The last crossing of a Humber Ferry
Published: Sat, 01/26/19
I was chatting with a friend of mine named Colin after church last Sunday and the conversation turned to boats and sailing on the Humber Estuary. I commented that I would have loved to have taken at least one ride on the Humber ferry before the opening of the the Humber Bridge in 1981 made the ferry service redundant.
My friend told me that he had been aboard the Lincoln Castle on its very last crossing in 1978. The Lincoln Castle was the last of a long line of paddle steamers which had served as ferries across the Humber since 1832. Colin had been on the South bank fixing a conveyor belt at a food processing company. Then he caught the ferry back to Hull. My friend told me that he had always been fascinated by the steam engine which still drove the paddles, even in 1978. Apparently you could watch the engine from a gallery quite high up. On this occasion the engineer invited Colin to come down and join him in the engine room itself so that he could see how it worked close up. They got so engrossed that the boat arrived in Hull and my friend’s van was blocking everyone else from disembarking. Apparently it took quite a while to find the driver and persuade him to actually leave the boat. The engineer was asked if he was not concerned about
getting into trouble since he was not supposed to let members of the public into the engine room. The reply was that his job was now over so what could they do to him? So ended a steam paddle boat service which had started nearly 150 years before.
The Humber bridge did not actually open until 1981 and the ferry service continued for the last three years with more up to date diesel powered craft. Once the bridge did open there was no longer any need for the ferries. I moved up to Humberside the first time about 1990 so I never saw the ferry in action. Yes, the bridge is much quicker and more convenient than riding on an old boat. All I can think is that crossing the Humber on a paddle steamer must have been much more of an adventure than driving over a bridge could ever be. Even a structure as amazing as the Humber Bridge.
I have to confess that whenever I drive over the bridge I look out for the jetty at New Holland which the ferry used to dock to. Then I briefly imagine the paddle steamer negotiating the tides, currents and sandbanks across to the jetty on the Hull side of the estuary.
If you want to know what the Lincoln Castle Ferry looked like you can watch this Youtube video of the Lincoln Castle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpq-bAe78ok It has a rather nice sound track too.
regards
Graham
PS No link to the Runes and Trees Retreat today. I had the site critiqued by a marketing expert and she ripped it to pieces. Not so much the content but the layout and presentation so I have completely rewritten the pages and just need to put some pictures back in. Should be finished tomorrow afternoon. Have five bookings now so only 11 places left if you are interested in coming.