Plymouth, Ferries | Cremyll Ferry

PLYMOUTH
DATA

The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History

CREMYLL FERRY

The parish of Maker, in which Cremyll lies, was part of the West Saxon King's land before 1066 and was thus in the County of Devon. The old County boundary is still marked between the villages of Kingsand and Cawsand.

Cremyll was then known as West Stonehouse and this may date the commencement of the ferry link with East Stonehouse.

The Cremyll Ferry in the 1950s or early 1960s

The first actual reference to a ferry here first appears in the papers of Reginald de Valletort, who held the Honour of Trematon from Count Robert of Mortain. This land included Maker, Sutton and King's Tamerton, together with the ferries at Saltash and Cremyll. In 1204 Reginald de Valletort granted the ferry rights to Ralph Edgcumbe whose family leased it to various people until 1943 when the Millbrook Steamboat & Trading Company took over its management. They finally bought it from the Edgcumbe family in June 1945.

One of the ferry boats used by the Millbrook Steamboat & Trading Company was called the "Shuttlecock". She was apparently damaged in 1941 and taken out of service. After a complete refit, she was re-named the "Southern Belle" and returned to service on Friday July 12th 1946. Her maiden voyage was to take Lord and Lady Mount Edgcumbe and their daughter, Lady Margaret McCausland, up the river Tamar to Cotehele Quay. Among the sixty guests on board were the managing director of the Company, Mr W Crawford; Miss M K Parsons; Mr Sidney Mashford; and Mr N S Couch, senior surveyor of the Ministry of Transport's Marine Department. The "Southern Belle" was capable of nine knots. [1]

Sources (incomplete):

[1] "'Maiden' Voyage: Refitted Cremyll Ferry New Southern Belle", Western Morning News, Plymouth, July 13th 1946.