In our August issue we reproduced this photograph of the land-based boat at Gibraltar Point which was used as a dwelling house at the end of the last century. The following article about it was written by the late Mrs S. M. Julian, formerly Susan Moody of Cheery Tree House, High Street, Skegness, in November 1897, when she was 18 years old. The photograph of her was taken a short time afterwards. I am indebted to her daughter Mrs M. E. Greenhalf of Cheltenham who leant e the original manuscript.
“Just south of Skegness lies a tiny hamlet, Gibraltar Point. On the map it is clearly seen on the East Coast. Hundreds of visitors from Skegness during the summer months drive down, the distance being about five miles. It is not noted for its fine scenery, nor is ancient history in any way attached to it. In all there are about half a dozen houses and the Coast Guard’s Station.
The chief attraction to the almost isolated place seems to be an old boat-house moored near the River Haven. Mr. and Mrs. Perrin have lived in it for nearly thirty years and sixteen children have been born there. Glancing at it from the outside it does not look very habitable, but entering you are struck with its cosy and home-like appearance. The boast was once used for fishing and has braved many a gale. Now it is stationary and stands high and dry except at very high tides, when the water surrounds it.
The inside consists of two large sized rooms. You enter by a door, cut into the side of the boat into the living room. At the keel end of the boat are what used to be the sleeping bunks; they have been converted into very useful cupboards. The walls are grained and varnished and it is exceedingly comfortable, considering its build and curious circumstances.
During the summer the occupant do a very good trade in mineral waters and refreshments and the husband earns not a little in fishing and shooting wild fowl. The visitors from the large smokey towns and cities enjoy this wild out-of-the-way place. On the left are the sandhills where the blackberries grow in rich profusion, and where you can stand and gaze over the Wash (or more commonly called Boston Deeps) to the Norfolk coast. More inland the sea has receded a considerable distance and you may walk for miles on marsh land down to Wainfleet and Friskney Flats, picking the samphire as you go. When it is in season it makes a delicious pickle. Altogether Gibraltar Point is the ideal for the lover of nature in its wildest beauty.”
