnes of stone to prevent the iconic building collapsing into the sea.
The work was carried out by the same group of farmers who took matters into their own hands last November when a forecast of high winds coinciding with the prediction of extremely large tides created the severe risk of damage to the listed building. As Rye News reported at the time, a large quantity of stone and rock armour was placed in front of the building to prevent the shingle on which it stands being washed away.
The Mary Stanford House on the beach in the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve stands as a memorial to the 17 men of the lifeboat crew who went to their deaths in a valiant attempt to save the lives of others during a storm in 1928.
“It should protect the building to remember those brave seamen for many years to come,” said Philip Merricks, one of the farmers who stepped up to save the building. “The lifeboat house had been put at risk by the failure of the statutory agencies (Environment Agency, Natural England and the Marine Management Agency) to take the simple and relatively inexpensive step of maintaining the wooden groynes, which their predecessor agencies had installed in order to protect the lifeboat house. A failure which led to the foundations of the building being eroded, putting it at risk of collapse.”
The new groyne was completed in the presence of the Mayor of Rye, Chris Hoggart, and Winchelsea Mayor Revd David Page. After the last stone had been laid, Revd Page led a small service at which prayers were said in remembrance of the men who died in 1928.
Chris Hoggart said, “It was an honour to be present as the final piece of the new rock armour was put in place. This historically important building cannot be allowed to be lost to the sea as descendants of the crew who tragically lost their lives and others that the disaster touched would be heartbroken. Congratulations to Philip Merricks and his team for preserving this symbolic building.”
The work to protect the Mary Stanford Lifeboat House was also enthusiastically supported at the Icklesham Annual Parish Meeting on Friday 29 May.
Image Credits: Philip Merricks .
Thank you guys !!