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Showing posts with label ferries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ferries. Show all posts

Saturday, 23 January 2010

Wherryman's Ferries - they keep coming


MAKE that 14 other ferries across the Wensum and Yare (see previous posts). Admittedly this is rather sad, but a close look at Bryant's 1826 Map of Norfolk reveals "Raveningham Foot Ferry" connecting Reedham and Raveningham just upstream from where the New Cut would be built a few years later. The second is simply labelled "Foot Ferry" and it seems to have been close-ish to Polkey's Mill - mid-way between Reedham and the Berney Arms. Raveningham is understandable, certainly Reedham was heavily populated and there was at least a mill at Raveningham. But the second one is in the middle of nowhere, by anyone's standards. Who on earth would have wanted to cross the river there?
Bryant's map isn't online to my knowledge. But an even earlier Norfolk map by Faden is. It's got lots of good detail, but sadly neither of these ferries gets a mention.

* Photo-wise we'll have to settle for a view from Reedham, looking out across the Yare to what used to be called Raveningham Marshes but is now called Norton Marshes.

Wednesday, 29 April 2009

Yarmouth's forgotten ferries


ONE of the great things about writing a book is that you have got an excuse to go up to complete strangers and get talking.

Which is why I found myself deep in conversation at the bar of Ye Olde Ferry Boat in Gorleston the other week. I wanted to know about just that - ye olde ferry boats across the River Yare. Amazingly virtually nothing is written about the ferries in the Yarmouth history books - I guess they were taken for granted.

There used to be two. The Upper Ferry ran from Southtown to South Quay and stopped in 1954. The Lower Ferry ran from Ye Olde... to South Denes Road. Amazingly this one survived till as late as 1997. Armed with lots of good new information from the landlord and his regulars I found this great picture on the internet dating back to 1954 - the year the ferrymen swapped oars for a motor. The photographer Jack Harrison has very kindly allowed me to use it in my book.
If anyone has any memories of either ferry do let me know. Post a reply before May 31st and you might even sneak into the book too....

*See more of Jack Harrison's photos here