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Bedminster Trip, with a Little Historic Diversion

20 Mar 2022

I mostly went out to hang out with my friends Sarah and Vik in Bedminster, but along the way I thought I'd take a closer look at something a little nearer home: the last crossing point of the Rownham Ferry.
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Reece Winstone Rownham Ferry
★★★

And here's the picture that inspired this little local visit today. A week or so back I was browsing the boxes of books at Rachel's and Michael's Antiques on Princess VIctoria Street, and flipping through their collection of Reece Winstone books. Winstone's famous Bristol As It Was series are an amazing documentary source created by a man who loved both photography and Bristol and effectively became Bristol's foremost documentary photographer for decades. A lot more of Bristol's history is visible today because of him.

In the Bristol As It Was 1939 - 1914 book I saw this picture of the Rownham Ferry. Unfortunately the book was a first edition and priced at £20, so I ordered a cheaper edition from an independent dealer in Stockport when I got home! (Let's consider that as me leaving the rare first edition for the true connoisseurs, rather than just being cheap.)

Here we see the ferry just five days before its closure on the last day of 1932. Looking closely, it seems to be perhaps operating as a reaction ferry, with the boat tethered to a static line across the river, and the ferryman using the rudder to turn the boat and use the power of the flowing water to shuttle the boat from side to side. Clever!

Photo © Reece Winstone Archive. (I recommend buying the books if you like old photos of Bristol. They're amazing!)

Tags: Bristol Places UK onemilematt united kingdom river avon avon new cut Spike Island history Rownham Ferry

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Text Recognition Tags: (63) 26 December 1932 : Rownham Ferry, Hotwells, discontinued 5 days later. There was a river crossing here since Norman days and carried the Abbot of St. Augustine's on his way to Abbot's Leigh. Before the 1870's when Cumberland Basin was re-designed, the crossing was further down- stream. Dangerous at high tide, it was merely a bridge of boats at low tide. (63) 26 December 1932 : Rownham Ferry, Hotwells, discontinued 5 days later. There was a river crossing here since Norman days and carried the Abbot of St. Augustine's on his way to Abbot's Leigh. Before the 1870's when Cumberland Basin was re-designed, the crossing was further down- stream. Dangerous at high tide, it was merely a bridge of boats at low tide.