Harwich to Felixstowe foot ferry could close after 100 years

[sailorman]

The largest privately owned shipping line, are you sure ??
Maersk Line is the world’s largest container shipping company with 610 container ships in operation. The company employs 7,100 seafarers and 25,500 shore-based employees. The company reported $2.3 billion profit on $27 billion in revenues in 2014.


http://gcaptain.com/maersk-line-names-new-cfo/

 

[Koeketiene]

A late reprieve - http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/county_link_foot_ferry_saved_by_austrian_businessman_1_3998361

Love the journalism.
A quick Google (Facebook and LinkedIn) and it shows that Mr Christian Zemann has in the past been a military policeman, a sport/fitness instructor, worked in a call center and now runs a wine shop. Yet, he's described as a businessman and a tycoon.

Guess that makes me a warlord or possibly a pirate king.

Best of luck to him with the venture, but wouldn't be all that surprised if the ferry service was up for sale again in the near future.

 

[Rivers & creeks]

The largest privately owned shipping line, are you sure ??
Maersk Line is the world’s largest container shipping company with 610 container ships in operation. The company employs 7,100 seafarers and 25,500 shore-based employees. The company reported $2.3 billion profit on $27 billion in revenues in 2014.


http://gcaptain.com/maersk-line-names-new-cfo/

Too right, and aided by unfettered access to the port, dredged for their convenience and the waste dumped in such a stupid way as to silt up the Orwell and almost block access to the Walton Backwaters.

 

[sailorman]

Too right, and aided by unfettered access to the port, dredged for their convenience and the waste dumped in such a stupid way as to silt up the Orwell and almost block access to the Walton Backwaters.

Do Mearsk get free berthing :ambivalence:
They do fund a large teaching facility in Churchill College, they also paid for it to be built

 

[pvb]

Best of luck to him with the venture, but wouldn't be all that surprised if the ferry service was up for sale again in the near future.

Yes, you may well be right. As I said in post #15, it's hard to see this as a viable business.

 

[toyboy]

That's not strictly accurate, Walton still exists albeit as a suburb of Felixstowe

The castle and settlement of Walton date back to early Saxon times c.600 (or even older, see below) and Walton Castle formed part of the royal complex associated with Sutton Hoo. It was built upon or within the remains of a Roman Saxon Shore fort which was subsequently used as the bailey of a Norman castle. The Norman castle was slighted by Henry II and its materials used in the building of Orford Castle. The Roman fort survived until erosion of the sea cliffs at what by then was known as Felixstowe washed them away entirely

Walton may be derived from "Wealas" which is the name Germanic speaking Saxons used to refer to the native British (or so it is claimed). That may suggest that the settlement at Walton was a post-Romano British occupied site left in relative peace by the arriving Saxons

The manor of Walton probably extended over the whole area now known as Felixstowe however the latter name did not appear in the records until the 13th Century. By the 18th Century, the parish of Felixstowe occupied the entire seaward lands from Landguard Point to the Deben with the parish of Walton confined to the Western inland half of its former lands.

By the time any historical references to ferrys appear, Walton's access to the seas and rivers was confined to the marsh lands and salt pans where the modern port of Felixstowe now lies. There are several references to a ferry from Walton to Harwich in 19th century gazetteers and county guides, this was likely to have been little more than a man with a rowing boat.

By the time we get to the 20th century, the parishes of Walton and Felixstowe had been been conjoined with the younger place having outgrown its parent and taking the primacy. The L.N.E.R. Co. ferry "Brightlingsea" did indeed operate a service between Ipswich, Harwich and Felixstowe (not Walton) from 1925 expanding a service from Harwich to Felixstowe inaugurated in 1912 by the G.E.R. with the launch "Pin Mill"

This ferry service would have operated from the old Felixstowe Dock or it's associated piers (in fine weather) now (sadly) lost to a combination of flood damage and port expansion (the old dock basin is now buried under part of the container terminals). The pedantic point here is that the 100 odd year old service was always between Harwich, Shotley and what was known by then, as now, as Felixstowe (or to be precise Felixstowe Dock)

Anyway, sorry to ramble on but it piqued my interest

That is very interesting but what was inaccurate about what I posted?

 

[Bru]

That is very interesting but what was inaccurate about what I posted?

That what is now Felixstowe was once Walton (which is hair splitting I grant add it was once part of Walton however the implication seemed to be that Walton is no more and had become known as Felixstowe which isn't actually the case)

And that there was an Ipswich - Harwich - Walton ferry and (if I recall correctly) that this service was operated by the "Brightlingsea". That service was to Felixstowe Dock, not Walton, and the references to a Walton ferry all refer to an earlier service between Walton and Harwich

Neither is of great import, in I'm just pedantic historian

 

[toyboy]

That what is now Felixstowe was once Walton (which is hair splitting I grant add it was once part of Walton however the implication seemed to be that Walton is no more and had become known as Felixstowe which isn't actually the case)

And that there was an Ipswich - Harwich - Walton ferry and (if I recall correctly) that this service was operated by the "Brightlingsea". That service was to Felixstowe Dock, not Walton, and the references to a Walton ferry all refer to an earlier service between Walton and Harwich

Neither is of great import, in I'm just pedantic historian

That's fair enough as many of us locals are not sure what happened around us. The Brightlingsea operated from the dock basin which as you rightly point out is now buried under the port. However the name changing happened quicker than most people accepted and the basin was referred to by many as Walton. Indeed the railway station was Walton. The port has been built up so much it is difficult to know where everything is now. The Orwell was previously known as the Ipswich Water and the Stour, the Maningtree Water and of course the line of demarcation was from Polls Head ( now two miles away from land) to Shotley Point. That caused agravation between Ipswich men and Harwich men which was exploited by Tomerline and Ipswich lost out. The Duke of Hamilton's Ferry also known as the Walton Ferry traveled from Ipswich to Walton now known as Felixstowe and just as most other ferries it would go to Harwich, Walton Pier (not Walton near where the present dock is) and other local piers including Felixstowe Pier, Clacton Pier and what have you. There were few roads joining these places at the time.