Old, and Some New, Photographs of Woodbridge & Melton
In the late Victorian era the ferry was a vital link in preserving the respectability of Woodbridge residents. The male population were allowed to swim on the Sutton side of the river where a sandy beach then existed below the Sutton Ferry Cliff. The ladies were provided for by the Lime Kiln Quay Swimming baths that had been made simply by walling up one of the docks. They could also swim behind the Tide Mill where there was a caravan in which they could change into their bathing costumes.
The rights of the ferry were given to Woodbridge Urban District Council by the Cobbold family in 1919 and the demand for the ferry was such that' right up to Second World War, the ferryman paid for the privilege to operate it. After the war it became a service supported by a grant from the Council. Frank Knights ran the ferry from 1947. He recalls that the service started at 7.00 am and finished at 9.00 pm. It was used to take the postman on two return trips a day; to take children from the Sutton side to school in Woodbridge, and to carry almost anyone else (Sutton residents and tourists) on request. Fares were two old pence single, and three old pence return.
In 1950 the Urban District Council announced that they were going to stop the ferry but they were prevented from doing so by a High Court Action brought by H R Pelly of Little Haddon Hall. The ferry continued until 1974 when the new Suffolk Coastal District Council stopped paying for it. The ferry stopped because so few people wanted to cross the river, but the Sutton Hoo Society arranged for a new ferry service on summer weekends during the excavations of 1983 to 1991. Sadly, since the National Trust took over running the site in 2002, the ferry service ended.
This is an earlier photograph showing the route of the ferry at high tide.
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