River Itchen floating bridge
Life with the bridge
After initial financial problems, the floating bridge between
Southampton and Itchen Ferry had become a commercial success by
1890. A pair of chain ferries ran every fifteen minutes during the
daytime. They travelled at a speed of 100 metres a minute (6 kph)
and took four minutes to cross the river Itchen. 
 The Crosshouse ferry landing |
Changing people`s lives
The ferry made an impact on the lives of people living on the east
bank of the river. A Woolston resident remembers: "It was quite an
expedition to go to town [Southampton]. We used to walk down ... to
the floating bridge. And then we`d take a tram from the other side
... up to the shops. The fact that you had to cross the river gave
rise to this odd phrase `you were going over town`." Not everyone could afford to travel on the ferry. Some would
walk into town across the Northam bridge - a diversion of over
three miles (five km) - rather than pay the ferry toll. Development and employment
The floating bridge marked the end of Itchen Ferry and Woolston as
separate villages. Woolston soon expanded to take over its smaller
neighbour. In 1920, Southampton extended its boundaries to include
Itchen and Woolston, promising that it would buy the floating
bridge company and modernise the ferries. This purchase happened in
1934, making Southampton Corporation one of the few local
authorities to operate a ferry service. Employment levels rose and in 1931, 6500 men worked in the
shipyards on either side of the river Itchen. Families were drawn
from all over the country to work at Thorneycroft`s shipyard or the
Supermarine aircraft works. There was even a proposal to extend
Southampton`s docks down the east side of the river Itchen, but
they were never built. The floating bridge terminal at Itchen Ferry became a place for
sailors to meet to find work. One skipper recalled that "if a
captain of a yacht wanted a crew then he knew where to go to find
one. A great meeting place was down at the Toll [bridge] and the
men used to gather outside Cockett`s, the little coffee place.". In
fact, the Woolston Independent newspaper proclaimed
that "no British yachts crew is complete without a [Woolston]
`ferryman` amongst it." 
Portsmouth Road, Woolston |
The day the ferry sank
However, life with the ferry was not all plain sailing. One day in
March 1928, the tug Fawley was sailing down the
Itchen towards the docks. As it approached the floating bridge, it
was unable to stop. The tug crashed into the side of floating
bridge number seven. The bridge passengers were rescued and taken
to safety by the tug. The ferry`s chains snapped and it drifted
towards the port where it sank. Supermarine later used the hulk as
a floating pontoon for their Schneider seaplanes. Woolston in Wartime
With the town`s docks nearby, Woolston was a target for enemy bombs
during World War Two (1939 - 45). Thorneycroft`s shipyard was
bombed many times but the nearby floating bridge escaped unharmed.
If there was a raid on, the floating bridge was pulled out into the
middle of the river Itchen to protect it. There was a small steel
shelter on the bridge that could hold two or three people. The
ferry`s slipway was requisitioned by Thorneycroft`s for the repair
of landing craft used in the D-Day invasion of northern France
(1944). The floating bridge survived the war unscathed, but further
development in the area after the war was to place extra strain on
the outdated chain ferries. A permanent bridge was needed.
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