Crossing the River Thames

Here are a couple of notices I spotted on my travels recently. They relate to charges for crossing the River Thames at Goring and Streatley.

There has been a bridge over the Thames at Goring since 1837. The first notice, on the right, refers to charges for the use of that bridge.

Prior to the 1837 bridge there was a ferry crossing at Goring although some people used the crossing point as a ford and drove their carriages across, a risky undertaking. The dangers of the Thames at Goring were illustrated in 1674 when the ferry overturned in the weir pool and many lives were lost. This second notice, on the left, is dated 1719 and relates to the ferry charges. As you can see the ferry was big enough to transport a number of carriages and quite a few livestock.

©2012 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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