Itchen Ferry village was a small hamlet on the East bank of the River Itchen in Hampshire. The village took its name from the small fishing boats that were also used to ferry foot passengers across the river. An Ordnance Survey map of 1911 (NC/03/17894)The Illustrated History of Southamptons Suburbs. Jim Brown 2004. shows the village to be situated in the area roughly bounded by Sea Road, Oakbank Road, the River Itchen and the railway line in modern Woolston, but also extending along Sea Road towards

Peartree Green Peartree Green is an open space on high ground on the east bank of the River Itchen in Southampton, in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. A 16th/17th century building, Peartree House, still stands, though is today concealed by privat ...

on the other side of the railway, which cut the village in half in 1866. Neighbouring streets on that same map, Defender Road, Britannia Road and Shamrock Road have a more structured layout and are clearly part of the Victorian enlargement of Woolston. The same map clearly shows the housing in Itchen Ferry village to have a more random layout. An even older map,Southampton. An Illustrated History. Adrian Rance. 1986. of 1842 pins Itchen Ferry village more tightly to the area between Sea Road and Vicarage Road. Itchen ferrymen were granted permission to ferry passengers and goods across the River Itchen by the lords of the manors of Woolston and Southampton. Lords of the manor of Woolston were paid in cash. Lords of the manor of Southampton received free passage. The village lost a large part of its livelihood when the Floating Bridge was introduced in 1836, but continued to operate a night service until the late 19th century. The inhabitants always remained fishermen and seafarers. RichardParkerTombstone

A memorial to Richard Parker of Itchen Ferry village can be seen in the graveyard of Jesus Chapel on

. The desperate situation that led to his death in 1884 was the subject of a significant murder trial, '' Regina v. Dudley & Stephens'', that changed English law. Already absorbed into its larger neighbour, Woolston, and subsequently into the borough of

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in 1920,Southampton in the Twenties. Eric Wyeth Gadd Itchen Ferry village was destroyed beyond repair by the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

on 26 September 1940 due to its misfortune of being a stone's throw from the

Supermarine Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer. It is most famous for producing the Spitfire fighter plane during World War II. The company built a range of seaplanes and flying boats, winning the Schneider Trophy for seaplanes with three cons ...

factory and a short distance up-river from the John I. Thornycroft & Company shipyard. There were over 100 casualties in this one raid. But that was not the only raid. The

had targeted the area on a number of previous occasions. An air raid shelter in the lower region of Sea Road near the railway line is reported as receiving a direct hit on 24 September 1940.The Battle of Britain. Richard Hough and Denis Richards. 1990 The area was subsequently used for training troops that would be fighting in similar ruined villages during the invasion of Europe in 1944.Southampton and D-Day. Ingrid Peckham. 1994.

Details of the bombing raids

* 24 September 1940 – 42 fatalities. * 26 September 1940 – 55 fatalities, 49 seriously injured, 43 other casualties. This raid comprised the

Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and medium bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a wolf in sheep's clothing. Due to restrictions placed on Germany a ...

bombers of

Kampfgeschwader 55 ''Kampfgeschwader'' 55 "Greif" (KG 55 or Battle Wing 55) was a Luftwaffe bomber unit during World War II. was one of the longest serving and well-known in the Luftwaffe. The wing operated the Heinkel He 111 exclusively until 1943, when only ...

Great Air Battles of World War II. Christopher Shores. 2002. escorted by the twin-engined

Messerschmitt Bf 110 The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often known unofficially as the Me 110,Because it was built before ''Bayerische Flugzeugwerke'' became Messerschmitt AG in July 1938, the Bf 110 was never officially given the designation Me 110. is a twin-engined (de ...

heavy fighters of

Zerstörergeschwader 26 ''Zerstörergeschwader'' 26 (ZG 26) "Horst Wessel" was a Luftwaffe heavy fighter wing of World War II. Formed on 1 May 1939, ZG 26 was initially armed with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 single-engine interceptor due to production shortfalls with t ...

, 160 aircraft in total dropping 145 high explosive bombs. Reports of casualties in the direct hit on the air raid shelter (24 September) are contradictory. One report has approx 100 fatalities and approx 50 wounded, coincidentally the total of the two raids as listed above: it may have been politically expedient to combine those figures. Another source simply reports many fatalities. The most reliable report, because it is based on local sources in Southampton rather than RAF sources, is that the shelter was largely unoccupied because the air raid warning was late.

Changes to street names

When Woolston was absorbed into Southampton in 1920,Southampton in the twenties. Eric Wyeth Gadd. 1979. there were some duplicated street names. The following streets in the Itchen Ferry area were changed in 1924 to avoid the consequential confusion.

References

External links

Maritime Memorials website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Itchen Ferry Village Destroyed populated places History of Southampton Areas of Southampton

Details of the bombing raids

Changes to street names

See also

References

External links