Stanley Ferry History
When you talk to people about a conservation area people think of a grand house or formal gardens, but if you look at the history of Stanley Ferry it is deserving of the title for its engineering achievements and for the history surrounding the area. If you take a look around you will see the Aqueduct, when opened in 1839 it was described as a piece of workmanship unequalled in Europe. Nearby to the Aqueduct is boat repair yard with a dry dock, and the road bridge that was opened in 1971 by Mr Harold Wilson, at the time former Prime Minister and to be Prime Minister again in 1974. The two old basins at Stanley ferry were for loading coal onto the Tom Puddings from nearby Collieries. The Tom Puddings were designed by the Aire and Calder Navigations engineer William Bartholomew, and could be taken from the water to be transported by railway trucks to local pits for loading.
Obviously the main attraction at Stanley Ferry is the Aqueduct, built by Messrs Graham Milton Ironworks at Elsecar between 1836 & 1839; it cost almost £50,000 to build. It was erected under the supervision of a Mr Haythorn. The Aqueduct has two bow string girders supporting the waterway with suspension rods. The tank measures 180ft by 24ft by 9ft and with the water at a depth of 8ft 6 inches holds 940 tons. The Aire and Calder Navigation came to be after the 1699 act of parliament to make rivers navigable but it was not until the 1830s that the navigation authority provided the canal cut. A Wakefield Journal from 1839 described the new canal as “ being the finest line of canal in the kingdom.” And describes the first boat to cross as “a splendid scooner of 160 tons burthen” The boat arrived at the Aqueduct around 3pm to the cheers of the many onlookers. It was drawn across by 3 horses. The Engineers and spectators were treated to dinner at the Strafford Arms afterwards, while the 700 workmen went to the local ale houses of Stanley and Bottomboat.
Stanley Ferry lies at a point where an old Roman road from Pontefract to Lingwell Gate crossed the river. When the Calder was made navigable it became too deep to ford, and from the 17th century was crossed by a ferry boat. According to accounts of the time it was so small that horse and cart had to cross separately. In the 19th century demand grew for a bridge, each bank was a 1 in 10 fall and was extremely dangerous to cross on dark nights or times of flooding. At that time accidents were common with people falling into the canal or trying to get over the Aqueduct. The bridge was eventually built in 1879; a result of Altofts need for water, the cost of the project was £2000 with Altofts contribution eventually reaching £700. On the day of opening the Altofts board Chairman Mr Watson paid the first toll, entertaining guests at the Heywood Arms.
The 1971 bridge replaced the old toll bridge after nearly 100 years of service, it closed in December 1969 when it was declared unsafe and at the time was used by 540 vehicles a day. A joint committee of Stanley and Normanton Councils led to the provision of the new bridge, it was built by White Young, and Partners of Leeds and opened on June 5th 1971 only 12 months after the committee first met. After Nationalisation in 1947 the Aire and Calder Navigation passed to the Docks and Inland Waterways Executive, again in 1963 they were taken over by the British Waterways Board. Today oak lock gates are still made at Stanley Ferry, and boats repaired. Unfortunately the coal industry and local sand and gravel quarries have long since gone the aqueduct and Canal the only reminder the areas world leading industrial past.
Stanley Ferry Aqueduct
Stanley Ferry Aqueduct was built between 1836 and 1839 to take the Aire and Calder navigation over the River Calder. To build it took a workforce of 700 men and is one of the earliest Compression arch suspended deck bridges in the world. It also uses the same principal as the Sydney Harbour Bridge (built 100 years later). The Aqueduct is considered to be the largest Aqueduct built in cast iron in the world. Designed by George Leather and built by H. McIntosh, the Aqueduct has a span of 165 ft, a width of 24 ft and a depth of 8ft. It is still in use today, though an additional wider concrete aqueduct was built alongside in 1981 and the bridge was then renovated.
The Aqueduct Stanley Ferry
Dug out boat at Stanley Ferry
When constructing the Aqueduct in 1835 a hollowed out boat was discovered at a depth of 18ft 6 inches below the present ground level, 6ft below the river bed. The boat was made from the trunk of a single tree, having been hollowed out by the use of fire and by axe. The boat measured 17ft 9 inches in length and 4ft 2 inches across the widest part. The boat was square sterned with pointed bow, semi cylindrical in traverse section; the bottom rises in a continuous curve. The boat was strengthened by ribs exactly like the framing of a plank built boat, and was probably propelled by paddles. This medieval oak logboat is important not least because it is the earliest-known logboat from Britain with direct evidence for fitted ribs. Its useful beam, flared transverse section and (probable) stabilizers mean that it would have had good stability. This and the fact that it may have had thwarts would make her suitable for use as a passenger ferry, a role echoed in the site name today.
The moving of Wakefield Market to Ferry Lane
A little known fact these days is that during the 1645 plague the Market at Wakefield was moved to Ferry Lane in Stanley, also mentioned is the erecting of a market cross at the site which would have probably been a wooden structure. It is said that the air became so warm and infectious over Wakefield during August and September that year that even dogs, cats, mice, rats died, and that several birds dropped down dead in flight over the town. Many people from the Town fled to the surrounding countryside to escape the plague explaining the reason for the market being moved to an out of town location.
Please contact us if you have any Information that can be used on the site
