The river Severn obviously causes a bit of a disruption to free travel, and so crossing it is of interest to many. These crossing points generally choose themselves; points in the river with a flat riverbed, leading to a calmer current of water where ferries can be positioned, and/or those that are narrower, which suit a bridge.
One such area is at a point between Jackfield and Coalport, immediately adjacent to the Hay incline plane. Initially, a ferry provided transport for people crossing from one side to the other, which was useful with industries expanding in the area, particularly John Rose & Company, who had closed their china works in Caughley and Broseley and relocated to Coalport – but leaving the workers now having to cross the river to attend their place of work.
These ferries were usually run by owner/operators with little regulation and so accidents were quite common. On a foggy evening of 23rd October 1799, the ferry set off from Coalport towards Jackfield in the dark. Halfway across the river it capsized and, of the 43 people on board, 28 died, including women and children who had just finished their shift in the china works. There are several theories about what happened on that day to cause the ferry to sink, but the true reason remains unknown.
Despite this tragedy, the ferry continued to operate in the same area and, 100 years later, claimed another life when the ferryman, John Harrison, fell overboard in a swollen January river, and was swept to his doom. He was 72 years old and still happy to work, but had slipped whilst lighting a lantern after a long day on the ferry.
Sir, The letter that appeared in your last weeks issue re the dangerous ferry at Coalport only serves to show the great necessity there is for a footbridge across the Severn at some convenient point. Unfortunately, it is not the landings that are dangerous, but the ferry-boats themselves, especially in flood time and it is fortunate that there are not more accidents than there are.
R.F. Ayre, Mayor of Wenlock. 9th February 1907
It is perhaps due to this latter tragedy that thoughts of a footbridge were mooted and, in 1922, one was built from public subscription to commemorate the 26 servicemen from the villages of Jackfield and Coalport who lost their lives in the Great War (the First World War).
The bridge was known locally as the ‘shaky bridge’, for the obvious reason that you could feel it physically ‘bouncing’ if you walked across it with heavy feet. The bridge had a ramp at the Coalport side and a steep set of steps on the Jackfield side.
Eventually it got to a point that it was judged dangerous and so, in year 2000, it was replaced.
The replacement bridge is a tasteful improvement of the original, with gentler steps on either side, although it still bounces a bit when those of a larger disposition walk across it.
The ferry and bridge may have benefited workers at the Coalport china works in the early days, but in 1883, a large employer opened up on the Jackfield side, and so workers were now crossing in the opposite direction as well. More of that in the next Secret Ironbridge blog post.
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