 | |
| Locale | England |
|---|---|
| Waterway | Humber |
| Began operation | 1315 |
| Ended operation | 24 June 1981 |
The Humber Ferry was a ferry service on the Humber between Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire and New Holland, Lincolnshire, England, which operated until the completion of the Humber Bridge in 1981.
The Norse-derived names of North Ferriby and South Ferriby suggest a ferry between them across the Humber Gap.
The first record of a ferry across the Humber dates from 1315 when the Warden and Burgesses of Hull were granted a charter by King Edward II to run a ferry between Hull and Barton in Lincolnshire. [1] Pedestrians were halfpenny each, horses one penny and a cart with two horses twopence.
The Corporation of Hull purchased the leases for £3,000 in 1796 (£266,020 in 2015) [2] and both were relet in 1815.
In 1826 a new service started by the New Holland Proprietors between Hull and New Holland. In 1832 they launched a paddle steamer called Magna Charta. [3] In his A Picturesque Tour to Thornton Monastery, John Greenwood writing in 1835 records that the steam packet leaves Hull at seven, a quarter past eleven and four o’clock, and leaves New Holland at nine, two and seven o’clock in the evening. [4]
In 1845 the Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway bought out the ferry services for £10,000 (£892,207 in 2015). [2] The Barton upon Humber service was withdrawn in 1851.
The railway company built a new pier at New Holland some 1,500 feet (460 m) in length with the railway station, allowing direct connection with the ferry service. New Holland Pier railway station opened on 1 March 1848. [5]
The management transferred to the British Transport Commission in 1948 and on 1 January 1959 management of transferred to Associated Humber Lines.
The Hull to New Holland ferry service finished on 24 June 1981 with the opening of the Humber Bridge. [6]
This list is not complete. There was an additional ship introduced in the 1970s which was diesel powered, DEPV Farringford . She was previously used as a ferry between the mainland and the Isle of Wight.
The vessels operated by the Humber Ferry service – all paddle steamers to cope with the shallow shifting sands of the Humber – were:
| Ship | Launched | Tonnage (GRT) | Notes and references |
|---|---|---|---|
| PS Magna Charta | 1832 | Two ships have been named the Magna Charta. The first was launched in 1832 and disposed of in 1873 [7] and the second ordered in 1873 and in use until 1920. [8] | |
| PS Falcon | unknown | Converted to a goods boat in 1849. [7] | |
| PS Prince of Wales | 1842 | 81 | Built by Ditchburn and Mare in 1842. Purchased from the Greenwich Steam Packet Company in 1848. Sold in 1855. [7] |
| PS Queen | 1842 | 78 | Built by Ditchburn and Mare in 1842. Purchased from the Greenwich Steam Packet Company in 1848. Sold in 1857. [7] |
| PS Manchester | 1849 | 291 | Built in 1849 by Robinson and Russell, Millwall. Entered service in 1849. Superseded by another ship of the same name in 1855. Renamed Old Manchester in 1855. Sailed between Garston and Liverpool in 1858-1859. Sold 1864. [7] |
| PS Sheffield | 1849 | 244 | Built in 1849 by H. E. Smith, Gainsborough. Entered service in 1849. Superseded by another ship of the same name in 1855. Renamed Old Sheffield in 1855. Sold 1863. [7] |
| PS Manchester | unknown | 174 | Former Clyde Steamer. Purchased in August 1854. Entered service in 1855 on the Humber Ferry. Scrapped in 1874. [7] |
| PS Sheffield | 1855 | 149 | Built by Martin Samuelson and Company in 1855. [9] Entered service in 1855 on the Humber Ferry. Laid up in 1864. Sold in 1865. [7] |
| PS Royal Albion | 1855 | Built in 1855 as a tug, occasionally used on ferry services. Out of service by 1888. [7] | |
| PS Liverpool | 1855 | 220 | Built in 1855 by M. Samuelson and Company, Hull. Passed to the Great Central Railway. Sold for scrap in 1905. [7] |
| PS Doncaster | 1856 | 216 | Built in 1856 by M. Samuelson and Company, Hull. Passed to the Great Central Railway. Sold for scrap in 1913. [7] |
| PS Magna Charta | 1873 | 116 | Built as a relief steamer. Passed to the Great Central Railway in 1897 and the LNER in 1923. Scrapped in 1924. [7] |
| PS Manchester | 1876 | 221 | Built in 1876 by the Goole Engineering and Shipbuilding Company. Passed to the Great Central Railway. Scrapped in 1914. [7] |
| PS Grimsby | 1888 | 351 | Built in 1888 by Earle's Shipbuilding in Hull. Passed to the Great Central Railway. Scrapped in 1923. [7] |
| PS Cleethorpes | 1903 | 302 | Built by Gourlay Brothers of Dundee. Sold around 1934 to the Redcliffe Shipping Company and renamed Cruising Queen. Scrapped shortly afterwards. [7] |
| PS Brocklesby | 1912 | 508 | Built by Earle's Shipbuilding in Hull. Sold in 1935 to the Redcliffe Shipping Company and renamed Highland Queen. Scrapped in 1936. [7] |
| PS Killingholme | 1912 | 508 | Built by Earle's Shipbuilding in Hull. Withdrawn in 1934. [7] |
| PS Tattershall Castle | 1934 | 556 | Built by William Gray & Company in Hartlepool. Withdrawn in 1974. |
| PS Wingfield Castle | 1934 | 550 | Built by William Gray & Company in Hartlepool. Withdrawn in 1974. |
| PS Lincoln Castle | 1941 | 598 | Built by A. & J. Inglis in Glasgow. Withdrawn in 1978. |
The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire on the north bank and North Lincolnshire on the south bank. Although the Humber is an estuary from the point at which it is formed, many maps show it as the River Humber.
