Winteringham Local History and Genealogy at winteringham.info

Winteringham Haven

In times gone by, travel was frequently easier by water than it was by land. The Humber was less of a barrier, more a highway for people and goods.

It is thought that Winteringham was first used as a port by the Romans - regardless of whether they had ferries to the opposite bank of the Humber or not. And by the time of the Domesday Book in 1087, there is hard evidence that the village was served by a ferry.

St Etheldreda, it is claimed crossed the Humber here on her way to Ely (see bottom of page for more information on St Etheldreda), and in 1143 the village church saw a ceremony confirming William de St Barbara as the Bishop of Durham when he was met at Winteringham by monks bearing the news as he was returning from attending a council in London. From these, we may assume that the river crossing here was of some repute in early times.

Crossings were not always easy, and - according to the section on Winteringham in “Lincolnshire” - by Henry Thorold and Jack Yates - Andrew Marvell, the father of the poet was in a boat which capsized, “shouting ‘Ho for Heaven’ as he jumped overboard with his walking stick.”

The Bell family was heavily involved with the ferries for many years, as shown by the probate inventories. Thomas Bell’s probate inventory (3rd November 1679) states that he owned “Three boats with one kog [sic] boate with all things thereto belonging” worth £100.  His namesake, Thomas Bell, whose probate inventory was exhibited on 12th July 1688, showed “two ferry boats with the lease of the ferry” valued at £100-2-0, and George Bell’s probate inventory of 2nd May 1712 includes “Half of too [sic] ferry boats” valued at £50. In 1726, the probate inventory of Rebecca Bell showed that she owned one half of the Winteringham ferry boat, at that time called the “Good Will”.  Her half share in the boat was valued at £13.

The poet Henry Kirke White spent some time at the Rectory in 1804 to study under the learned Parson Grainger.  He was involved in several escapades on ferries and other boats.  Once on the return journey from Hull - the outward trip having gone exceeding well - he feared for his life as the boat was caught in eddying currents off Barton, and on another occasion was marooned for some time on one of the shifting sandbanks. Little wonder then that his best known hymn is “Oft in Danger, Oft in Woe!”

By 1724 when Dr Stukeley famously visited the village, the ferry service was operated, fortuitously perhaps, by the landlord of the ‘Ferry House Inn’ and there was a regular ferry service to Hull in the early part of the nineteenth century.

By the time of the enclosures, the ferry was improved by better access as this handbill, printed by J Ferraby of Hull stated on 1st November 1796:

Winteringham Ferry Improved

A New Road to the FERRY, and other great Conveniences are now made for Passengers and Cattle.
A LARGE Boat will sail every Day to BROUGH in Yorkshire ... and another Boat every day to HULL.
BOATS may be hired at the FERRY, to sail to any Part of the HUMBER
George Sargant, Ferryman,
Winteringham, 1st November 1796

By 1842 there were two ferries in operation carrying passengers as well as goods, in 1861 the Post Office Directory tells us that these two went to Hull on Tuesday and Friday, the 1868 version of the Directory adding that they were “principally for goods”.

Other ferry operators were (dates are those of the directory in whose pages these appear): Matthew Beacock (1885, 1889, 1896), Tom Barley (1905, to Hull Tuesday), Alfred Barley (1909, to Hull, Tuesday), and the Barley Brothers (1919, to Hull Monday and 1926).

The ferry finally stopped in 1940, due to the ill-health of the proprietor, when a goods-only service operated from the Railway Wharf, outward to Hull on Monday and returning on Wednesday.

But Winteringham’s connections with the River were far more widespread than just a ferry port, as a quick look at Census returns show. These are the entries from the 1851 Census which have connections with boats and sailing:

Name George Waddingham George Waddingham Charles Slingsby Thomas Bell William Barratt Burkill Gautby William Wilson John Waddingham Thomas Waddingham James Simpson William Sarginson Blyth Holmes Christopher Jenny Robert Burkill Thomas Burkill Blare Pickersgill Francis Bradley John Young Matthew Beacock Charles Dent William Dent Jonahs Drury Age 75 71 34 41 29 23 30 27 48 24 30 52 26 22 21 69 34 32 35 27 26 20 Position Shipbuilder Retired mariner Boat builder Boat man Sailor Sailor Mariner Sailor Shipbuilder Sailor Sailor Mariner Sailor Sailor Sailor Pauper, late sailor Ship Carpenter Captain of a sloop Owner of a sloop Captain of a sloop Mariner Sailor

Winteringham Haven in former times For a larger version of this photograph, please click here From the Peter Jamieson Collection

