History
A ferry service had operated across the river at Woolwich since at least the fourteenth century, and cross-river traffic increased following the establishment of the Royal Arsenal. To enable movement of troops and supplies, the army established its own ferry in 1810. The following year, an Act of Parliament established a commercial ferry company, but this was eventually dissolved in 1844. In 1846, the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway extended its lines to include a Thames wharf branch; eventually three steam ferries operated, but these still proved inadequate to meet growing demand. In October 1880 a public meeting was held in Woolwich to discuss establishing a locally-run steam ferry, but the cost was seen as too great.
However, following the establishment of the Metropolitan Board of Works, which had taken over toll bridges in west London and opened them to free public use, it was suggested that the Board should fund a free crossing of the Thames in east London. In 1884, the Board agreed to provide the free ferry service, which was instigated by Sir Joseph Bazalgette using powers granted in the Metropolitan Board of Works (Various Powers) Act 1885. In September 1887, Messrs Mowlem and company were awarded contracts to build approaches, bridges and pontoons.
The service was officially opened on 23 March 1889. Two days earlier the Metropolitan Board of Works was replaced by the London County Council (LCC); the LCC continued to operate the ferry until it was replaced by the Greater London Council (GLC) on 31 March 1965.
The three ferries in use today were built in 1963 and the current terminals were opened in 1965.
After the abolition of the GLC in 1986 the responsibility for operating the service was transferred to the Secretary of State for Transport, who contracted the then London Borough of Greenwich to run the service. Asset ownership and operating rights were subsequently transferred to Transport for London (TfL) on the establishment of the Greater London Authority, but the London Borough of Greenwich continued to operate the ferry on behalf of TfL.
In March 2008, the London Borough of Greenwich gave TfL notice that it would cease operating the service from 30 September 2008. On 12 September 2008 TfL announced that Serco Group would take over the operation of the service from 1 October 2008. The contract ran initially until 31 March 2010.
Read more about this topic: Woolwich Ferry
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“A country grows in history not only because of the heroism of its troops on the field of battle, it grows also when it turns to justice and to right for the conservation of its interests.”
—Aristide Briand (1862–1932)
“The visual is sorely undervalued in modern scholarship. Art history has attained only a fraction of the conceptual sophistication of literary criticism.... Drunk with self-love, criticism has hugely overestimated the centrality of language to western culture. It has failed to see the electrifying sign language of images.”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)
“No one can understand Paris and its history who does not understand that its fierceness is the balance and justification of its frivolity. It is called a city of pleasure; but it may also very specially be called a city of pain. The crown of roses is also a crown of thorns. Its people are too prone to hurt others, but quite ready also to hurt themselves. They are martyrs for religion, they are martyrs for irreligion; they are even martyrs for immorality.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)