![FloatingBridge1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/FloatingBridge1.jpg)
The Woolston Floating Bridge was a
cable ferry
A cable ferry (including the terms chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...
that crossed the
River Itchen in England between hards at
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 ...
and
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 ...
from 23 November 1836
[Port cities website- Southampton floating bridge](_blank)
/ref> until 11 June 1977. It was taken out of service after the new Itchen Bridge
The Itchen Bridge is a bridge over the River Itchen in Southampton, Hampshire. It is a high-level hollow box girder bridge. It is located about a mile from the river mouth. The bridge spans , is at its highest point and weighs 62,000 tons. The ...
was opened.
Initially there was one ferry, built and owned by the Floating Bridge Company, increased to two in 1881. In 1934 they were sold to Southampton Corporation.[''The Illustrated History of Southampton's Suburbs''. Jim Brown. 2004. .]
In the 1970s two diesel ferries operated side by side during the day with a single ferry late in the evening. There was a bus terminus at both hards on either side of the crossing, connecting foot passengers with the centre of Southampton and the road to Portsmouth. A maintenance slipway and cradle were built to the North of the Woolston hard to enable the ferries (or "Bridges") to be hauled out of the water. The third (or spare) diesel ferry was often to be found moored off the wires on the Southampton side of the river to the North of the hard in later years.[Farewell to the Floating Bridges. SCT & SUIAG. 1977]
History
Planning stage
The original plans were introduced in 1833 for a conventional bridge with a swivelling section in the middle. Opposition came from a number of sources including local fishermen and the Northam Bridge Company. An attempt to obtain an article of parliament for the bridge's construction was made in early 1834 but at this point the Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
voiced its objection arguing that the bridge would interfere with the navigation of the Itchen. The Admiralty suggested a steam driven floating bridge as an alternative and a revised bill was passed on 25 July 1834 despite further opposition from the Northam Bridge Company.
Construction
The initial bridge cost £5945 and was built in Plymouth. A further £23,000 was spent on roads either side of the bridge.
Operation
The bridge began operation on 23 November 1836. It was largely reliant on long-distance travellers for profit since at the time few people lived on the east bank of the Itchen and those that did often qualified for toll exemptions. The Northam Bridge Company responded to the opening of the floating bridge by cutting its tolls and the floating bridge company initially suffered from poor financial performance. A new Act of Parliament was obtained in 1839 allowing the company to raise tolls and borrow 12,000. Competition from railways resulted in the company going bankrupt at the end of 1849 and bridge operations ceased. A further act of parliament in 1851 allowing the tolls to again be raised and the exemptions to be reduced resulted in the bridge returning to service. New railway lines resulted in further difficulties in the 1860s but these were largely resolved by an 1886 act of Parliament that removed most of the remaining toll exemptions. In 1879 an additional set of chains were run across the river in order to support pedestrian only bridge. Traffic levels dropped again after 1929 when Southampton council purchased Northam bridge and made it toll free.
In 1934 Southampton council, having gained compulsory purchase powers from parliament, purchased the company at a price of £23,013 set at arbitration. A half hourly overnight service was introduced in February 1937.
During World War two the bridges were under orders to cease operations during air raids but in practice they continued operating in some cases. Close to D-Day the sheer number of ships in Southampton meant the Hythe Ferry
Hythe Pier, the Hythe Pier Railway and the Hythe Ferry provide a link between the English port city of Southampton and the Hampshire village of Hythe, Hampshire, Hythe on the west side of Southampton Water. It is used both by commuters and tour ...
was unable to access its usual Southampton landing point and the floating bridges were used as landing stages.
The council stopped charging tolls for pedestrians and cyclists using the bridge in October 1946.
Replacement and closure
In 1970 a report prepared as part of the planning for the Itchen bridge it was noted that all the floating bridges would need to be replaced or undergo significant refits by 1980 in order to remain seaworthy. This among other factors pushed the city council to move towards constructing a fixed bridge. During the construction of the bridge the building works blocked the view of the ferry up the river so a watchtower had to be placed on the construction jetties to signal when ships were approaching from upstream.
The final public crossing by the ferries was a return trip on 11 June 1977 starting at 22:00. 500 passengers were carried on each ferry with special tickets including a glass of wine in specially inscribed glasses. After the return crossings had been completed fireworks were launched from the west bank of the Itchen. On 12 June a further crossing was made carrying Princess Alexandra as part of the naming ceremony for the new Itchen bridge
Technology
When introduced in 1838, it was a wooden-hulled chain ferry
A cable ferry (including the terms chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...
designed by engineer James Meadows Rendel. Initially there was one pair of chains across the river, both being used for propulsion. With the introduction of the lighter iron-hulled ferry No 2 in 1854, only the north chain was used for propulsion, the second chain being for guidance only.
