Bablock Hythe is a hamlet in Oxfordshire, England, some five miles (8 km) west of Oxford city centre. There was a ferry across the River Thames at Bablock Hythe from the 13th century. The hand-propelled cable ferry was said to be the first along the Thames and was still in use for cars and other road vehicles up until 1959.^[1]

Heritage

The earliest reference to a ferry is in 1279; later ones continued to cross until the mid-20th century. The ferry was a wide-beamed ferry punt with a rope or chain in the river, which presented something of a hazard to navigation.^[2] There was also an ancient inn, described by William Senior in his Royal River in the 1880s. This was rebuilt in the early 1990s.^[3] The site is overlooked by the "Warm green-muffled Cumnor Hills", which now holds an extensive caravan site.^{[4] [5]} The poet Matthew Arnold described the area in his 1853 work "The Scholar Gipsy":

Thee, at the ferry, Oxford riders blithe,

Returning home on summer nights, have met

Crossing the stripling Thames at Bablock-hithe

Trailing in the cool stream thy fingers wet

As the slow punt swings round.

See also

• Crossings of the River Thames

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bablock Hythe.

References

External links

• Canal Plan Gazetteer
• Where Thames smooth waters glide

51°44′06″N 1°22′16″W / 51.735055°N 1.371145°W / 51.735055; -1.371145

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