Chapel St Leonards

Chapel St. Leonards is a seaside resort village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is about 5 miles (8 km) north from the popular resort town of Skegness and just north of Ingoldmells. The village sits right next to the North Sea, making it a beautiful coastal spot.

The area is well-loved for caravan park holidays and campsites. Visitors can enjoy several miles of sandy beach, and it is close to fun places like Fantasy Island, nearby market towns, and the scenic Lincolnshire Wolds.

One special landmark is Chapel Point, about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the village center. Here you can find a restored part of a major Second World War coastal defence line, including a viewing platform. Nearby, the North Sea Observatory is a visitors' centre built between 2016 and 2018 for people to use all year. In recent years, Chapel Point has also become a popular spot for birdwatchers, especially for seeing migrating birds such as the Mediterranean gull.

Governance

An electoral ward named Chapel St Leonards exists. This ward reaches west to Hogsthorpe. It had a population of 4,684 in the 2011 census.

North Sea Observatory

Car park with staircase and newly constructed disabled ramp adjacent to beach chalets leading down to car park level to the right

The UK's first marine observatory was planned in 2005 and shown to the public in July 2013. It was approved in late 2014 and built between 2016 and 2018. It was paid for mostly by the Lincolnshire County Council and also by Arts Council England and the Coastal Communities Fund.

The observatory is part of the plan for the Lincolnshire Coastal Country Park (LCCP). Future plans will extend the coastal walk north to Sandilands. It is owned by Chapel St Leonards Parish Council and rented to the County Council. The building has big windows looking at the sea. It has spaces for shows and learning, a local office for Coastwatch, and a cafe that is open all year. It was first set to open on 22 June 2018 but finally opened to the public on 30 July 2018 after some delays.

Chapel and church

The name Chapel St Leonards comes from a chapel in nearby Mumby dedicated to St Leonard. Long ago, this chapel and Mumby shared the same ecclesiastical parish.

The village's Anglican church, also dedicated to St Leonard, was rebuilt many times over the years. It was first rebuilt in 1572 after a flood. It was rebuilt again in 1794 on a smaller scale. More changes happened in 1866 and 1901, when a special red-tiled tower was added. In 1924, the church was enlarged once more, getting a new east window and a reredos. Today, the church has old records dating back to 1665.

Twinned Village

Chapel St Leonards has been twinned since 1998 with Cérans-Foulletourte in Sarthe, a part of Pays de la Loire in north-western France. This helps the villages learn from each other and work on projects together.