The Medieval Harbour Ferry

Until the 18th century the only communal means of contact between the main Wearmouth settlements was the ferry crossing situated at the most easterly end of Sunderland, running from Low Quay, at the bottom of Bodlewell Lane, directly across the river to the monastery at Monkwearmouth. Other river crossings existed but these were further upstream, one at Pallion Ford and the other a ferry crossing operating between Ford and Hylton, known in the 14th century as the Bovisferry.