The Stokes Bay line was a short railway branch line in Hampshire, England, near Gosport. Associated with a new pier, it was intended to give direct and easy access from trains to steamers to the Isle of Wight in comparison to the conventional route through Portsmouth, which required a road transport connection though the town. Railway operation to the Stokes Bay pier started in 1863.
Through coaches were operated from London and elsewhere, but the railway route was indirect. The pier at Stokes Bay was in an exposed position, and berthing of the steamers was difficult in bad weather. As an independent company, the line’s operators were reliant on the goodwill of the London and South Western Railway, as well as the efficiency of an associated ferry company. The LSWR had concluded a co-operation agreement with a competitor and did not wish to disturb the new-found harmony; the ferry company failed financially.
Despite the adversities, the company continued operating, but the call on workers and war materiel brought about closure of the line in 1915. Some work in connection with the Admiralty continued for a few years after closure as a public railway.
History
The Isle of Wight
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert acquired Osborne House, near East Cowes, in 1845, and expressed great pleasure in staying there. This encouraged appreciation of the Isle of Wight in the public imagination, and there was a great increase in holidays there. A difficulty was the journey to reach the island. The route from Southampton to Cowes by steamer was feasible, but a shorter journey via Portsmouth was somewhat quicker. Even so the LSWR journey was via Bishopstoke (later named Eastleigh) and the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway went via Brighton. The greatest difficulty for a Victorian family going on holiday was getting from Portsmouth station to a steamer berth for the crossing. The Portsmouth station was the present day Portsmouth & Southsea railway station, the Harbour extension not being built until 1879.
Two businessmen, William Pearson and Charles Ridout, formed a partnership with a plan to make a better ferry crossing, and on 21 November 1854 registered the intention to make an independent railway line to a new pier at Stokes Bay on the coast, from the Gosport railway station of the LSWR. Stokes Bay was the nearest point on the mainland to Ryde, Isle of Wight, miles away, so a short crossing of the Solent would be possible. They formed a company, "The Stokes Bay and Isle of Wight Railway and Pier Company." The plan was to build miles of new railway; trains would run onto the pier, and the transfer to the steamer would be direct and easy.
A ferry operation was essential to make the scheme viable, and a separate Isle of Wight Ferry Company was floated on 21 July 1856. With capital of £20,000 it was to make and operate a floating bridge between Stokes Bay and Ryde. This was to be a chain ferry, in which the vessel was permanently attached to a fixed chain between Stokes Bay and Ryde.
Design of a route, and authorisation
By January 1855 the route had been surveyed and estimated to cost about £30,000. Landowners affected had been approached and it was claimed that they were supportive. The co-operation of the LSWR was key to the success of the scheme, but for the time being the LSWR was non-committal, and certainly unwilling to offer financial support. The company had appointed an engineer, Hamilton Henry Fulton, and he had arranged for contractors, Smith and Knight, to build the line. The contractor agreed to be paid partly in the Company’s shares, to the extent of £14,000. Established ferry operators were hostile at this new competition, but the Company agreed that the pier would be available to other operators, and the chain ferry idea was not proceeded with.
The Stokes Bay Railway and Pier Act received the Royal Assent on 14 August 1855. The cost of construction was estimated at £20,000 of which £7,000 was for the Pier itself. The authorised share capital was £24,000, and the work was to be completed within three years.
The first General Meeting of the new company was held on 3 October 1855. The Chairman, Thomas Fleming, told the meeting that there was every probability of the railway being used by Her Majesty in preference to the existing route; moreover he said that Prince Albert had visited the site of the pier in company with General Sir Frederick Smith, Chief Inspecting Officer of Railways for the Board of Trade, although little is known of this visit. In fact the Queen never used Stokes Bay, always using the Royal Clarence Yard at Gosport.