From the days when Roman legions marched north, the River Humber has been an obstacle to communications along the East coast.

Before the arrival of the railways water transportation was the most efficient means of moving heavy or bulk freight and the Humber, situated at the heart of the waterway system associated with the Trent and the Ouse, was one of the chief highways of England. Its traffic brought prosperity to the settlements on its banks, but the river itself tended to cut them off from some of their closest neighbours as well as obstructing the progress of travellers moving north or south.

To cater for these local and, as time progressed, wider needs, ferries were provided across many of the creeks along both banks of the river, and in 1315 a ferry between Hull and Lincolnshire was established.

By 1800 this ferry had become fully integrated into the overland transport system, but the changes associated with the industrial revolution were soon to threaten its position. Increased traffic encouraged speculators to establish rival ferries, notably between Hull and New Holland where the crossing was considerably shorter than on the existing Hull to Barton service. Ferry services between Hull and New Holland began in 1826, in direct competition to a service between Hull and Barton upon Humber, which closed in 1851 unable to cope with the increased competition from this rival service.

New Holland then grew into a major link between Lincolnshire and Yorkshire carrying passengers and cattle and goods for Hull Market. In 1968 there was a brief ferry service from Grimsby to Hull using hovercrafts. This did not last long as the hovercrafts could not cope with the demands of the river Humber.

The ferry service between Hull and New Holland ended with the opening of the Humber Bridge on 24th June 1981

Further information about the ferries and of other crossings along the river Humber can be found at the following web sites

http://www.humberpacketboats.co.uk/humber.htm

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.enefer/newholland/newhollandferries.htm

http://inbarton.110mb.com/humberferry.htm



Passenger information in July 1981 can be found below

Associated Downloads   Humber Ferry Timetable and Price List [ 184 K ]