In 1879 a pedestrian-only ferry was introduced, followed by a second in 1881 to service the growing workmen traffic heading for the Thornycroft
Thornycroft was an English vehicle manufacturer which built coaches, buses, and trucks from 1896 until 1977.
History
In 1896, naval engineer John Isaac Thornycroft formed the Thornycroft Steam Carriage and Van Company which built its firs ...
shipyard just downstream from the crossing. This necessitated the installation of a second set of chains to allow both types of ferry to operate simultaneously.
In 1880 the ferry was still using chains,[Southampton. A pictorial peep into the past. Southern Newspapers Ltd. 1980] replaced by cables between 1878 and 1887. They are first seen in pictures of Floating Bridge No. 7, built in 1892 by Day, Summers and Co. Each rope weighed nearly 2 tons and had an average life of nine months in normal use. Each end was attached to a short length of chain that was connected to counterbalance weights housed in chain wells to maintain tension. As the ropes stretched with use, chain links were removed to compensate. The periodical "Engineering" carried a full description, including drawings, plans and sections, for Bridge Number 8 in the issue dated 26 November 1897.[Engineering, Volume 63, issue dated 26 November 1897]
Floating Bridge No. 11 and the two subsequent ferries were powered by diesel engines. The switch from steam to diesel meant it was possible to reduce the crew from three to two
Originally the ferries were lit by oil lamps. Ferry No 3 was fitted with gas lamps from new in 1862 but reverted to oil in 1869. In the early 20th century, electric lights were fitted to No 8, powered by a steam-driven dynamo, replaced by a Lister diesel in 1949.[
]
Ferries
Naming
The Floating Bridge was technically called the Woolston ferry. ''Floating bridge'' is an affectionate description of the technology rather than the name of the crossing. The term was first used by the engineer James Meadows Rendel, who had previously implemented a similar design of chain ferry
A cable ferry (including the terms chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...
at Torpoint
Torpoint ( kw, Penntorr) is a civil parish and town on the Rame Peninsula in southeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated opposite the city of Plymouth across the Hamoaze which is the tidal estuary of the River Tamar.
Torpoint had ...
in Cornwall and at Dartmouth in Devon. The same technology was applied to the Gosport Ferry
The Gosport Ferry is a ferry service for pedestrians and cyclists operating between Gosport and Portsmouth in Hampshire, southern England. It is currently operated by Gosport Ferry Ltd, a subsidiary of the Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company Ltd, i ...
in 1840[''South Coast Railways – Portsmouth to Southampton''. Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith. ] No variant of the ferry took the form of a pontoon bridge
A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, uses float (nautical), floats or shallow-draft (hull), draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maxi ...
spanning the whole width of the crossing, to which the term Floating Bridge is more widely applied and thought of today.
The term Floating Bridge has been commonly used in Southampton and it is still in use, more than 30 years after the ferry was taken out of service. The terminology was immortalised in the 1956 painting ''The Floating Bridge'' by L. S. Lowry
Laurence Stephen Lowry ( ; 1 November 1887 – 23 February 1976) was an English artist. His drawings and paintings mainly depict Pendlebury, Lancashire (where he lived and worked for more than 40 years) as well as Salford and its vicinity ...
, and is remembered in Floating Bridge Road which leads to the site of the Southampton Hard.
The term Floating Bridge has also been applied to the Cowes Floating Bridge
The Cowes Floating Bridge is a vehicular chain ferry which crosses the River Medina on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. The ferry crosses the tidal river from East Cowes to Cowes. The first floating bridge between the two towns ...
, which still provides a similar service in a similar situation just a few miles away, across the River Medina
The River Medina is the main river of the Isle of Wight, England, rising at St Catherine's Down near Chale, and flowing northwards through the county town Newport, towards the Solent at Cowes. The river is a navigable tidal estuary from Newpor ...
in Cowes
Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floa ...
on the Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
.
Associated buildings
In 1820, whilst the crossing was still served by the small boats of Itchen Ferry village
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/0 ...
, a toll house was built. This became a Coffee Tavern when a ticket office was built for the ferry in 1836. The toll-house/Coffee Tavern building survived until 1970. The ticket office was demolished in 1954.
