Monument record SUE 101 - A possible Medieval ferry quay in the intertidal zone of the River Alde off Slaughden Marshes, Sudbourne

A possible Medieval ferry quay is visible as a boat hard on aerial photographs from 1940 onwards, as a structure located at circa TM46105534 (S1). The boat hard is visible as two parallel post-built rows roughly two metres apart, probably of timber, protruding into the River Alde from the saltmarsh at the tip of the Sudbourne peninsular for approximately 60m. There is a boat hard marked in this location on the first and second edition Ordnance Survey maps of 1884 and 1904 (S2, S3). At this time it is annotated as a ferry route between Sudbourne and Slaughden Quay on the eastern side of the Alde. However, a point of 'passage' is marked in this location on a Norden survey map of 1601, suggesting that a ferry may have run from this location since at least the late medieval period (S4). The boat hard is still partially visible on aerial photographs of 1972 (S5). However, it is not clear from the photographs whether the hard has suffered damage from erosion or is simply becoming covered by river silts.