Past explained: the old lifeboathouse at Brook on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, where a pulling lifeboat was kept betweeen 1860 and 1937, has for a long time had no indication of what the building was originally used for. Tourists and visitors frequently asked what it was since it stands in an isolated position near the edge of a low cliff. It is a simple rectangular building constructed of local Isle of Wight stone. In 1984 the RNLI agreed that the Brook and Mottistone Society should undertake means of identifying the building and the photograph shows the result of their work. The cost of the identification has been met by a local authority grant, a grant from the Island branch of the Historic Buildings Trust, donations from the owners, the Seely family, from the Brook and Mottistone Society and an award from a local organisation for "a good village project". photograph by courtesy of Geoffrey Cotton.