Today is

By: Ikedi Ani-okoye

Author: Jason Rainbow

District, ferries Woolwich FootTunnel

Having spent most of my life in the rural, cattle-packed pastures of Somerset, moving to London to attend the University of East London just two years ago provided more than just a little culture shock. Imagine then, how incredibly awe struck was on my first Woolwich voyage across the Thames. Even more amazing (to us students at least), was the fact that the service was absolutely free. Its smooth docking system means you'll only have to wait a maximum of 10 minutes for your vessel to arrive on a weekday.

And once everyone is aboard the ferry, it soon departs and you're treated to a 6 minute cruise across East London's Majestic scenery. The experience is heightened by the open structure of She ferry, meaning you're able to get close enough to the water to take in the grand landscape of the capital, while waves lap up gracefully beneath your feet. Sailing across the Thames in such a way is an adventure that's truly unique to London. It's an experience that although have since taken many times; is almost impossible to take for granted.

The mighty Woolwich ferry has offered the public a fast and carefree way to travel across the River Thames for over a century. However, its Existence has now been thrown into uncertainty with a new bridge being planned to take its place; The Thames Gateway Bridge'. It seems there's no place in our racy capital for hefty, diesel-powered old timers, and it's likely that this method of .ravel will soon become extinct like the Penny Farthings, steam trains, and trams that used to delight our capital.

Don't get me wrong, it'd be foolish to compare the ruthless efficiency of road bridges with our ageing boat service, but in a city that's increasingly osing its historical significance, losing the ferry service is just another way of stripping away our British culture. Understandably, the ferry service has its fans and the results of a recent preferred the service to continue running. Realistically though, even the ferries were to survive, they'll probably be 'bridging' the Thames elsewhere. History - According to the records of Woolwich District, ferries have been operating in the Woolwich area since the 1300s.

This was largely due to the unique fact that the parish ofWoolwich is split either side of the river Thames early ferry operated between North Woolwich and Warren Lane.
Vague references from the time show the ferry changed hands (epeatedly until 1811, when an act of parliament was passed whiCh meant that another ferry could set sail at Woolwich to help with the movement of troops to any from Woolwich Arsenal. By then, the area had grown under the reign of King Henry Vlll as a formidable Royal dockyard.

The idea of a steam ferry was later introduced in 1850, but nothing came ofthis until a public meeting in October 1880, when a ferry from local resources was called for. The free ferry was eventually opened on Saturday 23rd of March 1889 by Lord Roseberry, chairman of the London County Council. Two new boats (the Squires and a new Gordon) were constructed in 1922 and later, two similar boats were added (the Will Crooks and John Burns).

Three boats were planned to be put into operation in 1963 due to the increased amount of traffic. This was also necessary because lorries were generally getting much heavier, so new boats were needed to compensate for this.These new updated vessels were named the John Burns, James Newman, and the Ernest Bevin, and are still in use to this very day.

Woolwich Foot Tunnel This marvel of Edwardian engineering is 1,665 feet in length and 69 feet u nder water at high tide. constructed for a figure of £87,000 and opened in 1912, the tunnel's purpose was to enable travel when the ferry wasn't operational due to severe weather conditions such as fog. However, it also served to provide shelter during World war 2.