Aust-Beachley, Old Passage Ferry, tin bracteate 12 [Pence], legend around paddle-steamer, 41mm, 2.84g (Smith p.170). Very fine and very rare (£40-60)

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Tokens from the Collection formed by the late Barry Greenaway.

View
Collection

Provenance:
Bt N. Cox October 1992.

The Aust ferry was a service that operated across the River Severn between the villages of Aust and Beachley, the latter near Chepstow. The passage of the Severn at this point was for a long time the principal route between England and Wales below Gloucester and the journey of a little over a mile was fraught with danger because of swift-flowing tides. By the 18th century a rival ferry service, from Redwick, near Pilning, to Sudbrook on the Welsh side, was taking business from the Aust ferry, which became known as the Old Passage. In 1825 the Old Passage Ferry Association was formed with sponsorship from the Duke of Beaufort and two new steamships were ordered. The company prospered for the next quarter-century, despite the loss of vessels with all hands in 1839 and 1844, but the advent of the railways, in particular the opening of the Severn tunnel in 1886, meant that the service was not viable and it closed down. The ferry gained a new lease of life with the growth of car travel and was re-opened in 1926, the service being run by Enoch Williams of the Old Passage Severn Ferry Co Ltd from 1931 until the eve of the opening of the first Severn Bridge in 1966