A few days ago I had a need to describe a medieval ferry in my work-in-progress, albeit as a background, scenic item. I realised I had no idea how they were propelled, or even what they looked like.
The answer seems to be rather like this one at Evesham.
The vessel itself is rather like an overgrown punt. A rope (or ropes) is (are) stretched across the river. These are quite slack and spent most of the time on the river bottom, so as not to impede navigation. To propel the ferry, the ferryman (or perhaps the ferryman and his boy) hauled on the rope(s) and the vessel moved according to their muscle power. The modern version, with the rope replaced by a steel cable, has some kind of hauling mechanism, making the work easier. The medieval version was almost certainly organised on a hand-to-rope basis.
Clearly, such a ferry could not be large. It would be fine for what might be called ‘the normal traffic of the district’ but if the King’s court – or even a noble household – needed to cross the process would, at best, have been leisurely and protracted.
It’s easy to imagine the young bucks of the court growing frustrated by the delay, and simply wading or swimming their horses across. What youthful knight or esquire could resist such an opportunity to display his courage and horsemanship? Especially if there were women to be impressed.
Of course, rivers can be unexpectedly deep or swift, so this could be a hazardous business. On 6th June 1490, William Harrington and his de Trafford bride were sadly drowned in the Mersey on their wedding day, attempting to cross the river by the recognised ford at Northenden, near Manchester (1). If a ford could prove so dangerous, riding across where a ferry was established must have been still more of a risk. Rivers take no prisoners.
- History of the Pilkington Family, 1066-1600, Lt. Col. John Pilkington, 1912 edition, p 296.
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