The Gravesend–Tilbury Ferry was a passenger ferry across the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

east of London. It was the last public crossing point before the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

reached the sea.

History

''See also notes on

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a Tilbury Fort, 16th century fort ...

There were many ferries crossing the Thames in the area around Tilbury: one such operated between Higham and

East Tilbury East Tilbury is a village and former civil parish in the unitary authority of Thurrock borough, Essex, England, and one of the traditional List of traditional (Church of England) parish churches in Thurrock, Church of England parishes in Thurro ...

. This was owned by the Manor of South Hall in East Tilbury which itself was owned by

Rochester Bridge Rochester Bridge in Rochester, Medway was for centuries the lowest fixed crossing of the River Medway in South East England. There have been several generations of bridge at this spot, and the current "bridge" is in fact four separate bridg ...

. The principal ferry operated between

West Tilbury West Tilbury is a village and former civil parish in the Thurrock district, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is on the top of and on the sides of a tall river terrace overlooking the River Thames. Part of the modern town of Tilbur ...

and

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

and was under the ownership of the

Lord of the Manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

of Parrock in

Milton-next-Gravesend Milton-next-Gravesend is an area and ecclesiastical parish, part of the Gravesend built-up area, in the Gravesham district, north-west of Kent, England. History Feudal ownership of land in the parish was the subject of a legal action of 1076, ...

. A sketch-map of 1571 shows evidence of two jetties, the one on the north bank leading to a northward road crossing the marsh. There are also houses marked on the marsh itself, which was important for sheep grazing; and there is some evidence to suggest that the ferry was used for the cross-river transport of animals and wool. Although the 17th-century drawing might suggest a boat too small for large consignments, the long-established Gravesend market encouraged such traffic, and a contemporary account suggests that one of the boats used was a

hoy Hoy may refer to: People Given name * Hoy Menear (died 2023), American politician * Hoy Phallin (born 1995), Cambodian footballer * Hoy Wong (1920–2009), American bartender Surname * Hoy (surname), a Scottish and Irish surname * H� ...

, a forerunner of the

Thames sailing barge A Thames sailing barge is a type of commercial sailing boat once common on the River Thames in London. The flat-bottomed barges, with a shallow draught and leeboards, were perfectly adapted to the Thames Estuary, with its shallow waters and na ...

. The rights to the Gravesend–Tilbury ferry were purchased by Gravesend Town Council in 1694. At the same time, the governor of

Tilbury Fort Tilbury Fort, also known historically as the Thermitage Bulwark and the West Tilbury Blockhouse, is an artillery fort on the north bank of the River Thames in England. The earliest version of the fort, comprising a small blockhouse with artil ...

obtained the right to a ferry in the opposite direction. This originally operated from within the fort, but was later moved to a ferry house (now the World's End

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

) just to the west of the fort. Sailing and rowing boats operated between Gravesend and Tilbury until they were replaced by a steam ferry service in 1855. In 1852, the

London, Tilbury and Southend Railway The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LT&SR), was a British railway company, whose network connected Fenchurch Street railway station, Fenchurch Street station, in central London, with destinations in east London and Essex, including , , , T ...

(LTS) was authorised to operate a ferry but only for its passengers. In 1862, the northbound Gravesend Town Council ferry was purchased by the LTS, and the southbound Board of Ordinance ferry was leased. The railway company and its successors continued to operate the ferry until 1984. Car ferries were introduced in 1927 and discontinued by authority of act of Parliament in 1964, following the opening in 1963 of the first

Dartford Tunnel The Dartford–Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel, is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurr ...

. In 1991 the service was taken over by

White Horse Ferries White Horse Ferries is a company that previously operated a ferry on the English south coast. It is a member of the ''White Horse'' group of sister companies. Hythe Pier, Railway and Ferry They operated the Hythe Pier, Railway and Ferry#Hyth ...

and was operated by the , purpose-built in their own yard until 1995 when it was transferred to their

Southampton Water Southampton Water is a tidal estuary north of the Solent and the Isle of Wight in England. The city of Southampton lies at its most northerly point, where the estuaries of the River Test and River Itchen meet. Along its salt marsh-fringed we ...

service.

Services

From 17 September 2012, ferries from

used the Town Pier instead of the West Street terminal. The ferry was operated by Jetstream Tours until 30 March 2024, and ran every 30 minutes between about 6 am and 7 pm from Monday to Saturday. The ferry operation was subsidised by both

Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Essex, England. It lies on the north bank of the River ...

Council and

Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Kent in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes the Unitary authorities of England, unitary auth ...

.
Jetstream Tours
the operator, have stopped the service. Cycles were carried at no extra charge.

Vessels employed from 1855

London, Tilbury and Southend Railway

Owned by

(LTS): All vessels in service in 1912 were transferred to the

Midland Railway Company The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...

, and then became part of the

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with London and North Eastern Railway, LNER, Great Western Railway, GWR and Southern Railway (UK), SR. The London, Midland an ...

's fleet after 1923.

London, Midland and Scottish Railway car ferries

Car ferries introduced to service by

(LMS): In 1948 control of the service was transferred to the

British Transport Commission The British Transport Commission (BTC) was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain (Northern Ireland had the s ...

(BTC) London Midland Region and all operational vessels were taken under their control. In 1959 that control was changed to the Eastern Region of

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commis ...

Eastern Region of British Railways

Vessels brought into service by the

Eastern Region Eastern Region or East Region may refer to: * Eastern Region (Abu Dhabi): Al Ain *Eastern Region, Ghana *Eastern Region (Iceland) *Eastern Region, Malta *Eastern Region, Nepal *Eastern Region, Nigeria * Eastern Region, Serbia *Eastern Region, Ugand ...

Vessels since 1995

References

External links

Gravesend to Tilbury (Thurrock Council)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gravesend-Tilbury Ferry Transport in Thurrock Transport in Kent River Thames ferries Gravesend, Kent British Rail ferry service Tilbury