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The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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SALTASH FERRY
From 1337 the burgesses of Saltash leased the ferry from the Duchy of Cornwall for £10 a year. The Duchy provided the boat. They continued to hold the lease except for one year, 1356-57, when the Black Prince leased it to his military porter, William Lenche, in recognition of his services at Poitiers. In 1385 the rights were granted to the Mayor and Burgesses
of Saltash for 200 years. Rent was always
payable to the Duchy of Cornwall although in 1585, 1678, 1683 ad 1774 Queen Elizabeth
granted the ‘benefits of passage’. By
1618 the rent was £20 per year. On May 29th 1733 the ferry overturned and sank with the loss of 20 lives. In 1764 the ferry fares were advertised in the “Sherborne Mercury” as 7s 6d for a coach and six horses, 5s for a carriage and four; 2s 6d for a carriage and pair; 1s 3d for one-horse chair. In 1772 the rent was £223. In 1804 the rent for working the old horse boat was £360 pa. In 1832 the Earl of Morley, Mr A Edgcumbe, Sir William Molesworth and Others secured an Act of Parliament so they could purchase ferry rights and establish a steam-powered floating bridge. The Saltash Floating Bridge Act 2 William IV (1831-32), received the Royal Assent on March 24th 1832. FERRY 1 was designed by J M Rendel and was built at Pope’s Shipyard at Turnchapel. It was 80ft long, with two decks and 15ft prows. It was 30ft wide across the beam. A new landing slip was constricted near the Devonport Inn and a new approach road built. It did its first trail run in 1832 in 4½ minutes according to the “Western Luminary”. It was withdrawn in 1834 for repairs at Stonehouse but never returned. Oar propelled horse boats were put back on but at the steam-bridge tolls. Saltash Corporation claimed rights had lapsed by default and ran their own horseboats at the old rates. Rights reverted to the Town in 1839 and was celebrated on Boxing Day with the ringing of the church bells. Ferry 1 was auctioned at Weakley’s Hotel, Devonport, in February 1840. It lay idle at Hocking’s Yard, Stonehouse. On May 31st 1850 a lease was grated for 21 years at a rent of £195 pa to a new company who wanted to re-introduce the steam ferry. FERRY 2 started running on Tuesday July 1st 1851 and was built of wood by Routleff of Mount Batten Yard, Plymstock. The iron work and machinery was constructed by Mr J Mare at the Plymouth Foundry. The length over the prows was 86 feet, the centre deck being 50 feet x 11½ feet and the draught was 18 inches. The extreme width was 26 feet 6 inches. On one side were two 6 horsepower condesnsing engines and on the other the boiler and two cabins. She held between 80 and 100 passengers plus three carriages with a pair of horses each. Two cabins were provided for use in wet weather. As the ferry was allowed six minutes for the crossing, the timetable was set at four trips an hour, leaving Saltash on the hour and half-hour. In 1865 Ferry 2 was moored too close to the slipway on the Plymouth side and when the tide ebbed the vessel grounded and slid down the muddy slip and sank. In the morning there was no ferry visible. Salvage was unsuccessful except for the engines, which were then fitted to FERRY 3, built 1865/66 at a cost of £1,300. She served for 35 years.
