Over the Manchester Ship Canal, you'll find the Hulmes Ferry, the Thelwall Ferry, and the Warburton Toll Bridge. They're all strange in their own way, all under the control of one company, and all dating back to old laws and legal documents from a hundred years ago. I was in the area, so I stopped by, and found that things might be changing soon.
REFERENCES:
Manchester Ship Canal Act (1885)
Rixton and Warburton Bridge Act (1863)
(NOTE: it looks like permission for the toll bridge was set up by the 1863 Act, but that was a different bridge over the River Mersey, and the laws and permissions were transferred over to the Ship Canal when they needed a bigger bridge and it is a complete mess of legal wrangling. As it doesn't affect the final story, I quietly elided that whole section because it was far too dull!)
Other references:
https://moneyweek.com/414922/11-november-1887-work-begins-on-the-manchester-ship-canal
https://hulmesferry.co.uk/
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/tiny-manchester-ferry-youve-probably-16391489
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/legislation_governing_the_bridge
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/387618/response/935840/attach/2/160706%20Rixton%20and%20Warburton%20Bridge%20Act%201863.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1
https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/14619324.pictures-and-video-everything-you-need-to-know-about-one-of-the-worlds-smallest-ferries-thelwall-penny-ferry/
https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/19452780.warrington-council-opposes-warburton-toll-bridge-fee-rise/
https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/19455874.conservative-group-calls-warburton-toll-bridge-inquiry/
https://www.warburtontollbridge.co.uk/download-consultation/
Inflation calculator: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator
And thanks in particular to Stuart at the Hulmes Ferry for friendly conversation when I arrived!
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