Aust Ferry

Aust / Beachley Ferry

A ferry arrives at Aust in Gloucestershire, England in 1964. The Severn Bridge is under construction in the background
Industry	Passenger and Freight transportation
Fate	Superseded by Severn Bridge
Founded	1829 Car ferry 1926
Founder	Duke of Beaufort Old Passage Ferry Association
Defunct	8 September 1966
Area served	River Severn

Aust Ferry or Beachley Ferry was a ferry service that operated across the River Severn between Aust and Beachley both in Gloucestershire, England. Before the Severn Bridge opened in 1966, it provided service for road traffic crossing between the West Country and South Wales. The nearest fixed crossing was a 60-mile (97 km) round trip to Gloucester.

The ferry ran from a pier at Old Passage near the village of Aust on the east bank of the Severn. It ran to a similar pier on the east of the Beachley peninsula. The car ferry, set up in 1926, only serviced cars, pedestrians and motorcycles; goods vehicles were prohibited from accessing the ferry terminal.

There has been a passage across the Severn at this location since Roman Britain. It has been recorded the site of the Trajectus (throwing-across) where the Roman legions used to be ferried across the Severn. It was recorded in the 12th century when the de Clares, lords of Tidenham, granted quittance of the passage to the monks of Tintern. It was evidently much used in 1405 when great numbers of the English and Welsh were said to resort to the nearby chapel of St. Twrog. The manor of Tidenham retained rights over the passage, and received rents from the parishes of Aust and Beachley, until the 19th century.

The journey, a distance of over a mile at a point where the tides run swiftly, was a dangerous one, and its reputation, the roughness of the water, and the smallness of the boats deterred travellers. Daniel Defoe visited the crossing from the Aust side in the 18th century, but did not trust the ferry to survive the bad weather, and elected to go via Gloucester instead. By that time, ferry crossings from New Passage, between Redwick near Pilning and Sudbrook on the Welsh side, rivalled the Aust passage, which became known as the Old Passage.