General Estates Company

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General Estates Company
Company typePrivate
IndustryVarious
FoundedOctober 1900; 123 years ago (1900-10)
Headquarters,
Websitegeneral-estates.co.uk
A Hythe ferry still carrying the Hotspur name in 2004

The General Estates Company is a privately held company registered in the United Kingdom and incorporated in October 1900. Its current businesses include the provision of mobile home parks, and ownership and operation of toll bridges.[1][2][3]

The company's head office is located in Hythe in Hampshire. The proprietors of the company are members of the Percy family, whose lineage also includes the Dukes of Northumberland and Henry Percy or Hotspur.[1][4]

Current operations[edit]

The company runs 21 mobile home parks in southern England.[5] It also owns and operates toll bridges, including:[2]

History[edit]

The origins of the company lie with the Hythe Ferry, a passenger ferry route that still crosses Southampton Water from a pier adjacent to the company's head office. From 1889 the Percy family were involved in the running of the ferry, and from 1900 to 1980 the service was run by the General Estates Company. Many of the ferries used carried the name Hotspur as a consequence of the family connection.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "About Us". General Estates Company. Archived from the original on 8 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Toll bridge sold for first time since being built in 1792". Henley Standard. 27 February 2019. Archived from the original on 8 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  3. ^ "General Estates Company Ltd - Company Profile". Endole. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Hythe-Southampton Ferries". Ian Boyle/Simplon Postcards. 2007. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Our Parks". General Estates Company. Archived from the original on 8 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.