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Riverside - recreation

In the late Victorian era the ferry was a vital link in preserving the respectability of Woodbridge residents. The male population were allowed to swim on the Sutton side of the river where a sandy beach existed below the Sutton Ferry Cliff. The ladies were provided for by the Lime Kiln Quay Swimming baths that had been made simply by walling up one of the docks. They could also swim behind the Tide Mill where there was a caravan in which they could change into their bathing costumes. The rights of the ferry were given to Woodbridge Urban District Council by the Cobbold family in 1919 and the demand for the ferry was such that right up to Second World War the ferryman paid for the privilege to operate it. After the war it became a service supported by a grant from the Council. Frank Knights ran the ferry from 1947. He recalls that the service started at 7.00 am and finished at 9.00 pm. It was used to take the postman on two return trips a day; to take children from the Sutton side to school in Woodbridge, and to carry almost anyone else (Sutton residents and tourists) on request. Fares were two old pence single, and three old pence return. The ferry continued until 1974 when the new Suffolk Coastal District Council stopped paying for it. The ferry stopped because so few people wanted to cross the river, but the Sutton Hoo Society arranged for a new ferry service on summer weekends during the excavations of 1983 to 1991. Sadly, since the National Trust took over running the site in 2002, the ferry service ended.

The causeway at low tide.

One of the ferry men.

The picnic area on the Sutton side of Deben estuary looking back to Woodbridge.

The beach on the Sutton side of the estuary was reserved for men.

Behind the Tide Mill there was a caravan where women could change into their bathing costumes.

Between Lime Kiln Quay and the new ship yard there was a dock which appeared on the 1881 OS map but not on the 1844 Tithe map. It is also shown on the 1904 OS map. On the 1927 map it is called a Swimming Bath. Robert Simper says that the Mr & Mrs Robinson had the pool dug between their bungalow and the river in about 1910 but he does not mention the earlier dock on this site. Given the evidence for the earlier dock it is more likely that the Robinson had mud dug out of it to make it more suitable for a swimming pool. Simper also says that the pool closed in 1940 after it was claimed that some solders picked up an illness there.

In 1895 the Deben froze and the brave walked on the ice.

The same happened in Jan 1940.

The beach by the Station may be small but has been an attraction for all ages.

Much of the banks of the riverside between the station and Jetty Lane were lined by Tamarisk, a species of hardy deciduous flowering shrubs. Their slender branches and feathery flower clusters were a wondrous sight. Sadly they did not survive the building of the river wall.

The long jetty in the middle of this photograph is part of Everson’s boat yard. In front of it there is a small jetty known as the Town Jetty. It was presented to the town by Arthur Airy, a keen Deben Sailing Club Member, who raced the yacht ‘Kisaki’.