Itchen Ferry village was a small hamlet on the East bank of the River Itchen in Hampshire. The village took its name from the small fishing boats that were also used to ferry foot passengers across the river. An Ordnance Survey map of 1911 (NC/03/17894)The Illustrated History of Southamptons Suburbs. Jim Brown 2004. shows the village to be situated in the area roughly bounded by Sea Road, Oakbank Road, the River Itchen and the railway line in modern

Woolston Woolston may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Woolston, Cheshire, a village and civil parish in Warrington * Woolston, Devon, on the list of United Kingdom locations: Woof-Wy near Kingsbridge, Devon * Woolston, Southampton, a city suburb in Ham ...

, but also extending along Sea Road towards Peartree Green on the other side of the railway, which cut the village in half in 1866. Neighbouring streets on that same map, Defender Road, Britannia Road and Shamrock Road have a more structured layout and are clearly part of the Victorian enlargement of

. The same map clearly shows the housing in Itchen Ferry village to have a more random layout. An even older map,Southampton. An Illustrated History. Adrian Rance. 1986. of 1842 pins Itchen Ferry village more tightly to the area between Sea Road and Vicarage Road. Itchen ferrymen were granted permission to ferry passengers and goods across the River Itchen by the lords of the manors of Woolston and Southampton. Lords of the manor of Woolston were paid in cash. Lords of the manor of Southampton received free passage. The village lost a large part of its livelihood when the Floating Bridge was introduced in 1836, but continued to operate a night service until the late 19th century. The inhabitants always remained fishermen and seafarers. RichardParkerTombstone

A memorial to Richard Parker of Itchen Ferry village can be seen in the graveyard of Jesus Chapel on Peartree Green. The desperate situation that led to his death in 1884 was the subject of a significant murder trial, '' Regina v. Dudley & Stephens'', that changed English law. Already absorbed into its larger neighbour,

, and subsequently into the borough of

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in 1920,Southampton in the Twenties. Eric Wyeth Gadd Itchen Ferry village was destroyed beyond repair by the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

on 26 September 1940 due to its misfortune of being a stone's throw from the

Supermarine Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer that is most famous for producing the Spitfire fighter plane during World War II as well as a range of seaplanes and flying boats, and a series of jet-powered fighter aircraft after World War II ...

factory and a short distance up-river from the John I. Thornycroft & Company shipyard. There were over 100 casualties in this one raid. But that was not the only raid. The

had targeted the area on a number of previous occasions. An air raid shelter in the lower region of Sea Road near the railway line is reported as receiving a direct hit on 24 September 1940.The Battle of Britain. Richard Hough and Denis Richards. 1990 The area was subsequently used for training troops that would be fighting in similar ruined villages during the

invasion of Europe Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

in 1944.Southampton and D-Day. Ingrid Peckham. 1994.

Details of the bombing raids

* 24 September 1940 – 42 fatalities. * 26 September 1940 – 55 fatalities, 49 seriously injured, 43 other casualties. This raid comprised the Heinkel He 111 bombers of

Kampfgeschwader 55 ''Kampfgeschwader'' 55 "Greif" (KG 55 or Battle Wing 55) was a Luftwaffe bomber unit during World War II. was one of the longest serving and well-known in the Luftwaffe. The wing operated the Heinkel He 111 exclusively until 1943, when only ...

Great Air Battles of World War II. Christopher Shores. 2002. escorted by the twin-engined

Messerschmitt Bf 110 The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often known unofficially as the Me 110,Because it was built before ''Bayerische Flugzeugwerke'' became Messerschmitt AG in July 1938, the Bf 110 was never officially given the designation Me 110. is a twin-engine (Des ...

heavy fighters of

Zerstörergeschwader 26 ''Zerstörergeschwader'' 26 (ZG 26) "Horst Wessel" was a Luftwaffe heavy fighter wing of World War II. Formed on 1 May 1939, ZG 26 was initially armed with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 single-engine interceptor due to production shortfalls with t ...

, 160 aircraft in total dropping 145 high explosive bombs. Reports of casualties in the direct hit on the air raid shelter (24 September) are contradictory. One report has approx 100 fatalities and approx 50 wounded, coincidentally the total of the two raids as listed above: it may have been politically expedient to combine those figures. Another source simply reports many fatalities. The most reliable report, because it is based on local sources in Southampton rather than RAF sources, is that the shelter was largely unoccupied because the air raid warning was late.

Changes to street names

When Woolston was absorbed into Southampton in 1920,Southampton in the twenties. Eric Wyeth Gadd. 1979. there were some duplicated street names. The following streets in the Itchen Ferry area were changed in 1924 to avoid the consequential confusion.

External links

Maritime Memorials website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Itchen Ferry Village Destroyed towns History of Southampton Areas of Southampton

Details of the bombing raids

Changes to street names

See also

External links

References