Coming
across on the Ferry
The
first reference to a ferry across the
River Blyth between Southwold and Walberswick
is in 1236. Margery de Cressy, Lady of
the Manor of Blythburgh and Walberswick,
was instructed to keep a ferry on her
side of the river.
By the 19th century
the ferry franchise and the income from
it were in the hands of the Blois family
of Yoxford, who leased it to an operator.
An early ferry man was a Mr Todd of Walberswick
who provided the service in a rowing boat
for many years.
By 1885 the lease had transferred to a
public company, the River Blythe (sic)
Ferry Co Ltd., which was formed with capital
of £500, who modernised the operation
by installing a manually operated, chain-driven
pontoon, which was reputed to have been
built at Blackshore.
By 1889 enough people
were using it to justify the company fitting
a steam-driven engine to the pontoon at
a cost of £111. In 1927 an even
larger steam-driven pontoon was introduced.
These pontoons were capable of taking
vehicles and animals. The Museum has a
photograph of a circus, complete with
elephant, being transported across the
river and of a large chauffeur-driven
limousine also coming ashore.
In 1942 it was
discontinued and it was beached on the
Walberswick side where it remained for
many years as a sad and derelict reminder
of more expansive days. It was finally
cut up for scrap. After the war the ferry
resumed but as a rowing boat which continues
today and with which the Cross family
have a long tradition.
Arriving
by Steamer
In response
to the growth in visitor numbers, in 1887,
the London, Woolwich and Clacton on Sea
Steamship Co. was formed to operate a
service between London and Ipswich. Ten
years later, in 1897, the name changed
to one which became much more familiar,
Belle Steamers Ltd.
To learn more about
Belle Steamers, click
here and to see a short movie of a
paddle steamer arriving at Southwold Pier,
click here
Use the links below
to explore the history of Southwold’s
other methods of transport:.
By
Road
By Rail
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