Zetland Lifeboat Museum
Durham and North East
Redcar

Come and discover the world’s oldest surviving lifeboat, The Zetland.

The Zetland is the oldest surviving lifeboat in the world and is listed within the National Historic Ship Register as part of the Nations Historic Fleet and was built in 1802 by Henry Greathead at his South Shields boatyard. She saw 78 years of service and saved over 500 documented lives from the treacherous Redcar coast. 

For many years, lives lost were never recorded. She has laid in her present boathouse since 1907 and has only been removed twice, in 1963 she was taken and displayed in Edinburgh where she was the centrepiece of the International Lifeboat Conference and 2018 to Middlesbrough for the much needed conservation work. 

The Friends of Zetland Lifeboat is a charity, number 1153465, which is made up of a strong crew of Volunteers who are dedicated in conserving her for another 200 years