An early Saltash Ferry with only one chain. FERRY 4 was a steel one built by Willoughby’s of Plymouth and she entered service in December 1891 amid great rejoicing. The ferry was making a good profit for Saltash and it paid for many improvements to the Town. She cost £2,200 and was 4ft longer from gate to gate and 10ft wider in the carriageway. Engines and boilers were on one side; the other was a passenger cabin with stairs to a promenade deck above. Designed by Mr A M Brumage CE RN she was powered by two surface condensing engines of 12bhp. After only a few weeks she broke down and the old ferry, which had already been sold for scrap, was brought back. In 1895 Ferry 4 was temporarily withdrawn again for reboilering by Biddles of Millbay Docks, the service being maintained by a barge lashed to a Reynold’s of Torpoint tug. FERRY 5 was designed by Mr
Tobias Bickle and built in 1911 by Willoughby’s at a cost of £3,500. She had room for two rows of four vehicles each,
plus horses, and had a promenade deck on each side. Her
chains were 33½ft apart. The 1891 boat was
retained as a reserve and was moored on the St Budeaux side. The ferry stopped at 11pm except by special
arrangement but there was a foot ferry available at night for 10 shillings (compared to 2d
during the day!). The last horse boat was sold in 1913 for £2 10s. On Wednesday September 5th 1917 passage on the Saltash and Torpoint ferries was made free for servicemen and nurses in uniform but not on duty. FERRY 6 was purchased in September 1927 from Philip &Son of Kingswear and ferry 4 was sold to Vick Brothers, shipbreakers of Plymouth, for £75. Ferry 6 cost £8,950 and had three rows taking about 15 cars each. It had mechanically operated prows and was widened by 6ft in 1938 by cutting it down the middle. Ferry 6 was to go into service on Sunday October 9th 1927 [WMN Sa8/10/1927]. It had arrived from Dartmouth yesterday afternoon (October 6th) and was moored on the Devon side. It is slightly larger than the old one and is to be used almost immediately [WMN F7/10/1927 + WMN Sa8/10/1927 Ph]. FERRY 7 entered service in December 1933 and was built by J T Thorneycroft of Southampton. She was designed by Mr S H Hambling, cost £10,750 and was 73ft long, 42ft beam, had 28ft prows, and could take four rows of 6 cars each. “New Saltash Ferry”: it would be put on the chains tonight and would be in working order by early tomorrow. The Mayor of Saltash to officially take over the ferry on Wednesday next. [WMN 13/12/1933]. The new ferry was undergoing trials and will be taken over formally on the afternoon of Boxing Day [WMN W20/12/1933p9]. In 1935 there was a mishap when Engineman W Gill went astern instead of ahead and stranded the ferry on the Saltash side. Meanwhile, ferry 5 was sold to the King Harry Ferry for £75 but she was found to be too large and was quickly resold to breakers in Wales. She sank while under tow off Pentreath. Both ferries 6 and 7 survived through the War and until closure. They were painted reddish brown from the waterline up to about 3ft and buff above that, with black funnels. The ferry ran from Saltash on the hour and half-hour and from Saltash Passage on the quarter and three-quarters. Saltash residents travelled free if on foot. The final ferry ran at 11pm from Saltash and 11.15pm from Saltash Passage on October 23rd 1961. The last car on was driven by Mr P Joblin of Quethiock, a regular on the 11.15pm service. His was also the last car off, although many mysteriously broke down hoping to be pushed off last! Ferry 6 was bought in November 1961 by Haulbowline Industries Ltd for £1,750 and was to be towed to Cork in Eire but was swamped and sank 10 miles off Falmouth. Ferry 7 was bought by the King Harry Ferry for £2,500 and she was converted from steam to diesel. During 1929 the Saltash Ferry carried 32,402 vehicles, compared to the Torpoint Ferry carrying 103,161 [WDRO/WI 28/9/1930]. Ferry 6 sank on December 20th 1961 and was the vessel that provided the final service from Saltash Passage at 11.15pm on October 23rd 1961. Ferry 7 was delivered to the King Harry Ferry on December 11th 1961 but did not enter service until May 14th 1964. Ferry ran aground [WEH 9/4/1958]. The livery until the Blitz was dark cream and chocolate. They then emerged as grey with black lining. The Ferry was used by Princess Elizabeth in October 1949 when she began a two-day tour of the Duchy of Cornwall on October 21st/22nd and was in Plymouth on October 22nd. SINGLE FARES: non-resident pedestrians 2d; cars 1/6d;
coaches 10s. Ferry changeover took place twice a year during the night and took about 5 hours to complete. The Ferry House Inn on the Devonport side was leased by the ferry company to Plymouth Breweries. Last day of operation was October 23rd 1961 but a special trip was made from Saltash at 4.30pm on Tuesday October 24th. Times in 1955/56 from St Budeaux were: weekdays,
every ½ hour 6.15am until 7.45am; shuttle service 8.15am until 5.45pm;
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