Fleamarket Postcards - Hartlepool to Middleton Ferry

The second postcard of Hartlepool  I came across in Stockton fleamarket was this view of the Hartlepool to Middleton Ferry.

Hartlepool Ferry (Photographer Alfred Price)

From 1854 to 1952 the ferry from Old Hartlepool to Middleton provided a means for Hrtlepool people to get to work. The 35 foot boats used had to cover only a short distance of c100 metres. From the 1800s people were employed in boat yards on Middleton beach. The village of Middleton, named after a local Methodist and friend of John Wesley, no longer exists.

The Museum of Hartlepool's photostream has the picture of the ferry boat being rowed by two men.

Hartlepool Old Ferry

The e-podunk website for Hartlepool has a postcard of the ferry in operation. Unfortunately they have not responded to my request to use their picture but you can see for yourself by visiting them here

The last ferry stopped soon after the last true ferryman slipped on the ferry steps.

The ferry man, Bull Boagey, cracked his head and died in 1951 while returning from a fishing trip.

Ghosts in March

Where you in Pembrokeshire on the nights before and after 1st March, St David’s Day? Perhaps if you visited St Bride’s Bay you may have heard ghostly singing from the ruined chapel overlooking the Bay.
No.

 

St David's Cathedral and the Bishop's Palace

© Copyright Martin Halley and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

(Photo is copyrighted but also licensed for reuse)

 Then perhaps you heard the church bell stolen from the tower of St David’s Cathedral. The bell was lost together with the boat and crew that smuggled it into St Bride’s Bay. The boat sank in a storm. Seamen claim to hear the bell chiming on the seabed to warn them of an impending storm.

On 9th March in Cassiobury Park, Watford you may meet the ghost of Lord Arthur Capel.

1st Baron Capel and his family

(Portrait - source Norton Anthology; Author Cornelius Johnson)

Lord Capel defected from the Roundheads to support the King in the Civil War. Captured by Fairfax at Colchester, he even escaped from the Tower. Recaptured he eventually lost his head. 9th March is the anniversary of his death in 1649.

 Ferry Boat Inn

© David Bartlett - Licensed for reuse under CC-ASA 2.0 License

 The Ferry Boat Inn in Holywell claims to be the oldest inn in England. A slab in the floor covers the grave of 17 year-old Juliet Tewsley who hanged herself on 17th March 1050 as the resulted of unrequited love for a local woodcutter. Her ghost is said to appear each March on the anniversary of her suicide.