Impact on the area
St Johns Road in Hedge End
Hedge End is a town and civil parish in Hampshire, England. Situated to the east of the City of Southampton, it adjoins the districts of West End and Botley. Hedge End lies within the Borough of Eastleigh and is part of the Southampton Urba ...
was constructed, starting in 1839, to serve the ferry. This project was initiated by four of the proprietors of the Floating Bridge company, including James Warner the Younger of Botley, Hampshire
Botley is a historic village in Hampshire, England. The village was once described as “the most delightful village in the world” by 18th century journalist and radical politician William Cobbett. The village was developed as a natural crossi ...
, and was undertaken at their own expense.[The changing face of Hedge End. Joyce B Blyth] There was competition between the ferry and the Northam Bridge
The Northam Bridge is a road bridge across the River Itchen in Southampton, England, linking the suburbs of Northam and Bitterne Manor. The current bridge was the first major prestressed concrete road bridge to be built in the United Kingdom. T ...
, which at the time was a toll bridge. By building a road that linked the hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
of Hedge End
Hedge End is a town and civil parish in Hampshire, England. Situated to the east of the City of Southampton, it adjoins the districts of West End and Botley. Hedge End lies within the Borough of Eastleigh and is part of the Southampton Urba ...
to the Portsmouth Road at Sholing
Sholing, previously Scholing, is a district on the eastern side of the city of Southampton in Southern England. It is located between the districts of Bitterne, Thornhill and Woolston.
Various explanations from where the name derives b ...
, the proprietors of the Floating Bridge company were able to poach some of the passengers that would otherwise have used Northam Bridge
The Northam Bridge is a road bridge across the River Itchen in Southampton, England, linking the suburbs of Northam and Bitterne Manor. The current bridge was the first major prestressed concrete road bridge to be built in the United Kingdom. T ...
. The road cut through Botley Common and Netley Common
Netley Common is a Local Nature Reserve in Southampton in Hampshire. It is owned by Hampshire County Council and managed by Hampshire Countryside Service.
This lowland heath site also has areas of grassland, woods, scrub and gorse. Reptiles inc ...
. The inevitable further development alongside the road further eroded the common land
Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect Wood fuel, wood, or to cut turf for fuel.
A person ...
, and helped the hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
of Hedge End
Hedge End is a town and civil parish in Hampshire, England. Situated to the east of the City of Southampton, it adjoins the districts of West End and Botley. Hedge End lies within the Borough of Eastleigh and is part of the Southampton Urba ...
to establish itself as a village in its own right.
In popular culture
L.S.Lowry The artist visited Southampton when visiting his friend and fellow artist Hilda Margery Clarke
Hilda Margery Clarke (10 June 1926 - 13 February 2022 ) was an English painter and art gallery curator who was a student of L. S. Lowry.
Biography
Born in Manchester as the younger daughter of Frank Thompson, she met Lowry when she was aged 14. ...
and painted the bridge. The painting is now part of the collection in the Southampton Guildhall Art Gallery.
"The Woolston Ferry" is a 1977 folk song, by Gutta Percha
Gutta-percha is a tree of the genus ''Palaquium'' in the family Sapotaceae. The name also refers to the rigid, naturally biologically inert, resilient, electrically nonconductive, thermoplastic latex derived from the tree, particularly from ' ...
and The Balladeers
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
. It includes the lyrics:
The ferry today
Both the Southampton and Woolston hards have been redeveloped, and the last surviving significant artifacts of the Woolston Ferry are the engines of bridges 8 and 9, and the hull of Bridge Number 8. This is located in the Elephant Boatyard in Bursledon and served as the popular Ferry Restaurant on the River Hamble
The River Hamble is located in south Hampshire, England. It rises near Bishop's Waltham and flows for through Botley, Bursledon, and Lower Swanwick before entering Southampton Water between Hamble Common and Warsash.
The Hamble is tidal fo ...
until 31 December 2019 when it closed down.
See also
*Itchen Bridge
The Itchen Bridge is a bridge over the River Itchen in Southampton, Hampshire. It is a high-level hollow box girder bridge. It is located about a mile from the river mouth. The bridge spans , is at its highest point and weighs 62,000 tons. The ...
References
External links
*{{commons category-inline, Woolston Floating Bridge
The Floating Bridge
The Itchen Bridge and its Association with Transport
Ferry Restaurant
Ferry transport in England
Transport in Southampton
1836 establishments in England
1977 disestablishments in England
Chain ferries in the United Kingdom
Port of Southampton