The first steps inside the new National Collection of lifeboats tell you that this is something very special. Here, for the first time anywhere in the world, the history of a nation's lifeboats and the men who took them to sea is laid out under one roof.

The collection runs from pulling and sailing lifeboats of the last century, through high speed inshore lifeboats to the 54ft Arun class, most of which are still in service. The lifeboats range from the virtually 'as-found' state of the 1897- built St Paul to the apparently still-in-service condition of the more modern boats.

Here too is the history of the men and women who served aboard them, with hands-on displays of self-righting and of different hull shapes. There are tractors, launching carriages, engines, winches and the other equipment of past and more recent times which made the RNLI's lifeboats what they were.

Housed in the historic No. 4 Covered Slip, in the centre of maritime heritage at Chatham's Historic Dockyard in Kent, the collection is not to be missed.

Royal National Lifeboat Collection The Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent Admission to Lifeboat! is by admission to the Historic Dockyard. The entry price includes access to all other galler- 3S, displays and attractions in the 80-acre site.

)pening Hours 1 April to 3 November: 1000 to 1700* rebruary, March and November: Wednesdays, Saturdays nd Sundays only, 1000 to 1600* Last admission one hour before close) ccess by road: Signposted from Junction 3 on the M2, or ake the A229 to Chatham at Junction 6 from M20. Follow signs on approach. Free parking on site.

Vccess by rail: Regular trains from Victoria and Charing oss and local stations. One mile to Dockyard from Chatham ;tation.

.ifeboatl (except aboard the boats)The Historic Dockyard at Chatham is an ideal site for the Royal National Lifeboat Collection - it is able to form part of a wider display of maritime history, becomes part of a bigger 'day-out1 and is likely to be visited by those who might not otherwise have considered visiting a lifeboat display.

As a bonus the boats are in almost ideal conditions - under cover and protected from the elements, yet well ventilated and open to the atmosphere sufficiently to prevent the kind of drying out and shrinkage which would result from an indoor position.

But just why the Collection has found such a good home is part of a much longer story.

The RNLI has always been conscious of its heritage, yet its conscience and charter have prevented it spending money raised for saving life on presenting its heritage to the public.

It had retained some historic boats which had been loaned to a privately run museum at Bristol - where they joined others both owned by the museum and lent to it by individuals.

Sadly the museum ran into financial difficulties and closed, the boats remaining on site and safely under cover although not accessible. But when Bristol City Council wanted their building back extra impetus was added to the problem of finding a new home.

The Institution's Lifeboat Preservation Working Group had existed for almost 25 years, finding homes for individual historic boats and, one of its members, Simon Stephens of the National Maritime Museum, was aware of the space available at The Historic Dockyard's 80-acre site in Chatham. Although several towns had expressed interest in housing the Collection none had a suitable building ready, and the finance would always have been a problem. However the Historic Dockyard (itself a charity) was a different matter, for among its vast number of listed buildings was the enormous and under-used No. 4 Covered Slip - a 169-year-old building of great architectural interest.

Also in place was the infrastructure needed for a major display - ticket offices, toilets, refreshments and so on. The Dockyard would store the boats but, as it preferred them to be on public display, a symbiotic partnership soon gelled. The Dockyard could add another attraction for its visitors and the RNLI would have its National Collection. In a matter of months the boats were safely resting among a cosmetic shingle 'beach', but still open to the public only on special occasions.

The funding of a major hands-on and interactive display was beyond the resources of either party - but not the National Lottery's Heritage Fund. A succesful application saw a grant of £355,000, topped up by another £100,000 from a private trust fund, and work could begin.

Although the major work was contracted out to commercial concerns, volunteers came forward to renovate and prepare the boats and, as usual, timings were tight. However, on Bank Holiday Saturday, 25 May 1996 the long-held hopes of the Institution came to fruition and the unique National Collection of Lifeboats opened its doors to the public..