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Severn bridges: Final day of at least 800 years of tolls | Severn bridges: Final day of at least 800 years of tolls |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Sunday marked the final day of a centuries-old tax of paying to cross between south Wales and south-west England before the toll is removed. | Sunday marked the final day of a centuries-old tax of paying to cross between south Wales and south-west England before the toll is removed. |
Charges on the M4 and M48 Severn bridges will be axed on Monday - saving commuters as much as £1,400 a year. | Charges on the M4 and M48 Severn bridges will be axed on Monday - saving commuters as much as £1,400 a year. |
People have had to pay to cross the Severn Estuary, with its treacherous tides, since Roman times, be it in a car, in a train or on a ferry. | People have had to pay to cross the Severn Estuary, with its treacherous tides, since Roman times, be it in a car, in a train or on a ferry. |
The first written reference to the ferry is in a 12th Century document. | The first written reference to the ferry is in a 12th Century document. |
"Monday will be a very historic day," said historian Anne Rainsbury. | "Monday will be a very historic day," said historian Anne Rainsbury. |
"It'll be the first time you can cross the Severn Estuary for free." | "It'll be the first time you can cross the Severn Estuary for free." |
The charge for vehicles has been scrapped after the bridges returned to public ownership last year. | The charge for vehicles has been scrapped after the bridges returned to public ownership last year. |
Car drivers had to pay two shillings and sixpence each way after the first Severn bridge was opened by the Queen in 1966. | Car drivers had to pay two shillings and sixpence each way after the first Severn bridge was opened by the Queen in 1966. |
Recently, the Severn toll spiralled to £5.60 - but the charge was just one way, westbound heading into south Wales. | Recently, the Severn toll spiralled to £5.60 - but the charge was just one way, westbound heading into south Wales. |
"It has been forever thus," added Ms Rainsbury, curator of Chepstow Museum on the Welsh side of the original bridge. | "It has been forever thus," added Ms Rainsbury, curator of Chepstow Museum on the Welsh side of the original bridge. |
"You've always had to pay someone; a ferryman, a railway company or a bridge toll collector to cross the Severn Estuary - so Monday's removal of the tolls is a hugely significant moment, especially in Wales." | "You've always had to pay someone; a ferryman, a railway company or a bridge toll collector to cross the Severn Estuary - so Monday's removal of the tolls is a hugely significant moment, especially in Wales." |
The first ferry crossing over the Severn Estuary - which has the second highest tidal range in the world - was between Aust and Beachley, essentially the path of the first bridge, on the narrowest width of the estuary. | The first ferry crossing over the Severn Estuary - which has the second highest tidal range in the world - was between Aust and Beachley, essentially the path of the first bridge, on the narrowest width of the estuary. |
The first written reference to it is in a document from the 12th Century when the owner was the Lord of the Manor of Tidenham, part of the Chepstow Lordship. | The first written reference to it is in a document from the 12th Century when the owner was the Lord of the Manor of Tidenham, part of the Chepstow Lordship. |
But the first recorded ferry crossing was in 1775, when it cost a coach with six horses an eye-watering 16 shillings to board the boat on the mile-long route known as the old passage. | But the first recorded ferry crossing was in 1775, when it cost a coach with six horses an eye-watering 16 shillings to board the boat on the mile-long route known as the old passage. |
"It was a huge amount back then," said local historian Tim Ryan, who is trying to restore one of the old Severn ferries. | "It was a huge amount back then," said local historian Tim Ryan, who is trying to restore one of the old Severn ferries. |
"But if you could afford a coach and six horses, then you could afford the fee - and it would avoid a three-day, 55-mile trek around Gloucester to the nearest crossing of the river." | "But if you could afford a coach and six horses, then you could afford the fee - and it would avoid a three-day, 55-mile trek around Gloucester to the nearest crossing of the river." |
There was a rival and more direct crossing two miles downstream at the so-called new passage, thought to be in operation from 1630, between Pilning and Portskewett. | There was a rival and more direct crossing two miles downstream at the so-called new passage, thought to be in operation from 1630, between Pilning and Portskewett. |
Both crossings - and a passenger ferry that ran directly between Chepstow and Bristol - were killed off when the Severn tunnel, then the world's longest under-sea rail tunnel, connecting London with south Wales opened in 1886. | Both crossings - and a passenger ferry that ran directly between Chepstow and Bristol - were killed off when the Severn tunnel, then the world's longest under-sea rail tunnel, connecting London with south Wales opened in 1886. |
The advent of the motor car revitalised the Aust-Beachley ferry and it started again in 1926 - running for 40 years and finishing the day before the first Severn bridge was opened. | The advent of the motor car revitalised the Aust-Beachley ferry and it started again in 1926 - running for 40 years and finishing the day before the first Severn bridge was opened. |
Famously Bob Dylan used a 1966 picture of himself as he waited for the Severn ferry on the cover of his album No Direction Home - the soundtrack to Martin Scorsese's documentary about the music icon. | Famously Bob Dylan used a 1966 picture of himself as he waited for the Severn ferry on the cover of his album No Direction Home - the soundtrack to Martin Scorsese's documentary about the music icon. |
The Queen opened the £8m first bridge in 1966 while the second bridge, built three miles downstream across the Severn Estuary, was financed by a private consortium set up in 1992. | The Queen opened the £8m first bridge in 1966 while the second bridge, built three miles downstream across the Severn Estuary, was financed by a private consortium set up in 1992. |
The Second Severn Crossing - opened in 1996 and renamed the Prince of Wales Bridge in July this year - cost £332m to construct, but the eventual repayments including debt repayments, interest and tax totalled more than £1.3bn. | The Second Severn Crossing - opened in 1996 and renamed the Prince of Wales Bridge in July this year - cost £332m to construct, but the eventual repayments including debt repayments, interest and tax totalled more than £1.3bn. |
The removal of the Severn tolls is "history in the making", according to Anne Rainsbury, and will boost the Welsh economy by an estimated £100m. | The removal of the Severn tolls is "history in the making", according to Anne Rainsbury, and will boost the Welsh economy by an estimated £100m. |
The M4 Prince of Wales Bridge is shut overnight as maintenance teams demolish the toll booths in readiness for toll-free free-flowing traffic. | |
It will reopen free-flowing and toll-free before Monday morning's rush hour - at a time yet to be confirmed - but with a 50mph speed restriction on temporary narrow lanes. | |
Shortly after the M4 bridge reopens on Monday, the M48 original Severn crossing will shut westbound until Wednesday for the tolls there to be dismantled. | Shortly after the M4 bridge reopens on Monday, the M48 original Severn crossing will shut westbound until Wednesday for the tolls there to be dismantled. |
Further work will be carried out in 2019 to return both routes to a three-lane motorway with the usual 70mph speed limit. | Further work will be carried out in 2019 to return both routes to a three-lane motorway with the usual 70mph speed limit. |