Before the days~ of the locks and weirs, this place was fordable at times. The antiquity of the crossing is confirmed by finds of flint arrow-heads and other relics on the bank above the ferry. The large house above the river was known as King Stephen’s Mount, and it is reputed to have had earthworks erected there by that king to guard the ford in the 12th century. In the 18th and early 19th century adjoining the house and the grounds on the north side were the popular Porto Bello Pleasure Gardens. They were much frequented until the 1 840s and must have brought considerable traffic to the ferry. It was also an important wharfmg, especially for coal and bricks, and the donkey path up which these were taken in panniers to the high ground of Hallow Road still exists in good condition. The ferry crossed until after the Second World War and was well used by people from the north and west of the City.