Jump to content | Home Portcities London
reflecting our cultures
[ Bypass: Visit the Port Cites Consortium
]
[ Bypass: Search Facilities
]
Maritime London Partnership -Bypass site links | Full graphics | About this Site | Feedback
On this site:
[ Bypass: Main Menu
]
You are here: PortCities London home
> The working Thames
> Trades, industries and institutions
Linking the port - ferries
Chapter Index Send this story to a friend | Printer-friendly version | View this story in pictures Introduction
A novel view of one of the Woolwich Ferry ships in 1956. © NMM
Until the 18th century, there was only one bridge across the Thames in London, and most people used ferries to cross the river.
Few ferries lasted as long as those in Greenwich and Woolwich. While bridges replaced ferries in west London, people downriver from the port continued to depend on ferries until modern times.
The Woolwich Ferry: the Southern Terminal. © NMM
The Greenwich ferry closed in the 1890s, but the Woolwich Free Ferry, opened in 1889, became an important institution.
Today, the Woolwich Ferry is one of the few free ferries remaining in Britain, and it offers an almost unique view of the Thames.
Chapter Index Send this story to a friend | Printer-friendly version | View this story in pictures
[ Bypass: Search Facilities
]
Glossary
Port
FIND OUT MORE
RELATED RESOURCES
1 Images
Top | | Partner Sites: | | | | | |