Aust Ferry

The Aust Ferry was a ferry service that operated across the River Severn in Gloucestershire, England, between the villages of Aust and Beachley. Although the ferry loading points were both in England, most regarded the ferry as operating between England and Wales since the border into Wales is only a few miles from Beachley.

It was generally known as the Beachley Ferry on the Welsh side, and the Aust Ferry on the Bristol side. Before the Severn Bridge was opened in 1966, it was the only crossing of the estuary for road traffic between the West Country and South Wales below Gloucester, thus allowing cars to avoid a 60 mile road journey.

History

The passage of the Severn between Aust and Beachley was probably in use from antiquity and was long the chief route between south west England and Wales. It was recorded in the 12th century when the de Clares, lords of Tidenham, granted quittance of the passage to the monks of Tintern, and was evidently much used in 1405 when great numbers of the English and Welsh were said to resort to the nearby chapel of St. Twrog. The manor of Tidenham retained rights over the passage, and received rents from the parishes of Aust and Beachley, until the 19th century. [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=15757 Ancient ferries] ]

The journey, a distance of over a mile at a point where the tides run swiftly, was a dangerous one, and its reputation, the roughness of the water, and the smallness of the boats deterred Daniel Defoe from making the crossing from the Aust side early in the 18th century. He referred to it as "an ugly, dangerous, and very inconvenient ferry". [ [http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/text/chap_page.jsp?t_id=Defoe&c_id=22 Daniel Defoe on the 18th century ferry] ] By that time, ferry crossings from New Passage, between Redwick near Pilning and Sudbrook on the Welsh side, rivalled the Aust passage, which became known as the Old Passage.

In 1825 a new era opened with the formation of the Old Passage Ferry Association, sponsored by the Duke of Beaufort, as Lord of Tidenham. The company built stone piers on both banks, and commissioned a steamboat which began to ply in 1827, with a second one five years later, although sailing boats also continued to be used. By virtue of these improvements the company achieved the transfer of most of the cross-Severn mail routes from the rival New Passage. [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=15757 Early steam ferries] ] However, the passage remained dangerous. The Beachley-Aust ferry was lost with all hands on 1 September 1839. The same thing happened on 12 March 1844; the master, James Whitchurch was the son of the captain lost in 1839. [ [http://www.newportpast.com/nfs/y40t49/y1844.htm 1844 ferry loss] ]

The advent of railways, in particular the opening of the South Wales railway in 1852, the Severn Railway Bridge in 1879 and then the Severn tunnel in 1886, brought a sharp decrease in traffic; both the steamboats were scrapped by 1860 and eventually the service was closed altogether. [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=15757 Competition with railways] ]

The car ferry

The ferry gained a new lease of life, however, with the growth of motor traffic, and a service was re-opened in 1926. Between 1931 and 1966 a ferry service was operated by Enoch Williams of the Old Passage Severn Ferry Company Ltd. Initially this was only able to transport passengers with bicycles and motorbikes, but by 1934 the Severn Queen was launched as a car ferry. Each ferry was able to carry just 17 cars. Each car had to turn sharply off the ramp onto the ferry, then be turned on a manually operated turntable before being parked. The process was reversed for unloading. [ [http://www.visionwebsites.co.uk/Contents/Text/Index.asp?SiteId=137&SiteExtra=14722766&TopNavId=287&NavSideId=1488 Car ferry] ] The ferry timetable was notoriously affected by the huge tidal range on the Severn. It was unable to operate at low tide and at very high tides. The last ferry crossing occurred the day before the first Severn Bridge opened.

The Martin Scorsese film "No Direction Home" about the life of Bob Dylan has a promotional shot of Dylan standing in front of the Aust ferry terminal in May 1966, not long before it closed for good. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/bristol/content/articles/2006/09/07/inside_out_dylan_feature.shtml Bob Dylan] ]

The last remaining ferry boat, the "Severn Princess" which had been launched in 1959, was found wrecked and abandoned in Ireland in 1999 by Dr. Richard Jones, the grandson of Enoch Williams, and returned to Beachley in 2003. As of February 2007, the Severn Princess was resting on the west bank of the River Wye in Chepstow, beneath the railway bridge. [ [http://www.libeljournal.com/album/Beachley/ Photos of the Severn Princess] ] . A preservation group exists to restore the ship. [ [http://www.theoldferryinn.co.uk/severn_princess.htm Severn Princess preservation] ]

Several older roadsigns around central Bristol (in 2007) still show directions to "Aust Ferry", but with the word "ferry" painted out. [ [http://quercus.livejournal.com/170148.html Surviving road sign to the old ferry] ]

External links

* [http://www.morturn.com/locations/Sites/Aust_Ferry/Site_Page.htm Photographs of the ferry, buildings and surroundings]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire/videonation/2005/06/gloucestershire_before_the_bridge.shtml Video by the Ferry Preservation Group]

References