Chapel St Leonards
| Chapel St Leonards | |
| Lincolnshire | |
|---|---|
 The Pullover, Chapel St Leonards | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TF560722 |
| Location: | 53°13’27"N, 0°20’12"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 3,384 (2011) |
| Post town: | Skegness |
| Postcode: | PE24 |
| Dialling code: | 01754 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | East Lindsey |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Louth and Horncastle |
Chapel St Leonards is a seaside village in Lindsey, the northern part of Lincolnshire. It is five miles north of the more famed resort, Skegness, and just north of Ingoldmells.
The village draws holidaymakers to a caravan park and campsites. It has several miles of beach, and is close to an amusement park named Fantasy Island. Inland are the Lincolnshire Wolds and the county's pretty market towns.
Chapel Point, a mile north of the centre of the village, has a restored part of a major Second World War coastal defence line retaining the viewing platform. Beside it is the North Sea Observatory, a futuristic visitors' centre built between 2016 and 2018.[1][2]
In recent years Chapel Point has attracted birdwatchers, as the point is visited by migrating birds such as the Mediterranean gull.[3]
North Sea Observatory
Billed as the United Kingdom's first purpose-built marine observatory, The North Sea Observatory on Chapel Point was built between 2016 and 2018 funded from taxpayer's money[4] It was envisaged as part of a new 'Lincolnshire Coastal Country Park' intended to stretch northwards to Sandilands.
Included into the futuristic design having main viewing windows orientated towards the sea, the observatory has multi-function spaces allocated for an exhibition gallery and education, together with a local base for Coastwatch and a year-round café.
The centre finally opened 30 July 2018.[5]
Chapel and church
The name of the village derives from a chapel at Mumby dedicated to St Leonard; the village history is tied to that of Mumby, both at one time being part of the same ecclesiastical parish.[6]
The village church, also dedicated to St Leonard, was rebuilt in 1572 after a flood, and again rebuilt in 1794 on a smaller scale. There was further rebuilding in 1866 and in 1901 when the church was lengthened and the red-tiled tower, unique in Lincolnshire, was added. In 1924 the chapel was again enlarged and lengthened, and a new east window and reredos added. The present church holds parish registers dating from 1665, although bishop's transcripts go back as far as 1568.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Chapel St Leonards) |
References
- ↑ North Sea Observatory William Saunders (structural engineers), 1 February 2018
- ↑ 'New North Sea Observatory starts to take shape': Lincolnshire Live, 6 January 2018
- ↑ "Welcome to the South Lincs RSPB Local Group Website", South Lincs RSPB
- ↑ 'Take a look inside UK's first marine observatory offering great days out on our coast for families across the country': Lincolnshire Live, 25 April 2018
- ↑ Lincolnshire North Sea Observatory now open: Lincolnshire Reporter, 30 July 2018
- ↑ Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: Lincolnshire, 1964; 1989 Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-300-09620-0page 219