The River Ancholme is a river in Lincolnshire, England, and a tributary of the Humber. It rises at Ancholme Head, a spring just north of the village of Ingham and immediately west of the Roman Road, Ermine Street. It flows east and then north to Bishopbridge west of Market Rasen, where it is joined by the Rase. North of there it flows through the market town of Brigg before draining into the Humber at South Ferriby. It drains a large part of northern Lincolnshire between the Trent and the North Sea.
North Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 167,446 in the 2011 census. The borough includes the towns of Scunthorpe, Brigg, Haxey, Crowle, Epworth, Bottesford, Kirton in Lindsey and Barton-upon-Humber. North Lincolnshire is part of the Yorkshire and Humber region.
Barton-upon-Humber or Barton is a town and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 11,066. It is situated on the south bank of the Humber Estuary at the southern end of the Humber Bridge. It is 6 miles (10 km) south-west of Kingston upon Hull and 31 miles (50 km) north north-east of the county town of Lincoln. Other nearby towns include Scunthorpe to the south-west and Grimsby to the south-east.
PS Tattershall Castle is a floating pub and restaurant moored on the River Thames at Victoria Embankment. It was a passenger ferry across the Humber estuary from 1934 to 1973, before being towed to London in 1976.
North Ferriby is a village and civil parish in the Haltemprice area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
Grimsby Town railway station serves the town of Grimsby in North East Lincolnshire, England. It is operated by TransPennine Express, and is also served by East Midlands Railway and Northern Trains services.
The Barton line is a railway line in North and North East Lincolnshire, England. It runs from Barton-upon-Humber south east to Cleethorpes and was designated by the Department for Transport as a community rail line in February 2007. Barton station is near to the Humber Bridge. It is situated on the south bank of the Humber Estuary.
Barton-on-Humber railway station serves the town of Barton-upon-Humber in North Lincolnshire, England.
New Holland is a village, civil parish and port on the Humber estuary in North Lincolnshire, England. In 2001 it had a population of 955, increasing marginally to 970 at the 2011 census.
New Holland railway station is a single-platform station which serves the village of New Holland in North Lincolnshire, England. The station is situated on the Barton line 19 miles (31 km) west of Cleethorpes, and all trains serving it are operated by East Midlands Railway.
PS Lincoln Castle was a coal-fired side-wheel paddle steamer, which ferried passengers across the Humber from the 1941 until 1978. She was the last coal-fired paddle steamer still in regular services in the UK. Later, she served as a pub at Hessle, and then as a restaurant under permanent dock at Alexandra Dock, Grimsby. In September 2010, the Hull Daily Mail reported that she was in an advanced state of demolition, despite the efforts of local people to buy the historic vessel and restore her. On 31 March 2011, the Lincoln Castle Preservation Society were reported to have purchased the broken up parts of the ship for restoration.
The Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway was an early British railway company which existed between 1845 and 1847 with the intention of providing rail services between Grimsby, New Holland and Gainsborough in the county of Lincolnshire. It amalgamated with the Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway and the Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway, the three being renamed the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway in 1847.
Barton Waterside is a village in North Lincolnshire, England. It is in the civil parish of Barton-upon-Humber. Barton Waterside consists of the former port area at the north end of Barton-upon-Humber. The Community is centred on Barton Haven - a late Anglo-Saxon artificial harbour - which was dug c.1000 AD to create a reliable deep water port for the extreme north of Lindsey. It seems possible that the project was initiated by Peterborough Abbey which had interests in the parish at that time.
New Holland Pier railway station is a former railway terminus in North Lincolnshire, England. It stood at the seaward end of the New Holland Pier, which juts 1,375 feet (419 m) northwards into the River Humber at the village of New Holland. Its purpose was to enable railway passengers, vehicles and goods to transfer to and from ferries plying between New Holland and Hull.
Corporation Pier station was the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway's booking office for their ferry service between Corporation Pier, Hull and New Holland Pier in Lincolnshire. It was not rail connected, but served as a ticket office and waiting room for the Humber Ferry.
PS Manchester was a passenger and cargo vessel built for the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway in 1876.
PS Killingholme was a passenger and cargo vessel built for the Great Central Railway in 1912.
PS Grimsby was a passenger and cargo vessel built for the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway in 1888.
New Holland Town railway station is a former railway station in the village of New Holland in North Lincolnshire, England. It stood at the landward end of the pier, whilst the purpose of Pier station, which juts 1,375 feet (419 m) northwards into the River Humber, was to enable railway passengers and goods to transfer to and from ferries plying between New Holland and Hull. New Holland Town station's purpose was for more conventional use by the local community.
