The construction of a double boathouse on Pier Road in Whitby commenced in early 1895, at a cost of £913. The lifeboat station opened in May 1896.

‍

When the station closed in 1957, the then Lifeboat Honorary Secretary Eric Thomson proposed to the RNLI that the Lifeboat House be used it to display his expanding collection of lifeboat memorabilia. This grew into the Lifeboat Museum and shop that’s still here today. In the years that the RNLI Shop 50 years has traded it has taken over £5m in sales and is the RNLI's biggest grossing shop for sales. Eric foresight and with the hardwork of many volunteers over the years has made this Musuem such a lovely place to visit.

‍

The old lifeboat station reopened 19 September 2005 after nearly 50 years. It was brought back into service for approximately a year while the town’s current lifeboat station was demolished, and a replacement built the Museum housed the ILB for two years.

‍

In 2021 the Boat House/Museum & Shop underwent a full renovation which included the Robert & Ellen Robson being fully restored to the condition she was in when she arrived in Whitby in 1947.

‍