Steam ferries like The Hugh Bell carried workmen between Middlesbrough and Port Clarence up until 1911 when the Transporter Bridge opened.
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
Steam ferries like The Hugh Bell carried workmen between Middlesbrough and Port Clarence up until 1911 when the Transporter Bridge opened.
The Hugh Bell was built by Messrs. Hepple & Co., of North shields. She had her trial trip on the Tees on 6 November 1884. The ferry was built to the order of Middlesbrough Corporation at a cost of £6,000. She was 105 feet long, 42 feet in breadth, with a draught of 3 feet 11 inches. Her engines were 40 horsepower side lever.
She was designed to carry 1,000 passengers and had a deck to carry six laden wagons and twelve horses.
There is another copy of this photo on the Picture Stockton website which is titled “The Erimus at Port Clarence c. 1906”. The badge on the side of the paddle box of this boat appears to be the emblem of Middlesbrough, which would suggest this is the Erimus. Other internet sources also list this photo as the Erimus.
The Hugh Bell and the Erimus were in operation around the same time, as ferries between Port Clarence and Middlesbrough, and appear to be very similar, if not identical.