22 of the 217 men over 16 years of age were employed either on the water, or in owning or building boats. The wharves on the Haven were chiefly for the shipment of corn, malt, coal and timber, and when the railway arrived in 1907, then slag, coal and iron ore could be loaded on to boats from a pair of chutes. The largest consignment to be moved from the Haven was, however, 75,000 tons of cement from the Eastwoods Humber Cement factory to Rosyth Naval Base during World War II. Just eight years after that mammoth transhipment, the last one was made from the Railway Wharf when 65 tons of slag from Lysaght’s Steelworks was made on 21st May, 1948. The boatyard on the Haven began as early as the middle of the eighteenth century.  It was founded by a Mr Waddingham, whose son and grandson carried on the business and started as an apprentice respectfully.  The last of those was Henry Waddingham, who then went to Barton to start up his own boatbuilding business. The Winteringham yard was then continued by Charles Slingsby and William Bell, and that firm was eventually superseded by Messrs Routh and Waddingham.  Routh and Waddingham ceased making boats in 1920, but boats were still being repaired at the yard until the outbreak of World War II, under the name of Cooper and Son. Fishing trawlers, keels, sea-going ketches, shrimping smacks, lighters, sloops and steam drifters were all produced at Winteringham, and during the Great War a French canal barge! During the Great War a steam drifter was built - intended for minesweeping duties while the conflict continued, and a sister ship started. Approximately 20 village men were employed at the yard at the time. We know the names of some of the boats built in Winteringham, and all were romantic sounding.  Here’s the list as we know it: Boats built by George Waddingham: Boats built by Routh and Waddingham: Fishing Trawlers: Keels: Sea Going Ketch Shrimping Smacks Sloops Steam Drifter   Boats Mary Catherine William and Lucy Friends Charles Oliver Northern Lights Coranilla Mary Ann Nemo Reliance Amity Aimwell (see below) Built in 1883 George and Frances Nimrod Reliance Spring Thistle The Swell         Right: The Swell at Winteringham   Left: The Railway Wharf Summer 1965   Left: The Boatyard at Winteringham Haven in its heyday       Photograph reproduced by kind permission of North Lincolnshire Council Image Archive The archive contains this and many more photographs of Winteringham.  Click the photograph to go to the NLC Archive. (From the Hull Packet of 30th November 1877) WINTERINGHAM REVIVAL OF WOODEN SHIPBUILDING.-The great development of the fishing trade at Hull and Grimsby has caused a considerable revival of wooden shipbuilding on the Humber, in fact has in many places created a new industry altogether - that of smack building.  The old established shipyard here, which lately came into the hands of the enterprising firm of Routh and Waddingham, is an instance of this.  The first smack ever built at this place was launched on Saturday last in the presence of a large concourse of people.  She was christened the "Charles Oscar" by Mrs . Waddingham, wife of one of the firm, is a fine smart vessel of 20 feet beam, and owned by Mr. C. Crowther, ship chandler, of Grimsby.  The launch was in every way a complete success.  The yard is now, with its large dry dock, possession of steam-saw, &c., one of the most complete and efficient establishments on the banks of the Humber. (From the Hull Packet of 29th April 1881) WINTERINGHAM WRECKAGE - The keel Mary was recovered from the Humber last week, and brought to Messrs Routh and Waddingham's dry dock for repairs. (From the Hull Packet of 16th June 1882) WINTERINGHAM SHIPBUILDING - Messrs Routh and Waddingham's yard here, now presents a busy aspect; three new vessels are being built, one of considerable size. The dry dock too is rarely empty.  Although this trade has so nearly died out at many places on the river, it is steadily progressing at this place. (On 13th October 1882, the following advertisement appeared in the Hull Packet) WINTERINGHAM. A NEW FISHING SMACK. - Messrs Routh and Waddingham have just completed a fishing-smack for Messrs Crouther and Son, smackowners, of Grimsby, which is considered by judges to be a splendid model of that class of vessel.  It is arranged for the launch to take place on Saturday, the 14th inst., at 8 a.m., weather and tide permitting, when no doubt a considerable number of visitors will be present.   Among one of my early attempts at photography I have this black and white picture of the Haven at Winteringham during 1966 showing the flood tides taken from the end of the bank where the buffers used to be when the railway dock was in use looking down onto what we called Barleys dock with the boat `Alert` level with the top of the dock. The picture was taken just before it sailed with a group of us for a days fishing of Cleethorpes Anthony P Robinson       “Thistle” - built by Routh and Waddingham, modelled by Mr A Waddingham   This model of the “Thistle” was built by Mr A Waddingham, who used the same materials as were used to build the original.  Martin Breeton, who currently owns the model, was told that this was the last barge built at the Winteringham Yard. Our thanks to Martin, and to Keith Naylor who photographed the Thistle.   The winch on the Haven Following a query from Flyer Robinson about Ken’s photo taken in 2008, Roy Shipp came up with this interesting information about the winch: From what I remember it was dug out when the club put in the slipway.  If you can remember before the cub started there, the old quayside had a long timber beam.  It was dug out from that area near the ditch that we used to jump across. What it was used for I don't know. It could have been a winch for unloading cargo at low tides.   Further research St Etheldreda: Though St Etheldreda was only ‘passing through’ Winteringham, she led an adventurous life and became the Abbess of Ely in 673 after two marriages.  She reputedly founded a small, wooden church at West Halton.  If you would like to research her life further, there are significant articles on the internet.  Click on either link: Ely.org.uk website David Nash Ford’s Early British Kingdoms (which has a very detailed account of the life of St Etheldreda). Aimwell There is a plan of this boat in: Barges, by John Leather, published by Adlard Coles Nautical, ISBN 0229115942 Note: Although this book is out of print, and unavailable as a new purchase, it may be available from the Library Service, and several copies are usually available as secondhand purchases. There is a model of the Aimwell in the Hull Maritime Museum, on the first floor.